Finally got a lathe

[Woods_Wanderer]

Well after 3 months of searching, I finally brought home a lathe yesterday. I've been looking for an affordable one to put in my garage and learn to use and make basic parts on, but everything around here tends to be huge, or beat up but still really pricy. I saw the ad for this on facebook, listed just as a "9" Logan lathe" with only a couple of pictures, but it was affordable and local so I went to check it out.

The machine was in good shape except for needing the fwd/rvs switch rewired, and the ways were in good shape with no wear I could find at all (but no scrape marks either?). I was pleased and surprised to find it came with quite a few attachments including a Palmgren milling attachment, a turret in addition to the tailstock, 2 cross-slides (one has 2 sets of T-slots), a 5C collet set and quick changer, a taper attachment, various toolposts, and quite a bit of random tooling I haven't had a change to sort through yet. It didn't come with a steady rest or 4 jaw but for $850 I'm still within budget buying these separate.

The 5C collets surprised me a bit on a 9" lathe so I looked up the model when I got home. Logan 1957...it's an 11"! So that was a great surprise, for sure. I found the S/N as well, 76473.

Any idea what the deal is with the turret and T-slot cross-slide?

 

[FMB4]

You picked up bargain and a half, or 2, imo!

 

[mikew13]

I have a Logan 211. In storage no shop yet

 

[nadogail]

May you enjoy it for many years while in Good Health.

 

[JradM]

That's going to be fun. I'm jealous

 

[LXCam]

Congratulations

 

[DocsMachine]

On the scraping: Logan didn't scrape, they ground the bedways. Look for ridges or grooves. Mine is worn slightly, probably less than six thou, and still does excellent work.

On the turret: Logan made some "production" machines- meaning turret lathes. The pre-computer version of a CNC. Almost everyone made them- Monarch, Southbend, Clausing, Sheldon, etc.- but Logan probably made more, so more survive today. (Logan made a LOT of lathes. )

Even if you're not doing any kind of production, they're very handy for drilling, especially deep drilling, like over an inch or two.

You also got a rare taper attachment, what looks like a decent set of 5C collets (almost certainly meaning you have the bigger bore spindle) and what's probably an import AXA toolpost.

First thing- and I'm sure you knew this - clean everything. If you can, lift things up and clean under them. Second, oil the bejeebers out of it. Once that's done, get some more bejeebers and oil it again. Old lathes like that live in oil. You can't over-oil it. The only way you can over-oil it is if your socks start to get squishy.

Keep it oiled as you use it. Highly recommended to get some way oil for, well, the ways, but to be perfectly honest, unless you're going to run the thing many, many hours at a time, any decent oil will work. I tend to use a lot of gear oil- inexpensive, easy to get (I have to mail order way oil) thick enough to stay in place for a bit and works great for shafts and gearboxes.

I've had mine for almost 20 years now. Made thousands of parts with it. Probably not an exaggeration to say maybe better than ten thousand. I've had it in plain engine configuration, as a turret lathe and it's currently set up as a CNC. They're great machines- keep it clean, adjusted and oiled, and you can hand it down to your grandkids.

Doc.

 

[Mgdoug3]

Logan lathes are great lathes for the money. They don't have the following like a Craftsman or South Bend but it's a huge improvement over a Craftsman/Atlas lathe. I have a Clausing 4914 and a 17" Leblond Regal. Having a lathe has saved me a lot of money, down time and even has led to paying jobs.

 

[Walkers]

Congratulation and welcome to the club. It, unfortunately, has expensive dues. The price of tooling adds up quickly, as does the cost of the milling machine that you are going to buy next.

 

[Woods_Wanderer]

Folks, I don't even recognize some of this stuff, it appears every previous owner has stuffed this thing to the brim. Could someone more knowledgeable than me possibly ID some of the more oddball items here?

 

[Aaron_W]

I don't know what you consider "affordable" but unless you have way deeper pockets than me, I'd say you did really well on this.

Looking at your last photo I see a collet closer (long tube thing upper left hand side), a fancy adjustable die, I forget the actual name for it (lower right side on the plywood, it has red handles). Looks like some milling tools, an angle block (upper right side of plywood), some 5C collets, a 4 way tool post next to several quick change tool holders. In the metal pan there are a bunch of drill chucks and maybe a die holder? (upper left corner of pan). Also a bunch of stuff that I have no idea.

 

[Lwel9226]

U Dunn Goood.....

LynnW

 

[dutchgray]

Looks like a really good well tooled first lathe, all those little bits can really add up to a lot of money.
What I don't see is any steady rests, a fixed steady is really needed for quite a lot of work, travelling steady less so or a 4 jaw chuck, which should be one of the first things you buy IMO

 

[MushCreek]

If that die head (lower right) is what I think it is, it's a tool that takes different sets of chasers for different sizes. You give it a push to start it cutting, and it self-feeds, cutting threads in one pass. You set the stop on the turret to set the length of the threads. When it reaches the end, it pops open automatically. Use lots of cutting oil. Look up 'Geometric Die Head' to learn about them.

 

[Woods_Wanderer]

I've got it mostly figured out now except for some miscellaneous things in the upper right here. I was right about successive owners leaving their tooling, some of the HSS tooling has initials and dates from the mid-60s on it.

According to the seller, he bought it from the grandson of the original owner who used it as his primary shop machine.

 

[jmarkwolf]

Nice snag.

Watch Mrpete222 Youtube videos. He has Logan lathes and does a lot of work on them.

 

[DocsMachine]

Folks, I don't even recognize some of this stuff, it appears every previous owner has stuffed this thing to the brim. Could someone more knowledgeable than me possibly ID some of the more oddball items here?

-Okay, [cracks knuckles]

The miscellaneous bits at the upper right are oil cans. Hope that helped you.

Seriously, the rectangular thing with the 'hourglass' shaped handle, is the "shoe" for the taper attachment. That's what connects the cross slide to the taper bar of the attachment.

The two round things with the notch and three holes are "dog plates" or "dog drive plates". They're for turning between centers, using a lathe dog. A little Googling will explain that further.

The "top hat" shaped bit below those is a 5C "pot" chuck. Basically a blank, wide-faced, extended 5C collet that isn't actually a collet. Looks like that one was probably turned and drilled to hold a 3-jaw chuck.

The gatling gun looking thing is a selectable carriage stop. You can set it to stop the carriage (for making multiple cuts on multiple parts) at six different depths.

The 'top hat' directly above that is an older style "lantern" toolpost. There's another, bare one, next to the screwdriver. There's supposed to be a small "rocker", like a wide, flat, Woodruff key, that seats in the bottom. There might be one in your tray of goodies, but they're loose and commonly lost.

Not sure what the item with the shaft and the chain is, but one possibility is somebody may have been trying to make a "relieving attachment". It connects the headstock gearing to the cross slide, so you can make a "lobed" part, such as to provide relief for wheel style cutters.

The bit with the plates and the bars at the very top right, I have no idea. Almost looks like a woodworkers' style vise.

Also don't recognize the bar with the flange. Makes me think an automotive leftover, rather than a lathe part, but that's pure guess.

Doc.