Adept and Super Adept Register

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Very much a standard Adeptation (sic), no doubt partly because of the influence of George Sheard:

His previously described 'tool-box' was a four-way toolpost.

Neil

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 13/01/2016 18:36:53:

Very much a standard Adeptation (sic), no doubt partly because of the influence of George Sheard:

.

O.K. … I won't bother applying for Associate Membership.

MichaelG.

[Robert DoddsParticipant @robertdodds43397]

Neil,

With your interest in headstock lubrication do you see yourself fitting the George Sheard oiler system to Meggie?
Do you think it could double as a carry handle for the lathe?

Bob D

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Too easy to knock off. The individual oilers I have fitted are vulnerable enough!

Neil

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 14/01/2016 11:56:42

[RobboParticipant @robbo]

Neil

Here's a chance to get another one……

For Sale: Super adept lathe

Thu 27th Apr '17

Advert ID: 29636

Tools

Details:
In very good condition no dings or marks on the bed .comes with the original adept 4 jaw chuck
Sorry no motor.i have had this for over 30 years and never used it ,
Price to include postage within the U.K. .
Pictures on request .

Terms:
Price: £65.00
Postage: Free
Collection or Post

Contact:
Peter watt
Sunderland
Sr5
UK
07711331062

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I thought there was a bar on advertising them on taht site!

Neil

[RobboParticipant @robbo]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 28/04/2017 13:00:41:

I thought there was a bar on advertising them on taht site!

Neil

I expect Adam did it when JS wasn't looking.

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Damn, missed that give me a minute to get it removed……………………………..

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

Bump, there are more of these little blighters popping up.

Ian S C

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Mine has been passed on to a friend, and a couple of years ago, there were two at the Spalding Model Engineering Show.

One was owned by an ex working colleague, living in Spalding, and the other was working on the Wolverhampton Club stand. They were described , briefly in M E W under the heading of Assorted Adepts.

Howard

[RevStewParticipant @revstew]

Nice little basic machines the Adepts, and useful for proper hobbies as they used to be, before everyone was told they needed a 5 grand Nottingham dust collector.

[Martin King 2Participant @martinking2]

Hi All, just looked up my records and we have had exactly 6 of these over the years in various sorts of condition and the prices varied from £72 to £165 for the best one. They always seem popular for what ever reason and we have never had bad feedback or a problem with any of them.

Just my 2p's worth…….

Cheers, Martin

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Martin King 2 on 12/08/2018 09:52:25:

Hi All, just looked up my records and we have had exactly 6 of these over the years in various sorts of condition and the prices varied from £72 to £165 for the best one. They always seem popular for what ever reason and we have never had bad feedback or a problem with any of them.

Just my 2p's worth…….

Cheers, Martin

The electrics are always very reliable, despite the age

Neil

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

Hello RevStew,

Don't you mean swarf collector, mine never gets the chance to get dusty.

Andrew.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Posted by Andrew Tinsley on 12/08/2018 13:02:25:

Hello RevStew,

Don't you mean swarf collector, mine never gets the chance to get dusty.

Andrew.

Were fymords that expensive when Adepts were still a popular purchase option , for hobbyists, back then?

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by not done it yet on 12/08/2018 14:23:34:

Were fymords that expensive when Adepts were still a popular purchase option , for hobbyists, back then?

.

The ML7 was launched in August 1946, at £34

Not sure how the Adept prices varied with time, but 12s 6d is in a commonly seen advert.

MichaelG.

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

It's interesting to note that **LINK**

puts the relative value of £34 in 1946 as £995 now but **LINK**

puts a labourers wages as £1 a day in 1946 and other sites list that wage as £100-£160 per day now i.e £34 would be nearer to £4K

pgk

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Fifteen years ago,, when considering buying a new, fully equipped Myford 7 Series, the bill was going to be nearly £8K! I didn't!

A friend in his 90s now, recalls going with his father to buy a ML 2, and taking it home on the bus , having paid 12/6 (62.5 p) for it!

The Super Adept was a product of it's time. What people could afford and what it was capable of doing, in the right hands.

Remember, lots of machines, locomotives etc were made on machines without micrometer dials or power feeds, long before the modern conveniences that we all now enjoy.

Those were the days when skill had not been overcome by the stopwatch and avarice, and was valued.

Howard

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Spotted on ebay … an Adept with an interestingly large chuck

**LINK**

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/vintage-super-adept-model-makers-small-lathe/123361348570

MichaelG.

[RevStewParticipant @revstew]

Not unusual to find one with such a relatively large chuck. This one will make plenty of cash as it has the rare speed reducing pulley wheel from the same firm.

[RevStewParticipant @revstew]

I've been reading of people building small compression ignition engines for model aircraft, without even the benefit of a lathe, so an Adept, however basic, is still capable of amazing work, in the hands of someone with time, and ability.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by RevStew on 13/09/2018 21:25:24:

Not unusual to find one with such a relatively large chuck.

.

I am in no position to argue, RevStew; having never felt the need to research the market … but I am astonished by that assertion.

Can you give any explanation, please, as to why such a disproportionately large chuck is 'not unusual' ?

The best I can think of is that misguided people fit such things, then realise their mistake and decide to sell it on.

[this would skew the distribution, and give the appearance that such a contraption was commonplace]

Grateful for your thoughts, and perhaps some illustrations.

MichaelG.

[RevStewParticipant @revstew]

The 4 jaw chuck was an expensive option for the Adept, and it was only in later years, after the original chucks were no longer available, that people started fitting the chucks that were available, which were generally bigger than the standard. These larger chucks cause the issues described below, (from the lathes.co.uk site), courtesy of Mr Andrew Webster. I did try to contact him for permission to reproduce this extract here, but his email did not work. I hope this is OK in the spirit of the discussion. Apologies to all concerned if not.

Cast iron's most striking characteristic is its high resistance to sliding wear. Few lathes of the time featured pre-stressed ball or roller bearings. These were costly in the smaller sizes until the 1950s. The better large lathes therefore often had replaceable bushings of bronze or gunmetal, but many gave excellent service with a hardened and polished steel mandrel running in a lapped iron split-housing. Most, if not all, of the small model-maker's lathes had an unhardened mild steel spindle running direct in an iron housing. These were seldom polished or lapped, and the sometimes the housing was bored without reaming, like the Adept.

This being said, the longevity of this arrangement is remarkable if attention was paid to cleanliness and lubrication. It is nevertheless likely that an Adept or similar spindle will exhibit significant wear, especially at the tail housing where an excessively heavy chuck could cause headstock centre drop. Some owners fitted cycle oil cups which did much to keep things oiled. Some fitted fibre shims to stop oil running quickly out of the sawn housing. Others neglected the oiling, paid no attention to iron and corundum dust, and responded to heavy wear by screwing the housings together until they fractured. This is a common fault on small, old lathes.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Thanks for that … All perfectly logical

BUT the chuck in the ebay photo takes us to a whole new level of farce !!

MichaelG.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

An excellent example of using what you have, not what you need. Probably worth more with the countershaft although no catch plate or four jaw (the best of all the bits). Let's hope the bearings haven't been ruined.

I must get mine connected up to a motor… I screwed my new spindle for a 50mm lever-scroll chuck. Unless the seller of that lathe has cut off the outer part of the jaws I doubt that have any more capacity than my chuck with is a fraction of the size!

The extra metal and protuberances will enhance it's performance as a boat anchor

Neil

[Author]

Posts