Habegger DLZF tailstock

Hello!

I've been asking about a Myford ML7 here a little while back but I've subsequently found a Habegger that better suits my needs with collet holding capabilities and simpler thread cutting.

I'm in the process of cleaning it and came across this on the tailstock. I'm stumped. It looks to me like a blind hole, no features on the inside of the bore that appears to connect to it. There is also an oil point further back. I tried to unscrew it as it appeared to have a hexagonal shape when I first looked at it but it wouldn't budge. It was also a bit mangled. I sprayed it out with brake cleaner and got a milky white liquid in return, possibly cutting fluid?

I tried looking at images of this lathe online but found few. I can just make out a knurled cap. Does anyone know what this hole is for? (I'm talking about the slightly raised button with the hole in it.

Best regards

Karl

That's a lovely looking machine, Karl

It may be worth contacting this enthusiast: **LINK**

http://cinematechnic.com/tools/habegger_lathe

MichaelG.

Thank you Michael! I wish I could say the one in the last picture was mine but it's not. It's the only picture I found that showed my mystery feature on another tailstock with something resembling clarity. The lathe in the last picture is a Habegger 102. It shares the same center height, and in this instance, tailstock with my DLZF, which is a screw cutting lathe. Mine is not nearly in as nice a condition though...

Thank you for the tip! I'll look it up.

Best regards

Karl

Looks like Schaublin, from which the Habegger was derived, also have a similar fitment on the tailstock.

Back in the day such blind holes were used to hold small quantities of lubricant for centres. Often white lead. The white residue that came out when anointed with brake cleaner seems suggestive.

A loose dibber, basically a steel pin with a small round knob of suitably artistic (or not) shape on top, normally resided in the hole resady to transfer lubricant to the tailstock centre when needed.

Looking at the final picture in your post it appears there is indeed a typical form of knob showing above the top rim of the hole. The tailstocks on some of the machines on the Schaublin pages here :- **LINK** also have similar knobs showing.

Clive.

Well done, Clive

... details like that provide an extra little touch of class.

MichaelG.

Also well done Clive, I was about to make the same suggestion.

My Smart and Brown Sabel tailstock has a very similar feature, it was missing the 'dibber' when I acquired it and I hope the one I made does justice to it. It is a little refinement that S & B have added to the US Southbend design that they copied which I'm sure the Amercans wouldn't have bothered about

Brian

Thank you Clive!

White lead huh. I'll have to be carful where I throw the paper towels I used to Clean it up.

I'll have to make a dibbler then! A Word I was not expecting to use today.

Thank you to everyone who partook in this mystery.

Best regards

Karl