Lathe ID?

[G-ManBart]

Lathe ID (Seneca Falls)

I think I'm getting this old guy for $150, but haven't seen it in person. The short version is that it came up on CL late last night, I called the guy this morning, and people were already calling about it. It's only a few miles from my house, so I arranged to have my wife stop by and pay him for it. He says it runs great, and comes with a bunch of extras, to include the thread pitch gear set. I figured the legs alone were worth twice what he's asking, so I didn't hesitate.

He did say the jaws on the chuck are worn out, but that was the only thing he knew needed attention other than the surface rust. I didn't ask whether the motor is single or three phase, and I noticed it has an old car/truck transmission for changing spindle speeds, so I know it's pretty old. This picture doesn't really show it, but there is some raised lettering on the frame under the bed, but I can't quite make them out.

Anybody care to take a guess at what brand it is?

 

[drivesitfar]

GMan: i'm still learning about metal lathes too and i'd have also picked that up for the same reasons you did. for one if it's only a donor for your next lathe then the legs will come in handy in your own shop for a table or selling them to another member that needs them or a furniture maker are other options.

I'm guessing Atlas and looks pre WWII for age with those handles and legs style.

good luck and nice find AGAIN!!

 

[G-ManBart]

GMan: i'm still learning about metal lathes too and i'd have also picked that up for the same reasons you did. for one if it's only a donor for your next lathe then the legs will come in handy in your own shop for a table or selling them to another member that needs them or a furniture maker are other options.

I'm guessing Atlas and looks pre WWII for age with those handles and legs style.

good luck and nice find AGAIN!!

Thanks...I'll feel better when my wife reports it's paid for!

After doing some more research, I think it's likely a Seneca Falls.....we'll see!

 

[tombell572]

My guess is a Seneca Falls lathe. The flat belt pulley cone has been stripped off of the spindle shaft and replaced with a single V-belt sheave. Speed changes are now made by shifting the transmission rather than changing belt positions.

S/F was located in upstate NY and built a brand of lathe know as the "Star" series--good, basic, functional lathes. There should be brand and patent information cast into the front of the lathe bed. It may date from the early teens to the 1930's.

Tom B.

 

[G-ManBart]

My guess is a Seneca Falls lathe. The flat belt pulley cone has been stripped off of the spindle shaft and replaced with a single V-belt sheave. Speed changes are now made by shifting the transmission rather than changing belt positions.

S/F was located in upstate NY and built a brand of lathe know as the "Star" series--good, basic, functional lathes. There should be brand and patent information cast into the front of the lathe bed. It may date from the early teens to the 1930's.

Tom B.

I was pretty sure it was a Seneca Falls after doing some additional research. I called the seller on the way home to schedule pickup tomorrow and asked him what brand it was. He wasn't sure, and started reading off anything he could see, and said "it says Seneca Falls, NY on it" so I think that's the answer. In the original pic I could zoom in and see a bunch of writing cast into the front of the bed, but couldn't read it.

I pick it up in the morning...can't go wrong at that price. I'm very curious to see what sort of spindle speeds are possible with the transmission setup it has. The seller said he was pretty sure it was a Ford Model A transmission.

I'll post pics after I get it home

 

[drivesitfar]

GMan: congrats and stretch before you go pick up that beast so you don't hurt yourself.

cheers and how can you not have a great weekend now. good luck

 

[crguy]

I would take that transmission & motor off before moving it. They make it unbalanced and awkward to handle. Lots of lathes have been heavily damaged when they fell over while trying to move them.

Look for wear on the ways. That's probably the most important thing. You can find chucks on Ebay.

 

[G-ManBart]

Well, it made it home in one piece! The seller is a super nice guy...lifelong race car driver with a shop that would fit in here at GJ!

I used two lifting slings...one on each end, and lifted it up with the loader on my backhoe...no problem at all.

Turns out it is a Seneca Falls, No. 30 with the last patent date of 1910, so it's fairly old. I saw it under power, and he had two big boxes of accessories I haven't even gone through...I saw a tool holder, face plate dogs, some knives, etc. To my untrained eye, the ways look very good...smooth and even their whole length. All the moving parts seem to move correctly, so now it's time to clean the heck out of it, get the surface rust under control, and then figure out what I need to fix/replace the chuck, and go from there. Here are some pics:

 

[G-ManBart]

Here's a pic of the tooling that came with it....I swear, that's got to be $150 worth of stuff right there!

 

[G-ManBart]

I found this one interesting tool bit in the box...seems to have been signed by the machinist in 1948!

 

[tombell572]

Looks like you've got most or all of the change gears--required if you're going to do any thread cutting. Compare the gears you've got with the thread chart on the lathe to see if you've got them all. Many times those gears are long gone on a lathe of that age.

Lathes tend to be top-heavy and pretty tippy--as crguy suggested, its a good idea to pull off that ****** and motor before moving.

Tom B.

 

[G-ManBart]

Looks like you've got most or all of the change gears--required if you're going to do any thread cutting. Compare the gears you've got with the thread chart on the lathe to see if you've got them all. Many times those gears are long gone on a lathe of that age.

Lathes tend to be top-heavy and pretty tippy--as crguy suggested, its a good idea to pull off that ****** and motor before moving.

Tom B.

Good idea on checking for all the gears....there are quite a few of them, so I think you're right that I have at least most of them.

It's within feet of where it's going to live, so I shouldn't have to lift it again other than getting it off the moving dollies.

 

[drivesitfar]

GMAN: so for the $150 you also were shown how to use it. WELL DONE SIR and great find.

looking forward to seeing and hearing how you use it and post up plenty of pictures and how you did. or ask questions and maybe we both (all) can learn a thing or two from the many machinists that live here at GJ.

cheers

 

[MShaw]

Up until WW2 if you were a lathe hand you were expected to supply your own cutting tools. Therefore it was good to mark your tools to keep track of them. Like wrenches in a garage.

 

[G-ManBart]

GMAN: so for the $150 you also were shown how to use it. WELL DONE SIR and great find.

looking forward to seeing and hearing how you use it and post up plenty of pictures and how you did. or ask questions and maybe we both (all) can learn a thing or two from the many machinists that live here at GJ.

cheers

Will do...I think vise handles might be a first project with it.

I'm going to explore a different power source for it but I can use it the way it is for a while.

It has a regular 110v motor on it now, and that runs through the 3sp transmission to change the spindle speed. I have a good 3/4hp 3-phase motor (1725rpm) that I could put on it, and run it with a VFD so it would be variable speed, which would be convenient.

 

[G-ManBart]

Up until WW2 if you were a lathe hand you were expected to supply your own cutting tools. Therefore it was good to mark your tools to keep track of them. Like wrenches in a garage.

Wow....great explanation. Thanks!

 

[larryq]

Nice looking lathe you picked up. Any idea what it weighs?

I've been interested in lathes but have no room for one, nor any real idea how they work-- to my untrained eye they're Rube Goldberg devices; it's amazing how they do what they do.

I've seen some videos and have a general idea on what does what, but put me in front of one and I'm sure I'd ruin it in a matter of seconds!