Show Us Your Lathe

[albertorc19]

That's a nice lathe - but I have to say WOW to the bench. That is a very fine piece of craftsmanship.

Thanks a lot for your comments, it was fun to make the bench and quite economical also. I see myself as a "right angle carpenter" since I only make simple woodworking projects using square assemblies with woodscrews and off the shelf hardware, no fancy finish or decorations, just a plain, simple, useful bench.

 

[lathe nut]

There sure are some nice looking lahtes on the post, I think that I would some day like to have a Myford, might run across one always looking.

albertorc19 Like your set up, going to build something for my Smithy, really like your but that is a lot of work to build that one, love all the draws, nice real nice.

 

[skyline1]

Hi Peatrich

My ML7 is 1953 too Serial no K23999, What's the serial No on yours they may have been built at the same time.

3 jaw chucks always have a little run out but it can be corrected a little by turning the backplate very slightly undersize ( about 5 to 10 thou')
you can then adjust the chuck slightly against the backplate before tightening the bolts fully. Put a piece of bar in the chuck, check it with a D.T.I. and tap the chuck gently with something soft until it runs concentric. That's what I did with mine and it worked great.

Regards Mark

 

[peatrich]

Hi Peatrich

My ML7 is 1953 too Serial no K23999, What's the serial No on yours they may have been built at the same time.

3 jaw chucks always have a little run out but it can be corrected a little by turning the backplate very slightly undersize ( about 5 to 10 thou')
you can then adjust the chuck slightly against the backplate before tightening the bolts fully. Put a piece of bar in the chuck, check it with a D.T.I. and tap the chuck gently with something soft until it runs concentric. That's what I did with mine and it worked great.

Regards Mark

Hi Mark
Yours is even older than mine! The number is K27438.
Thank you for the advice for truing the chuck, well worth trying
Kind regards
Peter

 

[HairyCannonball]

My machines are kind of pedestrian compared to the beautiful Hardinge and Monarch lathes some of you have but anyway. The first is a 10 inch Logan that I have had for 23 years. I paid the whopping sum of $150.00 for it, and although it had about 6 coats of brushed on paint of various colors it was in very good condition mechanically. The middle is the first maximat S11 I bought, had it about 5 years, and the bottom maximat I bought earlier this spring. The maximats are set up with a Teco jnev vfd, thats what the extra control box on top is for.

 

[Herbiev]

http://emob1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff463/Herbiev1/Mobile Uploads/IMG_7992.jpg
Just thought I'd post a picture of my oriental pride and joy. The thing I like most is the 38mm or 1 1/2" bore. Thanks for looking.

 

[sn00zerman]

Hi all,

Early Christmas present from my wife for me:

She also bought lots of additional tools for me. (I already own a CNC milling machine and 50W CO2 laser, mostly used for H0 modelrailroading, but with lathe I'm a completely beginner)

Check out my website in the "Technology" section for more info,
or check the "Railway" section for our outdoor railway and live-steam projects.

* Merry Christmas everybody *

best regards from Belgium,
Kris

 

[Propforward]

Here are a couple of shots of my own lathe. A Grizzly 9249. They don't make this particular one any more. I always felt that this machine really offered a lot of features for the price, being as it has metric and imperial threading capability, plus it is a gap bed, back gear machine. It is a 12" X 37" tool.

I bought the biggest lathe that I could afford at the time, and I think this should be more than I need for the work I want to do.

I have had it for a few years, but have only just really started using it. I started my first engine build yesterday, and I am looking forward to a lot more time on it.

One thing is for sure, I need to change the layout of where items are stored around the lathe. I need easier access to my micrometers and so on. Just a matter of properly arranging the support tooling.

 

[Mosey]

and your shop is too neat!

 

[Propforward]

I don't know about that - look - there's something on the floor under the shelves. That won't do at all.

 

[Sk8Ter]

Here are a couple of shots of my own lathe. A Grizzly 9249. They don't make this particular one any more. I always felt that this machine really offered a lot of features for the price, being as it has metric and imperial threading capability, plus it is a gap bed, back gear machine. It is a 12" X 37" tool.

I bought the biggest lathe that I could afford at the time, and I think this should be more than I need for the work I want to do.

I have had it for a few years, but have only just really started using it. I started my first engine build yesterday, and I am looking forward to a lot more time on it.

One thing is for sure, I need to change the layout of where items are stored around the lathe. I need easier access to my micrometers and so on. Just a matter of properly arranging the support tooling.

very nice lathe do you remember what they cost? and 12" swing but when you remove the bed whats the largest diam you can swing?

Lawrence

 

[johan jorez]

Optmum 300 x 1000

330 mm between bed and 1000mm between centers
bought second hand couple years ago with 3 axis dro
original with 400 volt tri-phase motor now vfd ( teco )

 

[Propforward]

very nice lathe do you remember what they cost? and 12" swing but when you remove the bed whats the largest diam you can swing?

Lawrence

It was $2800.00 in 2008. The swing over the gap is 18 7/8" according to the spec sheet, so it should be capable of a decent range of jobs. I opted for this tool because by going with a more basic belt drive tool, I was able to keep a decent range of features for the price.

It also came with 4 jaw chuck, faceplate, live center, 2 dead centers, plus follow and steady rests, a couple of toolposts and also the steel stand. A pretty good all round package I thought.

I have a quick change tool post from a Myford lathe I am going to fit to it as well, which I think will be a nice set up for the smaller work I will be doing.

One thing that has been bugging me is to check the center position of the tailstock, I really need to do that.

 

[radial1951]

Not sure what your reference to political overtones is all about, but I agree the Monarch was in production before the war, but only affordable to professional machine shops- the price was way out of reach for any home shop. After the war, their production dropped back to prior levels and even less, as they had a lot of unused wartime parts sitting on shelves.
The title of this forum is the HOME MODEL ENGINE MACHINIST, so you shouldn't compare professional production machines to low cost machines designed for the home machinist.

*
Hi SHARPSHOOTER, my first post was going to be pics of my lathes, but I think your post needs a comment. You are correct when you say that professional and hobby machines shouldn't be compared, but the title of this forum/thread does not exclude any type of machine, and Home Machinists do not necessarily buy low cost "hobby" lathes. Hobbyists spend as little as $300 to $10,000 and beyond on the machine of their dreams, new or 2nd hand.
As industrial machines get older and the value goes down, we are more able to afford them. As long as you can get it in your workshop, then it's a home hobby machine!
We are all very proud of our lathes, and I guess the huge range of brands, sizes and "interesting" (?) colours shown here, from kitchen table to "industrial" machines, proves just one thing: we love 'em all.
I'll get some pics together and show you my lathes, 9" and 10" SBs and a lovely WWI 10" P&W (soon to be cosmetically restored).

Best regards, RossG.
(radial1951)
__________________

 

[Tin Falcon]

Guys :
lets not lose sight here. this is not a competition . or a brag post. The lathe one owns is a matter of personal choice.
Tin

 

[Jeff-in-PA]

Guys :
lets not lose sight here. this is not a competition . or a brag post. The lathe one owns is a matter of personal choice.
Tin

If you have room and want a commercial machine, just keep an eye on Craigslist and local ebay auctions.

I spent $1450 for my Monarch 12CK lathe with some tooling and a BXA qctp. I looked for almost four months before I found a good machine at a decent price.

 

[ninefinger]

I posted in the Tools sub forum about my purchase of a Standard Modern 13-34 lathe a while back. Well, now that its settled in my shop and I've put a DRO on it I'll show it off here.

So here it is. I purchased the lathe without any chucks so I bought some from Grizzly - a three jaw with 2 piece reversible jaws, a 4 jaw and a 5C collet chuck.
The a I put a DRO on it from http://TheDROStore.com.

Here is the cross slide scale mounting. Not super happy about where I mounted it but it was going to be a compromise one way or the other. On the back its hiding the gib adjust screws for the cross slide and takes up about 1" of space for the tailstock, but the front side would have been subject to my clumsiness too much and would have been trashed in a heartbeat (crashed with powerfeed, things dropped, coolant spray,etc)

and the mount for the glass scale on Z (oops! I need to go find a third bolt and finish putting that together....)

I also converted it to 220VAC 3 phase motor with VFD as it was wired with a 550VAC 3 phase when I bought it.

What I find amusing now is that there is a plate on the saddle that clearly states the graduations are 0.001" on diameter, but on installing the DRO I found out the cross slide screw is metric pitch (0.200" on the dial is actually 0.1968" - or 5.00mm) . Must be because it served in a school once in its life and was maybe pieced together from more than 1 machine or repaired but the wrong part ordered (hey were in Canada - it must be metric right - eh?)....

Also fitted a QC tool post, the BXA size, wedge type. I can't live without a QC tool post...makes using the lathe a pleasure not a chore.

Mike

 

[radial1951]

Guys :
lets not lose sight here. this is not a competition . or a brag post. The lathe one owns is a matter of personal choice.
Tin

*
Umm... what competition? Bragging? This forum/thread is for everything from low cost hobby lathes to ultimate toolroom machines, as can be seen by the posts.

From one of your previous posts:
"I have never heard of a Dean Smith & Grace lathe and would love to see photos. I hope you did not mean to have a "My Lathe is better than yours" tone in your post. We try not to have a 'bragging' tone towards one another here."

Really? I think a bit of honest bragging beats a condescending tone any day.

Sorry, but I didn't see anybody "lose sight" of the fact that this thread is for everyone to show off their pride and joy and pat each other on the back, all good fun

Like I said: "We are all very proud of our lathes... we love 'em all".
I'll get some pics together and show off my lathes as in post #514.

Best regards, RossG.
(radial1951)
__________________
ps OK, here's the first one: 1947 SB, stripped and re-painted in 1975. Could do with a new thrust bearing. Anyone know where I can buy one?

 

[Propforward]

If you have room and want a commercial machine, just keep an eye on Craigslist and local ebay auctions.

I spent $1450 for my Monarch 12CK lathe with some tooling and a BXA qctp. I looked for almost four months before I found a good machine at a decent price.

That's a good find. I spent a long time looking for a used machine locally - even had my contacts in the machining industry keeping an eye out, but good quality, older machine tools still fetch a good price, and nothing came up in my price range (or got snapped up by machine shops too quickly). While I would definitely have rather had a used machine in good order like yours, companies like Grizzly do make reasonable machine tools available to the hobby machinist and enthusiast at an affordable price. Be prepared to do a bit of cleanup and setup on them, and I think they can be very nice machines. All good stuff.

 

[Fluffy]

Propforward,
This is my lathe which is the Aussie version (2004 model) of your Grizzly. Mine however is the short bed version being 610 mm (24") between centres & does not have a gapped bed. All else is the same as far as I am aware. I gave it a carriage overhaul & has performed quite well since. I have made a 127 tooth bakelite back-gear as a shear off gear & a 80 tooth back-gear for the final driven gear to reduce the available feed rates by half.
Don.