Unknown lathe on Ebay

Whilst looking on the "bay" I came across this lathe of a type I haven't seen before and wondered if anyone knew what it was.

**LINK**

It looks like quite an interesting find.

Regards.

David.

I don't recognise it, David

But, the chain drive, curious tailstock, and the drilling head all make it a bit 'special'

It might be a great restoration project.

MichaelG.

It's a great price but i doubt it'll stay that good for long, even i was tempted to bid until i saw how long it's got left.

The price of some of tother stuff makes retail prices look good.

Michael W

The tailstock at least looks shop-made.

Echoing Michael, a lovely project.

Just the wrong time for me though, I have still to finish refurbing the long bed Myford M type and its cabinet / stand, plus there is a house move on the horizon.

It'll probably sell for peanuts and I'll be kicking myself, no matter what.

Eug

I'm inclined to think that the whole thing is home made. If it was closer to me I would go take a look to see if I am correct.

John

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Well can someone please win it! Perhaps Neil can help fund the purchase by publishing an article about it.

Regards.

David.

I'd happy walk away with it if only to take that awful coat of rust off it.

Michael

Good Idea - I'll pace a bid

Neil

Have a look at www.lathes, unknown lathe no.64.

Dave

That certainly is the one, it's still in the same shed!

Thanks for looking through the previous 63 pages Dave

We still need to find a new owner for it.

Regards.

David.

Interesting. When I said home made I had a toolmaker in mind 'cause some of the parts look fabricated.

Slightly related my Father told me that as a toolmaker they were allowed to do what ever they fancied to solve problems during WWII as they came up. He mentioned a lathe of a sort that was built for a specific job that needed pretty high accuracy. They set the parts up with a theodolite and then held them in place by casting them into concrete.

It makes me think this is some ones foreigner unless there are several about. It's hard to see that as a one off for a specific purpose. More a general purpose set up.

My father's attitude about me obtaining a small really precise lathe was why not make it yourself pointing out that standard mild steel sections are accurate to a few thou. I sometimes get tempted.

If anyone is tempted he reckoned a slant bed would be ideal. Probably correct and for a simple feed steel tape drive. That has been used in the past.

John

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THe milling head is certainly home made as the parts are fabricated and welded rather than being cast

Have a look at www.lathes, unknown lathe no.64.

Well found that man

Here's another oldie up for sale in Oz **LINK**

I did not realise that lathes were that old!

* Danny M *

From my reading it was not uncommon prior to WW2 for a model engineer to buy, or have cast, a lathe bed, and from that build his own, as in books such as "the Amateur Mechanic & Work Handbooks" "Small Lathes, Making and Using" first printed in 1920, my copy is the Australian edition 1943, plans there for a2 1/2" centre lathe with back gear and slide rest.

Ian S C

Metal lathes like that aren't. 1880 maybe. As usual, Tony's site has the real data **LINK**

Cheers,

Rod

The history of a lathe in the most basic sense is extremely old, you think, anything that needed a relatively round wheel (without it being too bumpy) needed a lathe.

I'm not so sure he always does have the right data Rod. One thing on lathes in general is that slide rests appeared more recently than hand turning rests. That I suspect might make it more recent than 1820 for this sort of lathe.

The gunfight in the ok corral was in 1881. Who knows what went on generally with company registration in this period and before it.

John

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Extract from English & American Tool Builders by J W Roe 1916:

Take the slide-rest. It is clearly shown in the French
encyclopedia of 1772, see Fig. 3, and even in an edition
of 1717. Bramah, Bentham and Brunel, in England, and
Sylvanus Brown, in America, are all said to have
invented it. David Wilkinson, of Pawtucket, R. I., was
granted a patent for it in 1798. But the invention has
been, and will always be, credited to Henry Maudslay, of
London. It is right that it should be, for he first designed
and built it properly, developed its possibilities, and
made it generally useful. The modern slide-rest is a
lineal descendant from his.

PS Maudslay's famous screwcutting lathe of c 1797 had a screw-operated cross slide but, seemingly, no top slide.

Edited By ega on 12/03/2016 11:36:22