What is this lathe attachment?

[clivel]

As my little Unimat is too small for almost anything I really want to make I have been keeping my eye out for a larger replacement.
As funds are limited and I am not in any pressing hurry, I thought that it might be worth holding out in the hopes of finding a reasonably priced used machine before rushing out and buying a new Chinese lathe.

Unfortunately used machinery seems to be scarcer than hen's teeth in this part of the world, but even then this lathe seems to be obscenely overpriced http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rch/tls/3883413120.html does anyone know what make of lathe it is?

However the real point of this post is that I was curious as to the purpose of the device is at the tail end of the bed, it seems as if it may be driven from a pulley on the lead screw?
Thanks,
Clive

 

[goldstar31]

It is difficult because of poor quality photography but I would guess that this attachment is no more than something which could be driven from some form of overhead drive or shafting.
I have a traditional flatbed Myford Super 7 with gear box but I have the ability to add two spindles which can either drill or grind. I gave the other one away to a friend who wanted to do watch and clockmaking as it acted as both a vertical slide and a dividing head. The manufacturer was a Mr G P Potts. The bits were also sold as castings by Woking Precision Models who were taken over by Hemingway Kits.

It is far from new- Holzapffel had something similar in the days of Maudsley and the feature continues as one of the artefacts of ornamental turning.

Yes?

Norman

 

[ZipSnipe]

Looks to be a power feed for the saddle.

 

[Shawn]

I'm guessing lead screw power feed components as well, I built one similar awhile ago.

 

[clivel]

Thanks all for the suggestions.

Shawn, I am curious, why would you need a separate power feed if the lathe already has a gearbox feeding the lead screw?

 

[Wizard69]

Thanks all for the suggestions.

Shawn, I am curious, why would you need a separate power feed if the lathe already has a gearbox feeding the lead screw?

That is a good question! You might want to ask the owner or seller for more specific information.

A couple of possibilities come to mind here for such a drive. One would be something broken in the drive train. Another might be a desire for variable speeds and thus feed rates. Rapid movements might be another.

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As to the lathe it might be overpriced, it is hard to tell the size from the pic nor the machines state. The problem you have is that once you get past $2000 mark the quality of the import lathes goes up. So if you can budget $2500 that can put you into a new lathe that won't be that bad. Spend a bit more and you are likely to end up with better quality than the vast majority of used lathes out there. My personal opinion here but used lathes generally aren't a bargain unless you are really lucky in the smaller sizes. On the flip side if you have room for a really large lathe you can save big dollars buying used.

So I wouldn't stop looking for a good deal, when it comes to small lathes. What I would stop is believing that good deals are essays to find. You would likely have a better chance finding a four leaf clover in the Mohave desert. Smallish lathes are in demand thus people get away with the silly sticker prices as you see on this unit.

 

[Shawn]

I just found that changing the gears out was a pain in the butt. With the separate drive system I have a few easily changed feed speeds and its just a toggle switch to engage the drive. I also don't have to mess with a screw cutting setup. There is also the benefit of running without the gears engaged which is much quieter and less vibration.

Shawn