ID this lathe?

[Slowboat]

I picked this old (very old) metal lathe for a song a little while ago, but there are no markings on it anywhere.
One defining feature is that the leadscrew is on the back.

Can anyone Identify it?

 

[Slowboat]

Another shot. I will try to find a pic of the tail stock.

 

[Boilerhouse]

That certainly does look ancient. The guys over at Practical Machinist are very good at identifying old lathes if you don't have any luck here.

 

[zkling]

Lets start with a close up, straight on pic of the head stock.

 

[2mJps]

Most of the time some one says old and its not that old but that lathe is very old. It dosent have a compound slide and that makes it very old.I can see why it was cheap but it can be made to work agin and be very useful.

 

[justanengineer]

One defining feature is that the leadscrew is on the back.

I'm guessing the one on the front is for feed? I don't recall which manufacturers but that arrangement with feed on front and lead on back was actually popular with several back in the 190Xs and teens.

Best of luck researching and using it regardless, glad to see another one saved from the scrapper.

 

[Slowboat]

Hi Everyone,

Attached are a bunch more images that will hopefully help with identification.

 

[Slowboat]

Some more.

 

[MBfreak]

I love the cast iron legs with the fancy cross support structure!
To restore the late into usable condition will be a challenge. To me it seems like it is quite rusty, everywhere. We all know that cast iron does not rust as badly due to the high carbon content, but restoring the machined surface will not be easy.
I adore the grease fittings for the spindle bronze bearings. Wonderful!
The bronze bearings less so, but with the right knowledge and tools they can be replaced and broached to the right size.
Many parts can be sand/media blasted to restore the surface. You may even try iceblasting the machined surfaces. Keep everything well oiled afterwards.
Great conversation piece but takes a very skilled machinist to turn steel parts with good surface and close tolerances. Aluminium and brass will be much easier.

Best regards with the job.

Ola

 

[DocsMachine]

Most of the time some one says old and its not that old but that lathe is very old. It dosent have a compound slide and that makes it very old.I can see why it was cheap but it can be made to work agin and be very useful.

-My oldest lathe is fifty or sixty years newer than that thing, and it was made almost forty years before I was born.

Mine's old. That one's really old.

Then again, geologically speaking, it's brand new.

Doc.

 

[454ragtop]

Good chance that is pre 1900. Has what is called a rise and fall cross slide. A few years back I found the top half of that exact tail stock at a boneyard here, always wondered what lathe it went to. Best bet would be to ask at the antique forum at Practical Machinist or the old metalworking machine forum at OWWM.
Good luck, Jim

 

[My Old Tools]

That was a treadle lathe. The two holes in the legs were for the treadle. Look at Senaca Falls maybe.

 

[millforge]

I think your lathe is related to one I have, which also has no name. It is not identical, but similar in many ways. By consultation on another forum we identified mine as an S C Wright lathe. The company became Fitchburg Machine Works shortly after. Try this link and see what you think.

http://vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=16980

http://http://vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=16980

Art

 

[jeff64]

You might try a web search for W F (William F) and John Barnes. They built treadle and line shaft lathes in the late 1800s, to about WWI. They were usually about 4 to 6 feet long and could be disassembled and shipped by wagon.

 

[gm54210]

If you've got the time, peruse this site Lathes.co.uk A huge amount of info in one place.