Hi all, newbie with first lathe, rare one i think.

That is mine from Suffolk Steam. Andrew there is the bloke that sold it on to me.

Well then, Andrew at Suffolk Steam is the man to ask for any other information, the rest of us are floundering about without a lot to go on

Brian

Edited By Brian Wood on 18/10/2021 18:20:34

He told me all there is to know. Just a chap sold it to him from a workshop clearance. his dad who was high up in the Navy got to have the lathe from a WW2 German Navy boat that was is Londonderry. he used it for model making for years.

Just done 1 rev on the screw feed and got 6 threads and 1.25", does that mean anything kida ? The cross slides etc are imperial i know that much. 10 turns to an inch.

6 threads and 1.25 inches. Means nothing at all.

A more meaningful result would be to measure as best as you can the carriage travel for10 full turns of the leadscrew to reduce reading errors

I suspect it will be some metric value. The other feed screws may have been replaced with imperial versions by the previous owner, a relatively simple modification when compared to changing the leadscrew as that would also change all the results for screwcutting from the gearing tables giving the various arrangements and their results in thread pitch.

A decent photo of the Gewindesschneide Tabelle would help … but [to me] it looks likely that the leadscrew is Englisch

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Credit: **LINK**

http://www.lathes.co.uk/union-werk/

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 19/10/2021 10:46:47

Which would be quite handy for a metric German naval vessel crew.

Makes you wonder about the story.

Yes. It is interesting to note that the two shown on the German site linked to above are also imperial - they are both gearbox models and the screwcutting charts are shown in the two discussion threads.

In one of the German site discussions, the poster says the bearings were marked GDR, so East German. However, that may have no relevance to dating this one.

4 tpi leadscrew on that lathe Michael.

I wonder if the 6 threads comment is 5 pitches of the lead screw with the lands either side being counted from 1 to 6, with the 4TPI Pete says it has that would give a travel of 1.25"

Martin C

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Before the world went mad … Sir Joseph Whitworth’s system of threads was widely accepted.

Or example: We have recently confirmed [beyond reasonable doubt] that the Leica 39mm camera mount used 26tpi Whitworth-form thread [not 1mm].

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 19/10/2021 14:11:49

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That was my assumption

It’s a classic error, which most of us have probably made at least once.

MichaelG.

I will redo the check again tonight. Will of been me and a newbie to the world of lathes making a mistake like that.

As Herr Michael Gilligan suggests above, a photo of the Gewindesschneide Tabelle will mean you do not need to measure anything - the info. on the plate will tell you. Think of it like the label in your trousers - you do not need a tape measure to size them, you just look inside and see FB.

I jave a clear image here but cant download off my phone. I beleieve its good though from what I have been told. I'll do it tonight when I'm home.

She looks like a good solid machine, beautiful gearbox and a good solid bed.

May have been through the wars, but still plenty of fight left in her.

A good clean up will do wonders and she should give many happy hours turning.

At the risk of being nosey, what did she cost ?

A proverbial steal at less than £400 (plus shipping, of course).

You can see it running (but not at work) in this video:

VIDEO

Edited By not done it yet on 19/10/2021 15:52:40

The video shown by NDIY gives a lovely clear picture of the threading plate which, when frozen, confirms that the leadscrew is indeed of English pitch at 4TPI

No need for Wayne to post a picture, the information is all there

Brian

I am thinking on doing that. Well a basic dismantle clean etc. Dont really want to paint it ????

I paid £380, i only jumped at it as its a dam good price, well i thought and nont knowing much about lathes. and i was planning on spending well over a grand for a lathe next year or so. You could call it an impulse buy.

Here is the pic just incase.