# new lathe just for the modeling



## cam081 (Dec 16, 2012)

hi guys i picked up a new lathe last weekend its not really for building models well maybe a half size titanic or something. It is 6m between centers just over 700mm swing with the gap out and 125mm spindle bore and comes in at 17t. i cant wate to get it set up and start using it. hope you enjoy. cam


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## Herbiev (Dec 16, 2012)

Great looking lathe Cam. Might have a bit of trouble for very fine thread cutting tho.


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## lathe nut (Dec 16, 2012)

cam081, now that is a lathe, love it, you can make almost anything that you will want with that big boy, should start small at first like take a tree and turn it into to a tookpick, all joking aside that is reall a good looking machine, keep us posted on when you get it in the shop and going, have fun, Lathe Nut.


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## Beachside_Hank (Dec 16, 2012)

Sucked me in, I had to see whose 7X you had purchased.


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## gus (Dec 16, 2012)

Oh My Goodness.This is a very big Mini Lathe to build big Mini Model Engines.
There will a lot of fun levelling and aligning this long lathe.


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## Tin Falcon (Dec 16, 2012)

Nice lathe man I do not think my yard is big enough for that one. Some heavy rigging there. Glad to see you are saving it from the scrap yards of the world. 
Looking forward to photos of it set up and restored as well as project pictures. 
When I was a teen the next door neighbor was a local shop teacher. He had a lathe in his shed that was probably 15 to 20 feet long  I thought that was huge. 
Tin


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## n4zou (Dec 16, 2012)

I operated several lathes that size while working for a Ship Yard. It was the most boring job I ever had. They were setup to turn propeller shafts. We would turn the shafts to clean up the surfaces. Then they were put on an older lathe that was setup to weld a stainless steel surface on them. Then they were returned where we turned the shafts to it's final size, hopefully without hitting any pits or voids in the stainless. A single pass would take many hours. The only time we would be standing at the lathe was threading the end and cutting the tapered section where the propeller was mounted on the shaft. I wish I had taken a picture of the huge horizontal mill that cut the keyways in those shafts.


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## e.picler (Dec 16, 2012)

Nice lathe Cam, You may use it to build a ship model engine.
I liked the joke turning a tree into a tooth pick.
Have fun with your new little toy.

Edi


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## Philjoe5 (Dec 16, 2012)

Nice lathe Cam. 

I hope it came with some tooling (like a crane for lifting that chuck off the spindle)Rof}

Phil


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## bret4 (Dec 16, 2012)

That reminds me of my first job. The company next to us had a lot of big machines. On their big lathes they made big rollers for a paper mill. Some of the metal chips that came off that machine had to be cut with a large bolt cutter to keep them from winding their way across the shop floor.


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## gus (Dec 16, 2012)

n4zou said:


> I operated several lathes that size while working for a Ship Yard. It was the most boring job I ever had. They were setup to turn propeller shafts. We would turn the shafts to clean up the surfaces. Then they were put on an older lathe that was setup to weld a stainless steel surface on them. Then they were returned where we turned the shafts to it's final size, hopefully without hitting any pits or voids in the stainless. A single pass would take many hours. The only time we would be standing at the lathe was threading the end and cutting the tapered section where the propeller was mounted on the shaft. I wish I had taken a picture of the huge horizontal mill that cut the keyways in those shafts.



One of our local shipyard was formerly the Far East HMS Dockyard.Soon after it was handed over to Singapore Goverment in1972 to run as a private ship repair dockyard,I went there to survey their 40+ year old compressed air C.I.lines inside the dock.Still in a very good shape.

Was taken on a shop tour.Saw the 100 foot lathe used to machine ship propellor shafts. Lathe bed came in 10' sections and dowel pinned and bolt together.Levelling was done every three months to avoid turn convex/concave shafts. Was told a new 12-----24" shaft would take months to turn with HSS Cutting Tools. Tool Bars was about the size of my thigh and change block used to lift them on to tool post.The smallest HSS tool bit was 3" x 3" square.To cut machine time they even have two cross slides which are powered. Operators are allowed to read newspapers and books to kill time/boredom. Operators were in their 50+. Their take home pay plus overtime was fantastic. Can add up to 2.5---3 months pay with OT,allowance and incentives.


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## MRL (Dec 16, 2012)

Here is mine.


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## MRL (Dec 16, 2012)

Then if I need to do small work I have this one.


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## cam081 (Dec 17, 2012)

hi guys thanks for the coments i save it from the scrap yard so i can do all my own maching i have quite a few old engine that need alot of big machinging most of the maching shops i spoke about the work just would not do it and the few that said they would put such a high price on the work it just wasn't worth doing. i only have to do 2 jobs to recover the cost of the lathe. it will take a little wile to get it set up and working i had it turning over on the weekend with one of my tractors so i think that is how i will drive it for now. thanks cam


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## Herbiev (Dec 17, 2012)

There is your first project Cam. A small engine to run your new lathe


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## gus (Dec 17, 2012)

MRL said:


> Here is mine.



Hi Monty.

When you get up and running,please post video shots.I missed the flat belt drives and the overhead pulley drives which was the drive system right to the late 60s in remote parts of Singapore.


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## pacomuson (Dec 30, 2012)

which scale  are your models?


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## cam081 (May 23, 2013)

hi every one just abit of a update on the little lathe. I have had the tractor on it turning it over to free everything up and see how it goes. now it is sitting all covered up waiting for the concert slab. I should have it done in the next few months and I hope to have the new well 1955 tractor that I picked up to drive it with running about the same time. I will post some more photos when I get it in place. cam


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## New_Guy (Jun 18, 2013)

cam081 said:


> hi guys i picked up a new lathe last weekend its not really for building models well maybe a half size titanic or something. It is 6m between centers just over 700mm swing with the gap out and 125mm spindle bore and comes in at 17t. i cant wate to get it set up and start using it. hope you enjoy. cam



First post in A LONG TIME!

Holy crap man I live down the road from that old factory!  I stopped once to to have a look that lathe and mill through the fence I was genuinely disappointed when I saw the lathe gone I thought it went to Chine to become pots and pan.

My hats off to you my friend for saving that lathe!


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## cam081 (Jun 18, 2013)

Hi mate it was a big job to it home. I really wish I could of saved the mill as well but I just don't have the funds. Cam


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## ZipSnipe (Jun 21, 2013)

Dude!! you could turn a Bridgeport on that lathe!!!!  How bout some pics when ya get up on the bench!!!


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## moya034 (Jun 22, 2013)

I will be very upset if I don't get to see pics of this lathe sitting inside your shop, cleaned up, and making chips.


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## cam081 (Jun 22, 2013)

Hi mate it will be quite awile before I can build a shed over it what I am doing is building a cover that I will be able to lift over it with my forklift. We have given it a clean up and covered all the ways in grease and then iron to keep the weather off it. Cam


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## moya034 (Jun 23, 2013)

It took me three years to get my 13" lathe up and running... by no means am I rushing you.


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## christo4mg (Oct 4, 2013)

Very nice save! Not too many people could find a home for such a large machine. Better than the scrap yard! Kudos!


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