# A Boley F1 Lathe Restoration



## mariolucchini (Mar 14, 2011)

Having inherited this great machine from my Grandfather, and after using it a lot of years with the most splendid results, it was time for a complete overhaul....

The Boley F1 watchmakers lathe was made by the Gustav Boley factory in Esslingen, Neckar, a small town in Western Germany....

The F1 lathe was designed as a "modern" watchmakers lathe, that is, it's design parted from the typical WW design seen in these type of lathes till then....it was manufactured in very small quantities during 1960 to 1970, year after which the G Boley factory closed down....this is one of the reasons to make it a very rare piece of machinery... 

Some research in the web gave little or no results, but here are some images of the lathe found elsewhere.....these are images of other lathes, not mine....





























Some advertising ads of the era.....

















And a picture of the original Boley accesories box offered with the lathe.............









After this introduction, let's get to work on my lathe......


After complete dismantlement, first boring task was the sanding, puttying, leveling, more sanding, etc., of the lathes painted parts which have received the first priming coats.....


The lathe's main base casting.......weight of the base alone, little less than 5 Kgs.!!!!!!!








The headstock casting.....





















The tailstock casting..........












The motor...............











And other parts such as switch covers and the palm rest base....




















As the primer coats dries, I'll do some more cleaning, polishing, rectifying and blueing of other mechanical parts....


Thanks for looking..........

                        Mario


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## b.lindsey (Mar 14, 2011)

That's a beautiful little lathe Mario. Looking forward to seeing it during and especially after your restoration.

Bill


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## BillC (Mar 14, 2011)

Holey Boley, what a fine looking machine!  

BillC


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