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Post by JonW on Feb 11, 2022 13:29:17 GMT 1
I know a few of us on here have picked up and old lathe over the past few years so thought maybe we should have a thread about lathes we have and also discuss any lathe based chat in one place. I got mine from my mate LB (on here) who was the previous owner and was amazing in not only delivering it but also putting it into my workshop which is through my garage. It weighs about what a bike weighs and had to be crane'd about. Its a Hercus, which is an Aussie made version of a South Bend. Its a 9" model I believe. www.lathes.co.uk/hercus/A pic of what i have to play with: I need to sort out a new flat drive belt and some other little bits and bobs and another mate is already helping me with some tooling. I already can see this will be exciting, Im itching to make some pins up for my headstock stand to fit my LC, YPVS and RGV yokes and some spacers! What have you got?
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Post by Robbieben on Feb 11, 2022 14:42:27 GMT 1
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Post by steven on Feb 11, 2022 14:54:59 GMT 1
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Post by midlifecrisisrd on Feb 11, 2022 18:26:41 GMT 1
Good thread idea We can all swap lessons learned lol I recently picked up a Boxford CUD 1965 model but since it came from a school it hasn't had a tough life and it is even metric Got the screw cutting gears but not ventured into that yet. First jobs were making wheel spacers for the latest hybrid build Only playing with alloy so far. Still running the 415v 3 phase motor so bought a converter to step it up I'll need to whip the motor out and get it looked at as will only run on higher gearing on the 2 lowest pulley settings without drawing too much power and tripping out Steve (I'll add pics of my latest purchase from Mutts when I get it up on its stand. Few delays since the courier damage it in transit. And yes Jon I've went off topic already 🤣)
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Post by muttsnuts on Feb 11, 2022 18:58:13 GMT 1
I have an Harrison M300 lathe and just took delivery of my new milling machine yesterday, which I am extremely pleased with, will be testing it in anger tomorrow (you can just see the lathe in the background!)
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Post by jon on Feb 11, 2022 21:48:30 GMT 1
Here’s my Myford super 7, with quick change gearbox. Invaluable for the hybrid builder. Jon
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fabiostar
Thrash Merchant
the older i get the faster i was.
Posts: 399
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Post by fabiostar on Feb 11, 2022 22:38:18 GMT 1
il get a picture up when imgur works...... iv a rather large drummond, as in about 8 feet long, took a lorry to bring it here and a winch to get it into the cave.. i spend my time making honda firestorm flywheels very light for guys all over the planet, think im well over the hundred mark now..
its a rather old girl, it came from a WW1 royal navy battleship from 1917 !!!! and its still running straight as you would ever need.
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Post by JonW on Feb 11, 2022 23:10:25 GMT 1
Wow, some great posts, loving this thread!
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cnkxu1
Thrash Merchant
Posts: 392
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Post by cnkxu1 on Feb 11, 2022 23:25:50 GMT 1
Some great machines on here and obviously some great talent. I have a cheapy chinese 7" which is actually a pretty good entry level and I am learning a lot about setting it up, adjustments to remove play, do's and don'ts by trial and error and taking my time to nut things through. More to learn and I think this will be a good place for it.
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Post by finnned on Feb 11, 2022 23:29:48 GMT 1
Flexispeed Major. A lovely little thing that’s great for (literally) little jobs. Made in 1948, still going strong 💪
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Post by badger1 on Feb 12, 2022 18:24:02 GMT 1
Boxford aud
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Post by badger1 on Feb 12, 2022 18:29:00 GMT 1
I have an Harrison M300 lathe and just took delivery of my new milling machine yesterday, which I am extremely pleased with, will be testing it in anger tomorrow (you can just see the lathe in the background!) Broke out in a hot sweat seeing this thinking of the hours standing in front of one of these doing big batches of 1 opp wishing the clock would go quicker so I could go home.
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Post by tell7437 on Feb 13, 2022 0:18:41 GMT 1
Can't do pictures on here but I have a Mellor lathe which I believe were used in ww2 munitions factories, got it for £50 & saved it from going to scrap, it's old but still does everything I need it too,money well spent.
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Post by stirling11 on Feb 13, 2022 4:39:04 GMT 1
I used to have a very old Myford, it was my dad's when he was an apprentice, it was quite similar to Jon's above, except it had the oil feeders for the bearing shells mounted on the main chuck drive
he never let me use it or taught me how to use it, he bought it second hand in about 1949
When he passed I played around with simple stuff, making small bushes and spacers, anything too long was not possible as the bearing shells were gone
Ended up donating it to a local council workshop who had it refurbished and as far as I know it's still going
Do I need one, probably, do I have the space, unfortunately no
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Post by muttsnuts on Feb 13, 2022 11:09:30 GMT 1
Boxford aud looks like my old Boxford that does !
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Post by jon on Feb 13, 2022 11:12:14 GMT 1
I used to have a very old Myford, it was my dad's when he was an apprentice, it was quite similar to Jon's above, except it had the oil feeders for the bearing shells mounted on the main chuck drive he never let me use it or taught me how to use it, he bought it second hand in about 1949 When he passed I played around with simple stuff, making small bushes and spacers, anything too long was not possible as the bearing shells were gone Ended up donating it to a local council workshop who had it refurbished and as far as I know it's still going Do I need one, probably, do I have the space, unfortunately no I think mines from around that era? I’ll have to try and use a mirror to read the serial number at some point again to confirm. Mine had had a mechanical refurb (bed ground, feedscrew bush, belts etc) before I got it. Jon
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Post by steven on Feb 13, 2022 14:25:47 GMT 1
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Post by mak595 on Feb 13, 2022 15:36:48 GMT 1
Here's mine, a early 40's Pools special, quite fun restoring it...
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Post by mak595 on Feb 13, 2022 15:40:04 GMT 1
Slightly off topic but did a old pillar drill to go with it...
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Post by cb250g5 on Feb 13, 2022 16:22:09 GMT 1
I also have a Myford. In my case a mark-1 Super-7. I opted for change gears rather than a gearbox, as I regularly need to cut imperial as well as metric threads.
The only thing I don't like about "hobby" lathes is the fact the leadscrew is either set for thread cutting or carriage drive. I'd really like a smallish lathe with separate shafts for these functions. However I have so much tooling and accessories for the Myford it would be a wrench to change.
I also have a Taiwanese copy of an Enco round column milling machine. Good enough for me at the moment and doesn't use the sort of room that a Bridgeport takes up. A mill with a knee is on the wish list for when I get a bigger workshop. Awaiting lottery win etc.
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Post by midlifecrisisrd on Feb 13, 2022 16:40:46 GMT 1
I'm having to Google an awful lot being so new to all this 🤣
When I bought the CUD I had the choice of the AUD with the gearbox but my thinking was that I wasn't going to do much thread cutting and the gearbox would be another complication and something else that could go wrong
At least with the change gears they are simple and with the right gears it's possible to cut imperial threads with the metric lead screw
Just had to Google knee mill 🙄
Turns out that's what I've got from Mutts lol
I don't have the space either for the mill but what the hell, same price as a tiny Sealey one
Pity the courier was a tw4t and bust the power feed and DRO. Insurance claim for £700 being processed now 🙄
Steve
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Post by cb250g5 on Feb 13, 2022 17:45:59 GMT 1
I'm having to Google an awful lot being so new to all this 🤣 When I bought the CUD I had the choice of the AUD with the gearbox but my thinking was that I wasn't going to do much thread cutting and the gearbox would be another complication and something else that could go wrong At least with the change gears they are simple and with the right gears it's possible to cut imperial threads with the metric lead screw Just had to Google knee mill 🙄 Turns out that's what I've got from Mutts lol I don't have the space either for the mill but what the hell, same price as a tiny Sealey one Pity the courier was a tw4t and bust the power feed and DRO. Insurance claim for £700 being processed now 🙄 Steve Ah yes, a knee type mill allows you to move the work up & down. On mine only the head moves, and unusually for a mill the round column on mine allows the head to turn, so for any given job I really need to set up in a way that the head doesn't have to move at all, just use the quill. It has advantages & disadvantages, depending on what you're doing. I have a full set of change gears for the Myford, so can set it up to cut pretty much any thread, using the 8TPI imperial lead screw. It's currently set for 20TPI as I'm making a new radiator for the Scott and that's the thread on the filler & cap. However it's pretty oily in the gear case, so I won't change it back before I'm finished, so I've lost the auto carriage drive feature. I have 3, 4 and 6 jaw scroll chucks and a 4 jaw independent, as well as a quick change tool post with 15 or so (self made) tool holders, so I'd have to think long & hard before changing it.
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Post by JonW on Feb 14, 2022 2:14:03 GMT 1
What a superb thread this has become. Thanks for all the great posts, I knew a lot of us had these tools but didnt realise quite how many! I still need to work out what i need for this one, but really the first job is a flat belt. Anyone got any experience with these? I have the joiners, just need the belt. I know this type of belt was everywhere in the old days but seems harder to locate now and some are crazy money. I did go through the box that came with it and cleaned up the 4 jaw chuck which is a Burnerd that is Made in England. No key/tool tho. Maybe I can make one? hmm... I found a bunch of other things in there that I had no idea what they were and this weird thing which i finally worked out what it was when i looked at the original sales brochure (someone looks to have uploaded it to one of those manual sites). Its an American Tool post! Er... Its original I guess but not very useful, yet i expect like all the previous owners i'll keep it haha.
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Post by muttsnuts on Feb 14, 2022 9:30:11 GMT 1
Jon, just measure the "square" in the chuck and either buy some square bar to fit, or file one to fit, or mill one if you have a milling machine and a dividing head, if its a burnerd chuck they are a very good make and so finding a chuck key will be dead easy, it will most likely be an imperial size - say 1/4" or 3/8" depending upon the size of the chuck, can't see it being 1/2" but you never know
HTH
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Post by midlifecrisisrd on Feb 14, 2022 9:31:49 GMT 1
I still need to work out what i need for this one, but really the first job is a flat belt. Anyone got any experience with these? I have the joiners, just need the belt. I know this type of belt was everywhere in the old days but seems harder to locate now and some are crazy money. Is the linked belt not any good to you Seen on a lot of old lathes www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373472602551Steve
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Post by midlifecrisisrd on Feb 14, 2022 9:35:27 GMT 1
And as mutts said try imperial sizes in your chuck
Ratchet extension bars may guide you 😉
As said it will be a standard size
Got a 3 jaw and 4 jaw chuck, different makes and both are the same size chuck key
Steve
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Post by badger1 on Feb 14, 2022 9:51:30 GMT 1
What a superb thread this has become. Thanks for all the great posts, I knew a lot of us had these tools but didnt realise quite how many! I still need to work out what i need for this one, but really the first job is a flat belt. Anyone got any experience with these? I have the joiners, just need the belt. I know this type of belt was everywhere in the old days but seems harder to locate now and some are crazy money. I did go through the box that came with it and cleaned up the 4 jaw chuck which is a Burnerd that is Made in England. No key/tool tho. Maybe I can make one? hmm.. I found a bunch of other things in there that I had no idea what they were and this weird thing which i finally worked out what it was when i looked at the original sales brochure (someone looks to have uploaded it to one of those manual sites). Its an American Tool post! Er... Its original I guess but not very useful, yet i expect like all the previous owners i'll keep it haha. Used these a couple of times, might have what you need. Some of the parts are Chinese seams china makes everything. www.rdgtools.co.uk/acatalog/CHUCK_KEYS__SQUARE_HEAD_-1.html
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Post by JonW on Feb 14, 2022 10:04:27 GMT 1
Jon, just measure the "square" in the chuck and either buy some square bar to fit, or file one to fit, or mill one if you have a milling machine and a dividing head, if its a burnerd chuck they are a very good make and so finding a chuck key will be dead easy, it will most likely be an imperial size - say 1/4" or 3/8" depending upon the size of the chuck, can't see it being 1/2" but you never know HTH Super info Dave! It is quite small so it is higly likely its 1/4. If it is then i can a bar from my socket set
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Post by JonW on Feb 14, 2022 10:05:35 GMT 1
I still need to work out what i need for this one, but really the first job is a flat belt. Anyone got any experience with these? I have the joiners, just need the belt. I know this type of belt was everywhere in the old days but seems harder to locate now and some are crazy money. Is the linked belt not any good to you Seen on a lot of old lathes www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373472602551Steve Ahh now thats a good fine and would be quieter as well I would think? I read a lot about the steel clip links ticking when the lathe was running lol
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Post by JonW on Feb 14, 2022 10:06:49 GMT 1
And as mutts said try imperial sizes in your chuck Ratchet extension bars may guide you 😉 As said it will be a standard size Got a 3 jaw and 4 jaw chuck, different makes and both are the same size chuck key Steve Mine are sadly different sizes, the 3 jaw has much larger 'grabby bits' (yeah Ive no idea what those bits are called the move and hold the work!) and hence larger key hole.
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