As some of you know, I have a small bench top CNC lathe/mill which works okay for cutting aluminum or very light cuts in steel.

Well, I finally decided to purchase a "real" lathe which I can push a lot harder and get better accuracy with. After talking to different shops and machine tool sales people, I was talked out of looking into a brand new import machine from lets say China or Taiwan (supposedly the best of the lower cost units are made in Taiwan) and instead try and wait for an old American made unit.

Guess what? I found a nice older American made lathe not too far from me, I went and looked at it on Tuesday night, push buttons, played with with the different knobs and such and it seemed okay. On Wednesday evening I wanted to test the machine and make some "chips" with it. Oh, man, there is nothing like a well oiled machine that can cut hardened steel like it was butter...love at first cut

I'm still trying to find the exact date of manufacture, but it seems to be way older than me by at least 10 to 20 years (1940 to 1950 we guess)

The picture does not do this machine justice, soon I will clean it up better and give her a fresh coat of paint. My wife just got some competion, LOL

here is the small bench top unit:

I've been wanting metal shaping tools for some time, just can't afford them I'll be the first to tell you I'm envious

I'll be the second. I'm a little envious, but happy for you too.
-Ben

Muller,

Care to give some more details on your two machines? I will be in the market for this stuff in the near future, and it would be nice to get some names/brands of good machines...and if you don't mind my asking...prices.

Any/all info is welcome, cause I really know very little about them.

Tony

Mueller,

Yup, disassemble it, clean it up (you'd be surprised at where you find chips packed in) , re-oil and grease, re-adjust the dove tails, paint it (Navy gray), and it'll look and work great. I have a WWII vintage 13" LeBlond that does everything I need.

Andy

Looks good Mike. I just started learning how to cut on a engine lathe. I was having so much fun, hours seemed like minutes. Something I should have learned a long time ago.

Pat

I have a small Pratt and Whitney lathe built just before WW2. No lead screw, but it has 2 speed ranges - infinitely adjustable, collets up to 1" by 1/16" increments and a 3 jaw chuck (I missed out on the 4 jaw chuck at the auction). The tool rest/cross slide can't take much of a cut without chattering but it is good enough for a small welding/fabrication shop.

Nice work dude. Can you retrofit CNC stuff to a machine like this, or is there just no point?

L8r,

Fiid.

Cool Mike. I use 8 and 10mm lathes for watch making purposes, but I have not had a go on a larger lathe. I have a friend (guy who sold Ernie DV his 914) who is a machinst and in his garage he has tons of equipment, and a lathe that is about 8 feet long. Aluminium chips all over he floor.

Heres a pic of myself during school being frustrated!

trying to turn this by hand

Thats a winding stem, about 10mm long and about 4mm in diameter at its widest point. All turned by hand using tempered steel, and hand filing the squared part.polishing it is an art into itself, using different compounds. Makes you want to