New Mystery Lathe

This topic has 20 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 9 November 2026 at 09:58 by Michael Gilligan.

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5 November 2026 at 17:36 #873077
mart7mcfl7
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@mart7mcfl7
A chap had this for sale last night on a well known marketplace, Initially I thought it was a flexispeed and the plate was too worn to identify anything.

Seems some kind chap scratched something on the name plate for future reference.

This is very much a project lathe and I intend to give it a decent amount of tlc during the winter evenings, coming from a Unimat 3 I think this maybe a step up in terms of cutting performance.

All in I paid around £90 pounds for it

If anyone would be kind enough for some thoughts or advice it would be appreciated.
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5 November 2026 at 18:21 #873085
peak4
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@peak4
Bigger than a Flexspeed I think, and as far as I can see slightly different to anything on Tony’s page for Portass
https://www.lathes.co.uk/portass/

Your front bearing cap seems to square for any of his photos.

Check the 1st paragraph of the Model S which refers to a 3″ x18″
https://www.lathes.co.uk/portass-s/

Bill
5 November 2026 at 18:42 #873088
mart7mcfl7
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@mart7mcfl7
On 5 November 2026 at 18:21 peak4 Said:

Bigger than a Flexspeed I think, and as far as I can see slightly different to anything on Tony’s page for Portass
https://www.lathes.co.uk/portass/

Your front bearing cap seems to square for any of his photos.

Check the 1st paragraph of the Model S which refers to a 3″ x18″
https://www.lathes.co.uk/portass-s/

Bill

Yes, it was one of those situations, it looked a lot smaller on the photo. I questioned myself at the time if I should buy it but came to the conclusion I’d be very lucky to come across such a machine for the money spent.

The motor supplied is apparently well known, a Brooks Gryphon, 1400rpm and 1 horse. its a bit of a heavy old girl. To save space I might let the motor go and use a more modern equivalent but we will have to see.

Thanks for the info, I’ll be sure to take a gander after dinner.
5 November 2026 at 20:04 #873099
bernard towers
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@bernardtowers37738
I should think the 1 hp motor is enough to tip it over!!!
5 November 2026 at 20:27 #873100
Dave Halford
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@davehalford22513
It’s just possible that brass plate has been turned round. I can’t think of a reason to fit a blank one.
5 November 2026 at 21:38 #873114
peak4
Participant
@peak4
This photo off Tony’s site looks to have the same squared off bearing caps, as well as a similar lead screw handle.
The clutch lever, being cast, may have been replaced if broken; the grease/oil nipple on it is also similar.

Bill
6 November 2026 at 00:28 #873122
mart7mcfl7
Participant
@mart7mcfl7
On 5 November 2026 at 20:04 bernard towers Said:

I should think the 1 hp motor is enough to tip it over!!!

Could very well be true, but coming from a Unimat 3 it was quite a surprise. At a guess the lathe, accessories and motor would probably be near 70kg.

That or I’m getting old and it feels far heavier than it is

I could not help having a play with it and it chewed through some re-bar scrap I had and turned them into bar stock with a 0.02 variance over 200mm. Considering I just chucked it in and started turning with an unsharpened tool I am over the moon with the machine.

I can do similar on the Unimat, but the process is such mine field and the machine easily stalls, the Portass didn’t really care and made chips.
6 November 2026 at 00:29 #873123
mart7mcfl7
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@mart7mcfl7
I’ve got a spare bt of time before bed, I’m going to unscrew it!
6 November 2026 at 00:39 #873124
mart7mcfl7
Participant
@mart7mcfl7
Good detective work Bill, thank you
6 November 2026 at 00:47 #873125
mart7mcfl7
Participant
@mart7mcfl7
On 5 November 2026 at 20:27 Dave Halford Said:

It’s just possible that brass plate has been turned round. I can’t think of a reason to fit a blank one.

Alas, the back of the plate is blank. Very strange. I am lucky enough to own a Makera Z1 cnc and I can make a really fancy plate with all the info needed with a 0.3mm engraving tool, that is a job for another day though.
6 November 2026 at 16:46 #873212
old mart
Participant
@oldmart
Do you have the tailstock?
6 November 2026 at 17:41 #873224
File Handle
Participant
@filehandle
My Portass Lathe doesn’t have a brass plate, but it does have the name on the bed casting. There where many variants of the model s including some that were rebadged by other sellers, typically removing the Portass name from the castings. I believe that others did copy the Portass as well.

Did your £90 get other items as well or just the lathe minus the tailstock.
7 November 2026 at 00:23 #873244
mart7mcfl7
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@mart7mcfl7
I’ll have to have a look at the castings tomorrow, thanks for the heads up buddy. The lathe came with a bit of steel tooling, tailstock, dead center and a chuck. With the 1hp gryphon motor I think I didn’t do too badly.

Today I’ve spent the spare time I’ve had removing the stuck chuck and slide and giving it a basic clean, debating if I want to go as far as taking the lathe fully apart but I can see shims between the bed and gear castings so I need to figure out how not to lose the setup before playing with it too much.
7 November 2026 at 17:23 #873338
File Handle
Participant
@filehandle
You would have seen the Portass in the casting – its large behind the lead screw, on the rear of mine is Made in Sheffield. A 1 Hp motor is a bit excessive for it, more typical 1/3 or 1/2. Yours looks like it has rib reinforcing on the casting near the gap. Lack of the Portass name probably means it was rebranded or a copy. It would be nice if all of the differences allowed for dating, but I don’t believe its hat simple.
7 November 2026 at 17:55 #873349
bernard towers
Participant
@bernardtowers37738
if you look at altona on lathes .co.uk site there is a Altona/portass S lathe in black that looks very similar.
7 November 2026 at 23:33 #873387
mart7mcfl7
Participant
@mart7mcfl7
The only wording I’ve seen so far is behind the leadscrew handle, on the ways. It is stamped ‘S98’ and another area is stamped ‘E’

The machine is on at least its second paint job at the moment, so once I’ve cleaned up some of the old layers of paint I may very well find some more information.

As for the motor I’m inclined to partially restore it and sell it on to an enthusiast that appreciates such things, apparently the Brookes Gryphon was fitted to many Myford Lathes so I presume there is a market there.

For the replacement, im not such a stickler so I may go for a 800W 36v scooter motor with variable speed control, partly for control (this type of motor has been handy on the unimat) and since the Lathe is already much bigger than anticipated it would save a fair bit of workbench space.
7 November 2026 at 23:52 #873390
peak4
Participant
@peak4
On 7 November 2026 at 23:33 mart7mcfl7 Said:

For the replacement, im not such a stickler so I may go for a 800W 36v scooter motor with variable speed control, partly for control (this type of motor has been handy on the unimat) and since the Lathe is already much bigger than anticipated it would save a fair bit of workbench space.

Just had a look at those, and they appear to be rated up to 2800rpm, as opposed to the 4 pole AC @ 1400, so make sure you don’t over speed the headstock bearings

Bill
8 November 2026 at 17:24 #873513
File Handle
Participant
@filehandle
On 7 November 2026 at 23:52 peak4 Said:

On 7 November 2026 at 23:33 mart7mcfl7 Said:

For the replacement, im not such a stickler so I may go for a 800W 36v scooter motor with variable speed control, partly for control (this type of motor has been handy on the unimat) and since the Lathe is already much bigger than anticipated it would save a fair bit of workbench space.

Just had a look at those, and they appear to be rated up to 2800rpm, as opposed to the 4 pole AC @ 1400, so make sure you don’t over speed the headstock bearings

Bill

A counter shaft hasn’t been mentioned with the original lathe. If the 1HP motor is driving the lathe directly then it will already be going too fast, to the detriment of the bronze bearings. Fitting an even faster motor with no way of reducing the speed will be asking for trouble. If the lathe was previously run directly from the motor with no countershaft in between then it is likely the the life of the bearing has already been compromised. However, it may be the the previous owner did use a countershaft, but kept it for a different use.
8 November 2026 at 18:05 #873524
JasonB
Moderator
@jasonb
Would that not depend on the size of the AC motor’s pulley, if small enough the bearings may not have been fried, particularly if the smallest lathe pulley was not used. Likewise the OP says he will use the Scooter motor with variable speed
9 November 2026 at 09:04 #873599
File Handle
Participant
@filehandle
Yes but to get the lathe down to a reasonable speed, even using the large pulley on the lathe the motor pulley will need to be really small,less than 1″ dia. This type of lathe was designed to run via a countershaft. Typical max of 700rpm. I guess it could be run using the backgear permanently engaged, but that wouldn’t allow any access to really low speeds.
9 November 2026 at 09:58 #873613
Michael Gilligan
Participant
@michaelgilligan61133
On 9 November 2026 at 09:04 File Handle Said:

Yes but to get the lathe down to a reasonable speed, even using the large pulley on the lathe the motor pulley will need to be really small,less than 1″ dia […]

Use a Poly-V belt and small pulley

MichaelG.
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