Thread: New old lathe

Went to Lynfield College (west Auckland back then),
Did Engineering (metalwork - prac and theory).
My cobber and I got really excited about model pulse jet engines (V1 bomb engines).
Built one in Metalwork, filled the tank with a mix of meths and turps.
Fired it up by blasting oxyacetylene flame through it.
Was supposed to be held static, by an engineers vice.
It took a month of detentions to compensate for the hole in the workshop roof, and complaints from a couple of Blitz survivors (who recognized the sound of the jet) plus a few strokes of the flexibamboo.
Never did find the vice or engine either - despite the aerodynamics being similar to a lead balloon.

Originally Posted by WallyR

Went to Lynfield College (west Auckland back then),
Did Engineering (metalwork - prac and theory).
My cobber and I got really excited about model pulse jet engines (V1 bomb engines).
Built one in Metalwork, filled the tank with a mix of meths and turps.
Fired it up by blasting oxyacetylene flame through it.
Was supposed to be held static, by an engineers vice.
It took a month of detentions to compensate for the hole in the workshop roof, and complaints from a couple of Blitz survivors (who recognized the sound of the jet) plus a few strokes of the flexibamboo.
Never did find the vice or engine either - despite the aerodynamics being similar to a lead balloon.

now wally if you did that these days ,preferably with a couple of politicians as test pilots ,youd be hailed as a hero on what they call public media.actually that gives me an idea-if i scaled it down might make me duck decoys a bit more lively -testbed lake ellesmere

These guys Conveyor and Power Transmission Specialists | Conveyor and Transmission Ltd - Contrans just made me two for this old girl .Fast service as well as cheapish

I didn't fancy taking it all apart again either. Just has a joining pin. Piece of string, measure at or near center of adjustment.
Too easy. VSD for any speed under the sun plus reverse to fix things for when you take to much off

When I was a kid learning to use the gear in my uncle's engineering shop, I was always amused by his old flat bed lathe that was run by an overhead electric motor and a 3-speed flat belt set-up. To give a better range of speeds (and reverse) he mounted a pre-war ford V8 gearbox upside-down between the motor and the top pulley. To change speeds you just rerached up to the gear stick and selected what you wanted. It looked mickey mouse but it worked well!

Originally Posted by gundoc

When I was a kid learning to use the gear in my uncle's engineering shop, I was always amused by his old flat bed lathe that was run by an overhead electric motor and a 3-speed flat belt set-up. To give a better range of speeds (and reverse) he mounted a pre-war ford V8 gearbox upside-down between the motor and the top pulley. To change speeds you just rerached up to the gear stick and selected what you wanted. It looked mickey mouse but it worked well!

Pretty much what they did for the lead screw feeds for thread cutting too.

@Happy what kind of lathe is that? It looks similar to my selson lathe. Will post up a pic of it when I get home

Originally Posted by Guypie

@Happy what kind of lathe is that? It looks similar to my selson lathe. Will post up a pic of it when I get home

Just went and had a look. There's actually no nameplate at all on it

Here's my old lathe



Shes pretty tired, the wear in the front headstock bearing causes a bit of chatter on larger pieces and when parting off. Fortunately the whole spindle/chuck/headstock assembly is so heavy it doesn't really affect turning of smaller peices. Long term I would like to get a better lathe or refurbish this one, but I'm not sure how to go about doing that. It would probably involve casting new bearings and bluing/scraping til the clearance was just right.