Mini Lathe Delivery -NOT

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I thought you may enjoy seeing this little vari-speed Chinese Taiwanese lathe being delivered, uncrated and positioned.

[Peter Cook 6Participant @petercook6]

Now that’s a proper lathe!! Trouble is you seem to need to be a Jolly Green Giant to actually reach things. I look forward to seeing what sort of things he will be machining on it.

PS is it Chinese or Australian?

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Taiwan made.

https://machineryesp.com/about_us

[Grizzly bearParticipant @grizzlybear]

Thanks Jason.

Really interesting and educational.

Bear..

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Thankyou Jason!

You have to admire the skill of the Scotts crew, manipulating a massive lump of very serious money in confined areas. That must have taken quite a bit of planning.

Not a safety-helmet in sight… that would have my crane slinging and operating instructor tut-tutting.

I wonder too how the manufacturers put it in the container, with so little room to spare. The slightest twist would have jammed the skid frame against the wall.

 

On the lathe itself I like the quill-type tailstock and I am only surprised that was not very common as standard on centre-lathes. They were on capstan-lathes although there the tailstock could be used as at least as much as the saddle on some parts being made. Though on a small machine without the luxury of tailstock body length, a quill handwheel could be in the way when everything is all a bit closed up together.

The works manager as I assumed he is, commented on the location of the DRO. It is a bit odd, putting it beyond the work-piece, although you’d not normally be setting that when the machine is running, be it on a huge great lathe like that or a modest Myford 7.

I think I understood aright that the basic spindle motor controls are duplicated on the saddle. Necessary on a lathe of this scale.

I noted it came as standard with a 4-way tool-post though CEE had ordered the QCTP option as well. Although looking at the size of the tool-blocks, the turner himself might not be so “quick” at changing them around after a couple of hours or so of it.

 

I had a little chuckle at the oil-can: I’ve one of them on my EW lathe’s bench. So if it’s good enough for CEE….

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

Must have been a good trick getting that thing into the container !

Just wondering, why did they put that bar into the chuck before unloading ?

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

The bar was used with a sling for extra control against yawing.

I took the point that the large-bore version is drastically more expensive, perhaps to special order, but I was surprised how small is the spindle bore for the overall size of the machine. The chap held the centre bush in his hand, showing us the scale of it. (Oh, how do you eject the centre on a lathe that big?)

Lathes on this scale and above are not new of course. Those made for producing the pre-1950s warship gun barrels, up to about 90 feet long, for example. Some of those even had two saddles, fitted with steps on which the turners stood, riding with them.

While quite early in the 19C, there existed special faceplate lathes for discs like flywheels and very large cylinder covers. No bed and tailstock but instead a cast-iron floor carrying a table with the cross- and top- slides. The engraving of one I saw, suggested the floor had slots or a matrix of holes for the basic positioning of the table, in front of a faceplate some ten or twelve feet diameter.

[Nigel Graham 2]

On Nigel Graham 2 Said:

…………………

Lathes on this scale and above are not new of course. Those made for producing the pre-1950s warship gun barrels, up to about 90 feet long, for example. Some of those even had two saddles, fitted with steps on which the turners stood, riding with them.

…………

Some quite impressive stuff on this report from one of the urbex sites; many of their visits of course are pre-arranged with the companies concerned.
This is one mid sequence; scroll down/sideways for a peek at the machining floor.
https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/davy-and-united-engineering-co-darnall-works-sheffield-june-2018.116329/

A friend of mine was introduced to a large lathe somewhere in that area during his apprenticeship in the ’70s; that had a set of steps up to an operators chair on the saddle.

If you gave any spare garage space; have a look on eBay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/226766838605

Bill

[peak4Participant @peak4]

Addendum to the above, rather than trying to edit the post;
Here’s one with four toolposts

https://www.sheffieldhistory.co.uk/forums/topic/8535-types-of-lathes-used-during-war/

There’s all sorts of interesting stuff on the Sheffield History forum; e.g. do a search on lathe
https://www.sheffieldhistory.co.uk/forums/topic/19076-a-naval-gun-in-the-making

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

I had a holiday job at AEI in Rugby. The path to the canteen took one past a humongous lathe used to turn turbine and alternator shafts.

Also GEC had their turboalternator plant in Rugby. One school history lesson was enlivened by a huge bang caused by a set on test seizing up and exploding. School must have been 4 miles from the factory.

[Nigel Graham 2]

On Nigel Graham 2 Said:

The bar was used with a sling for extra control against yawing.

I took the point that the large-bore version is drastically more expensive, perhaps to special order, but I was surprised how small is the spindle bore for the overall size of the machine. The chap held the centre bush in his hand, showing us the scale of it. (Oh, how do you eject the centre on a lathe that big?)

 

On lathes that size it’s more common to use a fixed steady, or two, rather than stick the job up the spindle  which can be awkward with heavy but delicate workpieces. Steadies are a technique that seems to have gone somewhat by the wayside in hobby world, perhaps due to the advent of modern roller bearings and large bore spindles on today’s Chinese hobby lathes. Myford owners still use them.

On those large lathes a big bore spindle requires bigger bearings, adding considerable cost. Plus bigger chuck mountings that can be inconvenient and hinder holding small diameter jobs.

Tailstock is usually self eject so you wind the handle just like on a smaller lathe to eject a centre.

[Peter Cook 6]

On Peter Cook 6 Said:

Now that’s a proper lathe!! Trouble is you seem to need to be a Jolly Green Giant to actually reach things. I look forward to seeing what sort of things he will be machining on it.

PS is it Chinese or Australian?

On Peter Cook 6 Said:

Now that’s a proper lathe!! Trouble is you seem to need to be a Jolly Green Giant to actually reach things. I look forward to seeing what sort of things he will be machining on it.

PS is it Chinese or Australian?

Nothing like that made in post-industial Australia these days. 50 years ago, yes. But all gone now.

[ZanParticipant @zan]

Impressive. I wonder about the cost.

Then what about the machine which made the bed?  Now that must be seriously big!!!

Just imagine the moving of the Sheffield lathe without the modern  mobile crane.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

The bar is not to stop Yaw

It is there to stop the top heavt head from heading towards the floor, if it were to start falling front or back teh bar being between the slings would limit how far it can go.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

He makes a lot of use of the steadies and also revolving tailstock chucks. As he says if he was wanting to face say a 5m long tube he would need to find a way to support the 4m plus that would be sticking out the left hand end of the headstock. Not a problem with the steady.

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

I was more impressed by the mobile crane than the lathe. The lathe looks quite basic.
Interesting to see him pouring 68 viscosity hydraulic oil into a tank marked to use 32 or 46… (42:30 mark).
Then there is the 380V 3 phase power for the hydraulic pump on a MALE connector on the lathe. That one certainly does not meet C-Tick! Positively lethal.

Robert.

 

[Robert Atkinson 2]

On Robert Atkinson 2 Said:

Interesting to see him pouring 68 viscosity hydraulic oil into a tank marked to use 32 or 46… (42:30)

Anything to do with how insanely hot the climate is in that part of the world now?

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

I doubt it. The oil viscosity is specified at well above ambient.

[Nigel Graham 2]

On Nigel Graham 2 Said:

..Lathes on this scale and above are not new of course. Those made for producing the pre-1950s warship gun barrels, up to about 90 feet long, for example. Some of those even had two saddles, fitted with steps on which the turners stood, riding with them.

 

Not sure if it still the case but one of my trips to Sydney took in the ship repair facilities at Cockatoo Island – there were a number of massive lathes complete with a seat on the crosslide for the operator and also some enormous facing lathes with faceplates in the order of 10m diameter.
I have some photos “somewhere”, task for the afternoon!

[Swarf MakerParticipant @swarfmaker85383]

I think that one of the first things that Kurtis will be doing is modifying those fixed steadies.  As supplied they appear to have a solid frame and since the large cylinders that he works on have to be lowered onto the lathe with a crane, threading those on will be a big issue!

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I think they may be a “U” shaped design where the top bar lifts out rather than his other centrally split & hinged ones. You can see some big nuts at the top of the U and what may be a hinged bridle joint.

[Swarf MakerParticipant @swarfmaker85383]

Well observed Jason.  As the paint looked contiguous around the frame and no parting lines were visible I made that observation, somewhat foolishly, in disbelief!  From your still frame image, there is a black rod/handle sticking out from the triangular reinforcement on just one side, so perhaps a hinge on the other side?  No doubt the next CEE video will reveal all.

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