Warner & Swasey #2 - Scrap It or Save It???

[short stack]

My buddy at the scrap yard called me today about a lathe they picked up. It appears to be an old Warner & Swasey#2 Turret Lathe. I thought it might be an upgrade from my South Bend, but it has a much shorter bed than mine so I am not interested in it.

My question before it goes into the smelter is this -- Is there any value to it if I were to part it out? Appears to have an newer single phase motor (but no way to know if it works), there is no three jaw chuck or face plate on the spindle. I was considering buying it just for the legs and maybe making them into a shop bench or using them to make a cool desk for my office. These parts are also on it: handles, turret, tool post, tail stock, drill chuck heads, plus a great original cast name plate.

It just kills me to let old American iron get melted down, but I just cant see donating the space in my shop for it when I have a larger more useful one to me already. Maybe in this digital precision age, it just doesnt have any value anymore.

Any advice from my GJ friends??

It looks like this, but original rust and grease, not repainted.


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[Toolhorder]

Don't let em scrap it!
That's my advice. If you save it and give it some love it can turn out accurate work just as good as a newer machine.

 

[goodspeed]

Where are you located? I'd love to have it.

 

[short stack]

Where are you located? I'd love to have it.

Nebraska - Go Big Red!


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[goodspeed]

Damn it. Nowhere near east tennessee it seems. Lol oh well. I'll have a lathe in my garage one of these days.

 

[3xpendable]

Save it

 

[justanengineer]

As you mentioned, it may have a bit of value to you in some other form or parts for other purposes, but as a useful tool it sounds like you have a much better solution already in your garage. Realistically, I dont see it as being of any more value than as scrap + a few odd parts, which really is a shame for good ol domestic iron. If it has any tooling with it OTOH, that may be worth a few bucks...

 

[dirtydogintex]

that's a waste.... the scrap heap

shame it's all the way up there....

 

[Outlawmws]

If that can take a std chuck series, I'd save it. I'm assuming that is has a through hole in the spindle and threading capability; if it has a good sized hole, a gunsmith would kill for it for re-threading barrels chambering and the like.

You could probably also set it up for center-less grinding.

Once again I'm amazed at the "scrap it" crowd. Apparently if they don't have a use for it, it's junk...

 

[BWS]

In woodworld I'd set it up as a horizontal borer....and also could utilize it for certain milling(wood) applications.And theres a cpl other things to do with it.Not absolutely necessary,but it would most likely earn its keep.

In metalworld it would be a 2nd/3rd op machine....probably worth the realestate?

In welding,where all un-loved lathes end up.....sort of like Lathe-H*ll.Its potential is vast.I could have that rascal earnin its keep....making real money within a week.But it ain't gonna be polite.

 

[short stack]

The hard part for me is if I adopt the old lady and bring her to my shop, it takes up a lot of valuable space, and more than that, valuable time that I will eventually spend cleaning, reworking, finding tooling, etc. It just kills me to see good American Iron turned melted down into WallyWorld ****, but my 5000 sq footl playpen is already busting at the seams with other projects. I could save her, bring her home and leave her outside in my storage area, but the thought of her rusting away over a long Nebraska winter hurts more than a quick and painless death if she just gets a slow and dignified push into the smelter. (I would play Taps, just to make it respectable for the old lady)

I thought at least if I could resell or repurpose some of her parts to other guys that could use them, it would kinda be like checking the "organ donor" card on my drivers license.

Got to make a decision this afternoon. I hope I am not posting pictures of her in my shop for you all tonight.


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[930dreamer]

What would you want for it? I'll be in Kansas City, KS for turkey day.

 

[Outlawmws]

The hard part for me is if I adopt the old lady and bring her to my shop, it takes up a lot of valuable space, and more than that, valuable time that I will eventually spend cleaning, reworking, finding tooling, etc. It just kills me to see good American Iron turned melted down into WallyWorld ****, but my 5000 sq footl playpen is already busting at the seams with other projects. I could save her, bring her home and leave her outside in my storage area, but the thought of her rusting away over a long Nebraska winter hurts more than a quick and painless death if she just gets a slow and dignified push into the smelter. (I would play Taps, just to make it respectable for the old lady)

I thought at least if I could resell or repurpose some of her parts to other guys that could use them, it would kinda be like checking the "organ donor" card on my drivers license.

Got to make a decision this afternoon. I hope I am not posting pictures of her in my shop for you all tonight.


short stack

I hope you are... If you can't use it yourself intact, or can't find a buyer for a profit, better to part it out so other machines can live, than scrap it to China for more junk chicom imports back to here.

What would you want for it? I'll be in Kansas City, KS for turkey day.

And here is a potential buyer...

 

[PatDoody]

even if you pay its weight in scrap whats that like 50.00? I think last time I went to the yard here in jersey heavy iron was 11.00 per 100lb. Lathe legs are going for over 1000.00 alone on ebay and craigslist now because so many people are into industrial style furniture.

Hell, looking at the photo even if the lathe is scrap I would love to have those legs and chip tray to put my Chinese 9x20 lathe one. Wish I was closer.

 

[Murphy4570]

Damnit, why are you so far away from NJ?

I could use a lathe. Not that I know how to operate one

 

[JASTECH]

Shortstack, Me Nebraska too, on the west side.

 

[short stack]

What would you want for it? I'll be in Kansas City, KS for turkey day.

The seller says he thinks it is about 1500 - 2000 lbs. Havent had it on the scale yet. I will know more on Friday. That weight would put it about +/- $400 sitting in my shop.


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[short stack]

Shortstack, Me Nebraska too, on the west side.

JASTECH -

I yell "HUSKER"

You yell "POWER"!




I committed to buy the old girl today. I got a couple of crappy phone pics forwarded to me today that I will try and upload tonight. Wont know weight or if it runs until Friday at the soonest.

I am still considering taking the lathe off the tray and legs and making myself a shop table, but some of that will depend on if it runs when I get her home.


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[Outlawmws]

Assuming they didn't jack with the model No'''s too much here is a spec sheet on that puppy:

http://ironoxide.org/files/239.pdf

It's listed as a 2A so no guarantee it's the same machine; is the one you are looking at near 11 ft long?

on the bottom of the sheet it says, 6,626 lbs!

3-3/4nich bore in the spindle. Scroll chuck capacity is 15"!

In the pic that thing look somewhat small. I think the pic is deceiving! (assuming it's the same machine)

 

[930dreamer]

I don't think the pictured lathe has a 10-15 hp motor on it?

 

[justanengineer]

It's listed as a 2A so no guarantee it's the same machine; is the one you are looking at near 11 ft long?

I think the one the OP bought was an older machine. Many early 20th century machine tools are significantly smaller than their more modern siblings by the same manufacturer.

 

[short stack]

Arrrgggghhhh. Sorry for the giant photos - I cant resize them since they were forwarded from one phone to my phone and Im no computer genius. Anyway, you get the idea.


Sorry my buddy took pictures of the BACK SIDE! Doggone rookies. Motor appears to have been replaced at some time, but is definitely not new. He said there was a Baldor sticker on it.


I am pretty sure this W & S is a #2, not a #2a. Those are much larger. The chip tray on this one is probably 5 to 6 feet in total length, The ways probably 30 inches +/-. The spindle hole I think is probably 1 1/2 inch - 2 inches. The carriage does move back and forth easily.

I was hoping to take the Warner & Swasey badge off for a wall trophy by unscrewing the screws, BUT it looks to me like it is cast into the base, and the screw heads are also part of the casting! Not sure, but it looks like it to me in this pic.


No, I dont think it is anywhere near 6000 lbs. I hope not anyway!


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[doubledave]

Common Warner Swasey models are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1A, 2A, etc. with #1 being the smallest. Photo appears to be an early (WW I era?) #2 which probably originally ran from a like shaft with a flat belt, the top mount motor being a later alteration. I had one just like it about 15 years ago. Headstock bearings are poured babbit & there should be an oil cup at each end. If it's anything like the one I had you will want to fabricate a splash guard around the spindle nose as there was no oil seal at the spindle nose. Collets for #1 & #2 are the same & if you need any I have extras.




I committed to buy the old girl today. I got a couple of crappy phone pics forwarded to me today that I will try and upload tonight. Wont know weight or if it runs until Friday at the soonest.

I am still considering taking the lathe off the tray and legs and making myself a shop table, but some of that will depend on if it runs when I get her home.


short stack[/QUOTE]