American Pacemaker - WW2 16x30 back from the dead

[86turbodsl]

Decided not to pollute / dilute my main shop build thread with too much on the Lathe so i'll put most of the work here. I also post on Practical Machinist for some of the more heavy duty hitters are over there.

Been wanting a lathe for many years, but just never found the right one for me. Occasionally checked my sources, craigslist, facebook, want ads, local sources, etc, and came close a few times, but never saw the right one/deal. Until one day i checked for lathes on facebook marketplace and found this little wtf gal:

At a shop in Fort Wayne, IN, shop was getting cleaned out and there was a time limit for removal. I also had logistics to deal with as this thing is HEAVY. Much heavier than any other anything i'd ever moved. But as an engineer, i understand mass and forces quite well, i just needed to be creative.

Went down on a Saturday for inspection and found this:

 

[86turbodsl]

So what we have is a 1943 vintage, 18 speed, American Tool Works Pacemaker in 16x30 size. The owner had it listed as best offer. I offered 500 sight unseen, with caveat that the headstock couldn't be locked up. My searches on PM showed it weighed about 5500 lbs, and at current scrap prices it was worth about 300 as scrap. As i inspected and found that the tailstock was frozen and the carriage didn't move, but the headstock seemed fine and it shifted gears fine, the headstock, being completely sealed, should be ok. I offered 400 and he said he had an offer at 400. I offered 450 and he took it. Reality is he wanted it gone and didn't want scrap price. He had nothing big enough to move it and would have paid someone to lift into his dumpster. Win win for everyone.

I called a buddy who had an equipment trailer as my trailer is still not functional. Another long story. He agreed to let me borrow it if i updated his tires. I usually do something like that or paint or whatever when i borrow it, but whatever. The next day went and retrieved the trailer. Then spent a week getting ready for retrieval of the lift.
The seller found a boom truck in Indiana who would lift it for 100. That's one score. I found a wrecker on my end that would lift it for 300. Ok, i'll keep looking but at least i have one method. Meanwhile i ordered a couple of round slings, and 2 new 10K tie downs. Meanwhile i kept reading about how heavy these are, and began to feel uneasy about my buddies trailer. Thougtht about lots of ways of beefing his trailer, but nothing really sat right. Decided to check around for trailer rentals and found McAllister rental in Lansing, who rents hydraulic drop deck trailers for very reasonable cost. If i did that, i don't need a lift on my end. Ended up saving quite a bit of money doing that.
Since i was renting such a heavy trailer and it WASNT a gooseneck, i also needed to transfer my big Class 5 hitch from my old truck to my new truck.
So THAT happened on Friday before the retreival.
OFF with the ranchhand bumper that is not structural and more bling. Bye bye Texas bumper and hello Curt hitch. Got that completed on Friday early afternoon and went to retrieve trailer. OF COURSE my truck trailer wiring is iffy STILL even after all the work i put into it this summer and they barely let me out of the yard with one turn signal not working. Michigan law does not require turn signals, so the supervisor let it go.
Stopped at Menards and bought a bunch of 4x6 and 4x4 timbers for blocking and headed home for more work.

Cut the timber up into pallet size chunks and loaded up that night for early leave on Saturday morning.

 

[86turbodsl]

Leave Saturday morning at 6am for the 2 hr drive down to Indiana. I get to Fort Wayne just as TSC opens up and grab a bunch of lag bolts. Drive over to the site where nobody is there. The lift is planned for 9 am, that gives me an hour to setup. I set out all the timber into the pallet shapes i wanted. Measuring the lathe to set them correctly.

 

[86turbodsl]

My plan was to use 2 pallet jacks to roll the lathe off the trailer when i got home. As such, one of the pallet jacks had to ride with me down to the lathe as it would be locked in place once the lathe was on the pallets.

The crane operator showed up at 9am, and we used a 1.5" bar through the spindle hole as ballast location for the headstock because the 30 in version of this lathe is very heavy towards that end. Both round straps were used and we struggled a bit to find a balance point and strap lengths. It wasn't happy until we added a strap to the tailstock end. I used a 4x6 chunk of wood through the bed as the main lift point and it went airborne, but the crane wasn't very happy. It was straining a bit. But it did it. We lifted it and backed the trailer underneath.

Then gently set it down on the wood blocking.
I spent the next hour or so, drilling holes and lagging the wood together. Then strapping down to the trailer.

 

[larry4406]

Looks like one heck of a project you have got there!

 

[86turbodsl]

Then started out for the long ride home. I had a bit of problem with my trailer wiring, NO BRAKES. Not happy about that. I took it very slow. Trailer rode fine and the truck had no issue moving 10,000 lbs. Stopped for lunch and then headed out of town.

Ride was uneventful, other than some sections of concrete road loosen my teeth. The lathe is loaded a little more forward than i would have done it, because 1. The truck can handle it. 2. The trailer deck is curved and i wanted it on the straight section.

Got home Saturday afternoon and just took a break for the rest of the day. I had Sunday to unload. I was a bit worried about the trailer hanging up on the steep slope into the shop, but it wasn't an issue. It backed right up in, other than the lathe headstock spilling some oil on the slope it was a non-issue.


I retrieved the other pallet jack and moved the straps from the trailer to the pallet for security. Jacked up the rear pallet jack and as i jacked up the front one, it started to move. I had my son steer the rear, and controlled the speed of the move with the height of the front jack. And it rolled right off. Easy peasy.

 

[86turbodsl]

So it sits in the shop right now, on the makeshift pallets, and i started oiling things down. I have already gotten the tailstock loose from the bed, i plan to pull that off tonight and invstigate soaking it to free it up. Did a little bit of scraping of the ways, they look like they will clean up. I will probably pull the apron and carriage to check condition and for problems. Headstock seems fine.

It has a 10HP 3 phase motor, which should be fine on my 20HP RPC.

 

[86turbodsl]

Looks like one heck of a project you have got there!

That it is sir. Thanks for stopping by!

 

[OldSoldier]

Nice machine, let's hope you can get it functional quickly and without large expense.

 

[86turbodsl]

So far, the only stuff i've seen that's a problem is the tail stock is frozen, that's a gotta-have, and the apron has a broken lever. That can be fabricated. The taper attachment has a couple missing pieces but those hardly ever get used, so it's not a problem. This particular model is so bullet proof, they rarely are irreparably broken. You simply can't hurt em. They're so rigid you can't push em hard enough to break the machine without breaking the part, the tool, or scaring yourself so badly you back off on the cut.

 

[1Garageman]

Subscribed! Once you get the lathe cleaned up and running, it will officially be on hell of a deal you got!

 

[macgyver37]

Looking at it again, I think the extra chuck is missing the external threads on the backplate; assuming it is an L series spindle. I have an L1 on one of my lathes. Here is a couple charts I found and saved.

 

[86turbodsl]

I thought the same thing. I don't know what is going on there. Open to ideas or suggestions.

It's still got the taper and keyway.

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[bimmer1980]

Good planning and process on the lathe acquisition.

I moved a Leblond 15x42 Dual Drive Lathe for my brother's shop with a single axle Cam tilting deck trailer. The axle is rated for 5 or 6k pounds with brakes. The right trailer definitely makes things easier....

Do you plan to do the minimum to get the lathe up and running? Versus a full restore?

Candidly, I would probably focus on the minimum required to get the Lathe operational.... While the DuPont restorations look nice, you have to ask yourself is it the time best spent with all the other projects in the hopper......

Hopefully the tail stock loosens up ok.

 

[86turbodsl]

Thank you. I think the plan right now is basic functionality and clean ways, and probably needle scale and brush paint. I need to make parts versus polish stuff. I've probably got 2 or 3 jobs already lined up.

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[OldSoldier]

You mean paying jobs lined up or stuff for yourself?

 

[86turbodsl]

I'm not wearing a business hat yet. Patience grasshopper.

I need to stop wasting time going back and forth to work to make parts.

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[1982fxr]

Interesting shop door...

 

[Cleave]

That's a great machine! My $300 lathe only weights 500 lb or so, but didn't require much to get it going.

 

[86turbodsl]

Interesting shop door...

My shop door is in the main garage thread. In my sig. It was quite a project.

 

[86turbodsl]

That's a great machine! My $300 lathe only weights 500 lb or so, but didn't require much to get it going.

Any tool you can acquire at a savings and use to further your goals is a good tool. In my opinion anyway.

 

[EngineerNate]

Awesome. I would have thought that thing was a goner. Subbed!

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[Provincial]

Interesting shop door...

Those "horizontal folding" doors are not common, but have several advantages. One is that they do not require surface space or wall space to open and close. Another is that they act like a porch roof when open. They are especially handy in areas that get lots of snow.

They are somewhat popular for high-end aircraft hangars for this reason. I was around a very large aircraft hangar with doors like this, front and back. It was designed for F106 Delta Dart supersonic jet interceptors during the Cold War. Both doors could be opened so the aircraft could be quickly started and taxied out under its own power when "scrambled" for an emergency interception. The door lift mechanism was equipped with huge concrete counterweights that would lift the door if power was lost by disengaging the drive mechanism. There were huge hydraulic cylinders that acted as snubbers to control the speed of travel when the gear train was disengaged, otherwise the doors would open violently!

 

[86turbodsl]

Only downside I've noticed on my door so far is it doesn't like real windy days much.

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[RunningSnail]

Wow. Good to see you're keeping busy.

 

[Cleave]

Any tool you can acquire at a savings and use to further your goals is a good tool. In my opinion anyway.

Yup, it sure expanded my capabilities a LOT more than buying $300 in plastic cordless power tools!

WF Barnes and Co #6 lathe (about 12 x 30) from about 1900 or earlier. Originally pedal powered.
It has a safety feature that yours is lacking - 1/4 hp motor with flat belt drive, if you crash it or get your shirt sleeve snagged, the belt will slip or the motor will bog down (hopefully) before anything too bad happens - not that I've tried this!

 

[86turbodsl]

Haha! Yeah I'm sure my lathe wouldn't even grunt as it yanked my whole body into it and threw me across the room or worse.

I don't take my hands off the controls unless the spindle is stopped. With exception of the tool post being out of the way and a file at slow speed.

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[ZRX61]

Interesting shop door...

Bi-fold doors.. ok until the cable snaps & they cut an aircraft in half.

 

[OccupantRJ]

A suggestion for you. Buy a 7/8” triangular, and also a 5/8” round carbide insert paint scraper. The flat of the triangular will clean rust off the ways easily, and the round scraper will get into all the curves on the casting. I used them on my Clausing restore, and use them on most painted items I am stripping. I use them dry. They are made by Warner and are available on Amazon. Here is a before and after on my lathe. It had been sitting in the weather like yours. I paid $100 for it and now have $200 in it complete. 5 month project.

 

[larry4406]

OccupantRJ - nice transformation!

 

[EngineerNate]

That is beautifully done!

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[86turbodsl]

Really nice job on that clausing!

I will grab a couple scrapers and try em out.

I started tonight by removing the tailstock. I clearly need a better crane system.

I can't get the feet of the engine crane close enough to lift anything without being creative. It worked but won't for anything heavier.



Anybody know what the lever does? Doesn't appear to do anything. I am also ecstatic to report my tailstock is no longer frozen. It spins a full 360 degrees.

Pb blaster is working!
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[86turbodsl]

Bi-fold doors.. ok until the cable snaps & they cut an aircraft in half.

Mine uses straps. Much nicer.

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[OccupantRJ]

The lever on the off side of the tailstock from the operator should be both a lock and a drag for the tailstock ram. You can use it to adjust feed feel for drilling to keep a drill from being grabby in softer materials, and to lock the ram when turning between centers.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

I would have thought that was a goner too. Good luck with it.

 

[rmack898]

Congrats on the Pacemaker acquisition and safe transportation.

I have 2 Pacemakers and one of them looked about as bad as yours when I bought it. I spent 6 months restoring it and it is truly a joy to run. Taking .5" off per pass is really something to watch.

When you get to removing the apron feel free to PM me as there are a few taper pins hiding and I have plenty of pictures.

 

[86turbodsl]

Rmack, i will do that, probably as early as this weekend. I can report the pb blaster is working great. I have freed up the whole feed box, including the oiling plunger! Also took off the threading dial and working my way through the taper attachment. I think the taper attachment has to come off before i can get the apron off. And i think the taper attachment took the worst of the damage. I'm continuing to scrape and squirt. More later.

 

[jabberwoki]

Nice, subscribed... I`m working on a rivett myself trying to pry it out of the owners fingers, I`m soooo close.

 

[macgyver37]

As far as the chuck, I wonder if it had the threads bolted on with those 3 holes somehow. I would think that the bolts would have to go down through the ring as close as they are to the center hole. Weird.
I bought a brand new 3 jaw for mine that is a plain back so I need to decide whether to remove the backing plate from the old one or make a new one or buy one. I have not found a new one for any less than what I paid for the lathe, so rather not do that.

 

[1Garageman]

I think this is at least one manual that goes to your lathe.


Once it loads in your browser you can then save it as a PDF on your computer.

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/1004/3612.pdf

Here are some pics.