The Seven-and-a-half-Year Lathe

[DocsMachine]

In August of 2013, I spotted this beauty on Craigslist:

It had, at that point, very likely spent a decade, probably more, out in the Alaskan weather. That photo was taken after I'd pulled the ratty remnants of a blue tarp- which by that time was more fishnet than tarp- off the headstock.

I (by some accounts very stupidly) bought it and went right to work on it.

Roughly seven and a half years later (I did have other things to do do ) lord knows how many hours, and don't even ask how much money, just today I finally dropped the tailstock- the last piece, back in place.

While it's not done-done just yet, there's only a few detail bits left to do. She's otherwise 100% operational.

1942 Springfield 16" x 56", 18.5" actual swing, 12 speeds, 10HP, run off a VFD.

Can't wait to start makin' proper chips with it.

Doc.

 

[JoCoSawdust]

That's a beautiful machine Doc and a great story of perseverance to save it.

 

[Super Mech]

Wow! That is quite the transformation. Beautiful looking machine, great job.

 

[woody 73]

very nice job well done...

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Great save Doc, and the best (maybe also the longest duration! ) before/after photos I have seen in a while.

 

[Roberts210]

It took guts, perserverance, knowledge and a bit of $$ to rescue that old baby. Thanks for saving it.

 

[In The Doghouse]

That's a beautiful lathe.

 

[Cleave]

Excellent!

 

[Farmer J.]

Well done Doc, you don't give up easily, do you! I hope it serves you well for a long time.

Now, I have this little old Boxford lathe (English made version of a South Bend) and Mrs Farmer J looked across at it a while ago and said "That would be nice if you restored it"...

 

[macgee]

Congrats,

All that time, investment and dedication to saving that lathe can be huge and at the same time very rewarding. It looks beautiful and looking forward to seeing some projects you make from that lathe. Cheers

PS> Looks like you're using a different tool compound rest slide?

 

[Wheel Guy]

Well Done !!! Just the weight and size of the unit must have been a challenge on it's own, not to mention all of the surprises that you must have found along the way.

 

[DocsMachine]

Looks like you're using a different tool compound rest slide?

-Yep. I have reason to believe the machine may have been scrapped many years ago, and was supposedly bought by a local (that is, in Alaska) dealer who "rebuilt" it.

The oil pump was replaced by what I think is an aircraft unit, the taper attachment was replaced with one off an old Leblond, and the compound was replaced with what looked like a much-later-model Asian import piece.

The old compound was way undersized for the machine- the toolpost had a 1" riser block, and still had to have the toolblocks cranked to nearly the top- so I found a much larger one off of some unknown machine, and milled it to look a little more "period correct" for the machine.

The carriage stop is also off a Morei-Seki, I had to make two new gears in the QCGB and fix a third, the tailstock handwheel came from eBay and got reworked, both QCGB handles and all three headstock handles had to be welded back together, I had to make a second clamping bar for the tailstock, the whole clutch linkage had to be rebuilt...

Yeah, there's some work in there.

Doc.

 

[BigBlue1977]

Awesome before and after! I envy your patience sir!

 

[jabberwoki]

**** yeah i love this

 

[DocsMachine]

Can of Mountain Dew for scale.



That drill chuck in the tailstock? That's a Jacobs 20N. Can hold up to an inch shank.

Doc.

 

[toolchaser]

I wish all lathes came with a pull out chip tray. Nice work Doc!

 

[Jim C.]

Very nice restoration to say the least. Well done! What was the most difficult part of the project? Will you use the lathe?

Jim C.

 

[DocsMachine]

I wish all lathes came with a pull out chip tray.

-Technically it doesn't pull out. It's slid into place, but has some jam-bolts underneath to hold it in place.

Over on another board, it was suggested I could make it slide out, and that was an interesting idea, but I plan on a sort of sheetmetal backsplash that will overlap the tray, so that chips and oil don't fall down behind the machine.

What was the most difficult part of the project?

-Hmmm... good question. The quick-change gearbox was probably the trickiest. It's pretty complex, and I had to make a couple tricky parts to get it back up and running.

I never got into the headstock- thank god- and the rest of the machine is actually pretty straightforward.

Will you use the lathe?

-Of course!

Basically I got the machine because I've occasionally needed a bigger, more powerful lathe. I picked up this one because Alaska is a machine-tool desert- originally, it was going to be cheaper to restore something like this, than it was to buy something close to that size in the states and have it shipped up.

The project snowballed, of course, and wound up taking four times as long and costing about four times more than hoped, but hey, don't they all?

Oh yah, this puppy was built to be used.

Doc.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

That's a serious heavy duty lathe you've saved there Doc, time well spent I'd say. Looks like it has quite a few nice features on it too...reverse to lead screw? Ed.

 

[The Cobbler]

Nice!

 

[Super Mech]

I’m looking at this thing again and really have to say that this is a fantastic job. I have some skills but I don’t t think I would ever take on a project like that! Again, excellent work.

 

[T VETTE]

Truly a thing of beauty!!!! Congratulations on this project.

 

[DocsMachine]

And DONE!

As in done-done. 100% functional save for the taper attachment. And for the first time in probably more than forty years, damn near good as new! Possibly better, in some cases.

And it only took some seven and a half years, and gods only know how much raw cash, to get here.

Doc.

 

[macgee]

Congrats Doc,

Now go have some fun and make some chips!

Cheers

 

[Roberts210]

Outstanding job! Kudos.

 

[Boilerhouse]

Fantastic save. Great work! In my world, with projects that don't come close to that magnitude, 7 years is a rush job. LOL. Besides the years of neglect, did it have a lot of wear as well?

 

[DocsMachine]

Besides the years of neglect, did it have a lot of wear as well?

-Surprisingly, no.

Years ago, I'd tried measuring the bed wear, and thought I'd measured something like 40 thou of sag near the chuck. At that point I kind of committed to having the bed reground, but the grinding shop only had to take 8 thou or less to clean it up.

That said, the underside of the saddle had a lot more wear, although honestly, I could have run it as-is for years and it wouldn't have caused me a problem.

The biggest issue was the legions of ham-handed previous users, as well as the suspected possibility the machine had been scrapped and at least partially parted out at some point. Three of the gears in the QCGB were broken, and a fourth had been broken and badly repaired. The original compound had been lost, and when I got it, it had some late-model Asian replacement. The oil pump had been removed and replaced with some other unit, and badly plumbed. The 3-jaw that came with it is/was badly worn.

Etcetera, etcetera.

Although I also have to admit that, on the whole, especially considering those legions of idiot operators, generally speaking the thing was in remarkably good shape given it's age and obvious use.

I never had to get into the headstock (other than just for inspection) and it's quiet and tight in there. I didn't have to replace any bushings in the QCGB, and all the shafts look in very good shape. The leadscrew shows virtually no wear, the spindle clutch is tight and solid, the feed clutches work great, the tailstock barrel is tight and solid, etc. etc.

Really, apart from having the bed ground (a circus in and of itself) I had this thing largely done over three years ago.

Doc.

 

[Mgdoug3]

Amazing job on the rebuild. I just bought a 1953 Leblond Regal 17x54. It has a little wear on the ways but I'm able to make it work. I have a second lathe (Clausing 4914) with virtually no wear but both lathes are more accurate than the operator.

Old iron is great. Old iron restore better than new is even better.

 

[Rangie]

Fantastic work, a real labour of love!
I have a LeBlond which needs the same level of work......

Alec.