Shameless tool gloat...

[bluesman2a]

Went and found something new and heavy to drag home weekend before last. Finally got it unloaded off the trailer this weekend. Man that's one HEAVY chunka lathe...

Did I mention that I LOVE my lift? There's no way I could have dealt with this or some of the other heavy stuff in my shop without it.

 

[Zrexxer]

Sweet mother of Pearl... that's a nice chunk of iron. You seem to be like me - the things I've been adding to my shop in the last few years keep getting bigger and heavier!

 

[bluesman2a]

Well it ain't as nice or as heavy as AP_mech's stuff, but I think it'll get done what I need done. The real challenge was finding something that would handle a full 1.5" axle through the head-stock, but this one will handle 2.25

 

[Mickey O]

I've been looking for a portable bench-top lathe myself. That thing looks huge. How much does that thing weigh? And what's it going to be used for?

A place I worked at years ago bought an old lathe that had to be disassembled and brought in by a freight train, you had to stand on a ladder to operate the thing.

 

[mooman]

do you have to pour a footing for that?

 

[rsanter]

I love machine tools
my large lathe is about 2.5 tons

bob

 

[southernfriedcj]

Holey **** Herb! That's a monster. You are amassing the mother of all shops.

 

[Griff93]

Aw man! Now I have to clean up drool off my keyboard again.

That's one nice big lathe!

 

[porschedude996TT]

Holly Moley that is nice for a home shop.

 

[bluesman2a]

do you have to pour a footing for that?

Haha, I planned for this. It's got a 6" slab with 4000 PSI commercial grade concrete with rebar reinforcement.

How much does that thing weigh? And what's it going to be used for?

I'm gonna go with the highly technical answer of "a metric ****-ton". I've heard as low as 2K and as high as 6K, no clue personally. As for use, I also have no clue. I've gone long enough without knowing how to machine stuff, I've decided to learn. To that end, I bought the biggest lathe I thoueght I could reasonably use, based the fact that the largest axle shaft I know I would be working on is 1.5" and the hole through the headstock is 2.25" (which is enough to accomodate a Rockwell axle with a quarter inch to spare).

Holey **** Herb! That's a monster. You are amassing the mother of all shops.

Hey man, I'm just a squirrel tryin to get a nut in the world with all the ballers from Pirate...

You should come down and hang out sometime, I'm finishing out the machine room now, have the framing done with the insulation and wiring coming up next.

 

[bluesman2a]

I dunno, man....seems a bit overkill just to turn a few table legs every now and then....

Yeah, but in answer to the eternal question: Why would you ever want to chuck up a < INSERT RANDOM STUFF HERE > that big?

Because I CAN...

 

[A_Pmech]

Well it ain't as nice or as heavy as AP_mech's stuff...

Well, I have to admit around here we call that a "portable" lathe.

Just kidding! IIRC, AJAX is a Mazak "Mate" rebrand. It sure looks like a Mazak Mate from here, or a similar Mazak model. If it is, weight is a respectable 3,350lbs according to Machinery Values.

http://www.machineryvalues.com/PhotoGallery.asp?ProductCode=143332

As for the nice part, Mazak builds excellent machines, so I have no doubt that it will serve you well. Mazak has built a reputation for building some of the heaviest and most accurate CNC machines around, so I'm sure they paid similar attention to the construction of your machine.

Let's see some photos of the rigging! I'm interested to see how you used your lift to remove it from the trailer.

 

[BanjoSavesTheDay]

You could just chuck up a tree in there and turn it into a table leg!

 

[Mickey_D]

That is a nice Mazak, you should have a lot of fun with it. My guess would be 3500 to 4000 pounds on the weight, so it is heavy enough to hurt itself if you don't level it right and balance the load across the pads. http://www.practicalmachinist.com has a dedicated mazak cnc forum, but they are a good bunch of guys and can probably help with the manual machine.

 

[mkdive]

Man that's huge!

 

[A_Pmech]

I was looking at the photo again and I like how well proportioned that machine is. It has a certain "look" to it. Mazak put a lot of beef into the bed, where it should be. The spindle is also well supported with plenty of distance between the bearings. That was an expensive lathe back when it was new, cast iron isn't cheap!

I think the wait paid off nicely.

Have you put power to it yet, Herb? The first time is always magical.

 

[Joe B.]

My dream is life it to be able to buy stuff that I would have no idea how to use.

Awesome.

 

[Flathead Red]

My dream is life it to be able to buy stuff that I would have no idea how to use.

Awesome.

Ditto, that is sweet. I wish I knew something about it so I could comment more. I would like to see some more pictures up close if possible. Thanks

Red

 

[jlenander]

Nice score! I hope you got the tailstock????

 

[Tim Cowan]

Where's the drop cord? You must need three-phase on a big wire run over to the neighbor's place to rotate that thing.

 

[bluesman2a]

I think the wait paid off nicely.

Have you put power to it yet, Herb? The first time is always magical.

Well, that's the thing. I've come to realize over the years that you get the best deals when A) you don't NEED it and B) when you could take it or leave it. I was actually about 1-2 months short of having my machine shop space ready/finished, but this lathe came up for the right price in about the right area (was a 250 mile drive to get it, which beats the pants off of Pa, Mi, Oh, Il, where most of these machines are coming from).

Consequently no, I haven't powered up this OR the $150 mill I bought, the space/power/stuff ain't ready, and until then I'm tripping over their rather sizable bulks as I build-out. On the plus side, the $170 pallet jack I got from Northern for this stuff has REALLY paid off.

My dream is life it to be able to buy stuff that I would have no idea how to use.

I go through cycles like this. First it was guns, did that for a while, got bored. Then it was Jeeps (still doing that). Then as part of Jeeps it was metal fabrication. Lately it's been building this shop for a place to DO all this stuff. As a natural extension of all this stuff, I decided I'd like to know how to machine my own stuff. So far I've got a bandsaw I'm working on, a mill, and this lathe.

I would like to see some more pictures up close if possible.

At the moment, this is all I have:

View through the head-stock.

Pics of the ways.

Asset tag from former life.

Controls

Steady rest.

Quick-change toolpost.

Ridiculously large chuck for tail-stock. Biggest taper I've ever seen.

The tailstock that herniated me... Must be 100-150#'s

Nice score! I hope you got the tailstock????

Yeah, you can see it above but I had them take it all off when we were loading it, the rigging was getting caught up in it.

 

[quneur]

Where's the drop cord? You must need three-phase on a big wire run over to the neighbor's place to rotate that thing.

Who needs a power cord? You would need an internal combustion engine to run that beast.

 

[BanjoSavesTheDay]

Or go green and use an army of hamster wheels.

 

[RIVERWEST AUTO]

holy billet machine!

 

[bluesman2a]

Who needs a power cord? You would need an internal combustion engine to run that beast.

izzat why they call them ENGINE lathes?

Or go green and use an army of hamster wheels.

OD green and HP are not unknown in my shop...

 

[Moose-LandTran]

That is a sweet lathe! I think i ran a similar one back in college a couple times. No doubt it'll serve you well. Take some pics when you make things!

Well, I have to admit around here we call that a "portable" lathe.

Bwahahahahaha!

Man that's huge!

That's what she said last night.

 

[bimmer1980]

nice work!!!! you could make some massive chips with that lathe!!

any ideas for your first project?

We had to make an aluminum hammer in high school with a lathe. great learning experience. had to make a tap handle in college.

gotta love those big purchases! Can you share what price range you had to shell out for it?

Best of luck!

 

[bluesman2a]

Can you share what price range you had to shell out for it?

I picked it up for right around $1800. Dropped about $100 in gas to drag it home. Based on the other lathes I saw locally and the capacity (especially the spindle-bore), I thought this was a good deal. Time will tell if I bought a pig in a poke or not.

 

[arkangel06]

damn thats one nice lathe!

 

[wolfgang_90]

That one is a newer than my big lathe!

What's the swing and length?

 

[atari]

Hey man, I'm just a squirrel tryin to get a nut in the world with all the ballers from Pirate...

I hear that! im lucky i guess, my job comes with a full machine shop and experienced operators to run the stuff. Every now and then they take to much material out of a part and they have to have me melt it back in. I have a small lathe in my welding room but its not very big and im not a machinist so i have them make the critical stuff. What are you building with rockwells?

 

[Brad54]

Nice!
I had to have a roll-back deliver my 1959 Cincinnati Tray-Top. 15-inch swing, 42-inch bed... less than $500.

I've yet to get it wired, but that project should be coming up soon!

-Brad

 

[bluesman2a]

What's the swing and length?

The swing is 14", the bed is 60" center to center.

What are you building with rockwells?

Nothing.... Yet. But I COULD, if I wanted to and I wouldn't be limited by my lathe.

Nice!
I had to have a roll-back deliver my 1959 Cincinnati Tray-Top. 15-inch swing, 42-inch bed... less than $500.

I've yet to get it wired, but that project should be coming up soon!

Nice! You're in Georgia too, aren't you Brad? Let's see some pics of that bad boy!

 

[bluesman2a]

Let's see some photos of the rigging! I'm interested to see how you used your lift to remove it from the trailer.

So I took some time this weekend to make the lathe a little more mobile. We built a HD pallet. We used 3 rails of 4X6 as the base with decking built out of 2X6's and 2X10's, didn't even move when we dropped the full weight onto it.

On the tailstock side I got two furniture dollies from Northern Tool. Both rated for 1000 pounds. I tied them together with screws and 2X6's.
Surprisingly enough when we lifted up the headstock end, the tailstock side had ZERO weight on it, and lifter off the dollies.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200318267_200318267

Last but not least, here's the rigging we used to get the lathe off the trailer. On the tailstock side we were able to the a full 1.5" rod through the body to the lift arms. On the headstock side, the HOLES would support a 1.5 bar, but there was a piece of casting junk inside that occluded the hole. As the next best thing, I had an old axle (about 1-3/8") that I used instead.

Another thing I HIGHLY recommend for anybody who has heavy stuff to move, and the best investment I've made in a long time: a pallet jack. I found that Northern had them pretty cheap. Best of all, in combination with my lift, it makes even heavy stuff like my mill and lathe movable with 1-2 people, and it's good up to 4400 pounds.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200326556_200326556

 

[woody 73]

Very nice lathe,I wish I could find an old southbend only on a smaller scale. If you ever get the chance try turning some exotic wood I bet you could make a killer vase out of Bloodwood or Bubinga. Keep your eyes open for a small block of Macassar Ebony you can make a nice tool handle with Ebony.

 

[A_Pmech]

Looks like it worked out well, Herb.

Pallet jacks are great! I'd be lost without mine.

Where's the rest of the taper attachment?

 

[bluesman2a]

Where's the rest of the taper attachment?

Well, that's every I got with it, and I'm going to have to play the ignorance card again, and ask "what does a taper attachment look like? I'd be happy to take some more detail pics if that would help.

 

[A_Pmech]

Well, that's every I got with it, and I'm going to have to play the ignorance card again, and ask "what does a taper attachment look like? I'd be happy to take some more detail pics if that would help.

Hi Herb,

The purpose of a taper attachment is to turn shallow tapers up to approximately 5 degrees. It works by causing the cross slide to move as it is guided by the upper guide way, which is inclined relative to the spindle axis of revolution at exactly the same angle as the desired taper. The cross slide "traces" the angle of the taper attachment onto the part. Taper attachments come in handy for making your own morse taper tooling, for example.

Here are a couple photos of mine:

Not all lathes have them and sometimes part or all of them "disappears" It looks like you're missing the guts of the taper attachment and the bed clamp. However, the telescoping lead screw and main casting is there, so half the battle is won.

The missing parts are not complicated complicated parts and the rest of the machine looks sound. They would make a good winter mill and scraping project once you're proficient.