Newbie in North East Scotland

[Andy Thompson 3Participant @andythompson3]

Fit like a'body.

Or in other words Hello from Aberdeen. I am a newbie and I am trying to restore and use an old lathe. I bought the lathe pictured below at a real live auction before I knew what I was doing. I do a bit of metal wrangling and welding but my only experience of lathework is a few days many years ago. Excellent history on lathes.co.uk and I have read 'The Amateur Lathe' by Sparey and 'Lathework' by Hall.

I have many questions and need help from the great (and intimidating) pool of experience here. I welcome any comments especially about safety.

First question is whether this is even worth fixing up – I think yes even if it is a just a first step to something better. I did completely dismantle and clean it up. Does anyone have experience of this or a similar lathe.

There are a pieces that came with lathe and I don't understand what they would be used for. Picture 2 shows a Burnerd chuck, but why would it have jaws like that. Why would it have an unthreaded back plate with 19mm hole. Picture 3 shows an assortment of tools. The three on left have a taper, but it does not fit the lathe. What are the three on right for.

I have specific queries on the motor drive, the cross slide thread, the tailstock mount, etc but perhaps I should start a new tread about restoration in the general forum.

Cheers

[Andy Thompson 3Participant @andythompson3]

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

Hello Andy and welcome. Ideally, you need a member who lives a bit closer to you ( I'm near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire) But I'll try to answer the questions.

1) I'm sure that it's worth fixing up. I can't read the name on the casting but it looks like my first lathe, a Drummond/Myford. The only problem is getting used to the fact that the handle that moves the saddle works the wrong way but you get used to it. The real problem comes when you change to a lathe where the handle works the other way, that is, when the top of the handle moves towards the headstock then so does the saddle.

2) The chuck seems to have been modified to make the jaws adjustable. That is, if you fitt 3 pieces of steel into the slots and clamp them with the sccrews in the side of one jaw, then you can adjust them the make it possible to get a piece of round or hexagon bar to run really true.

If the chuck has not been seriously modified then it will be posssible to buy the correct jaws.

The three items on the right are hand held thread chasers, used normally for finishing threads cut on the lathe with a single point tool. The other items may fit the tailstock, either directly or with an adaptor.

Hope that helps a little.

Brian

 

Edited By Brian H on 05/07/2021 13:25:09

Edited By Brian H on 05/07/2021 13:25:33

Edited By Brian H on 05/07/2021 13:26:13

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

Unusual tailstock

What's the name on the bed hidden behind the leadscrew?

[Andy Thompson 3Participant @andythompson3]

Thanks guys. I should have posted picture with the name on it as below. Other picture in album "Little jim lathe"

Re the chuck – why would it have a backplate as shown with no threads – is it meant to fit on a morse taper in the headstock?

Re the tailstock that was an item I was going to raise in separate thread. It is held on by one bolt with a sloping head. See pics in album.

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

It's got an ok quality small lathe look about it, looks worth saving

**LINK**

your chuck may not be for that lathe

The tailstock needs a nice mating piece on the end of the bolt, underneath inside the bed, to make it an acceptable unit. a single bolt makes it more convenient.

don't overtighten the bolt, a nice fit is far more important for stability

Edited By Ady1 on 05/07/2021 19:31:46

[Andy Thompson 3Participant @andythompson3]

Thanks Ady and Brian.

I have a piece of 12 mm steel. I could cut this at the angle of the dovetail and then drill a hole in just the right place to make it tighten up. Any danger of damaging the underside of the bed.

Any idea about the three tools on left of earlier picture – they don't fit on the lathe. Even if they don't belong what would they be used for.

Cheers

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

You really need a picture of an original tailstock clamping piece

It needs to draw the bottom surface down, and move it across the bed to lock in the dovetail, but drawing it across the bed will create headstock-tailstock misalignment if it's not exactly right

[Andy Thompson 3Participant @andythompson3]

Would love so pic of the original setup if anyone has something similar. That bolt does pull the tailstock tight to the other dovetail which is presumably the correct alignment. The tailstock body is bolted to that base but with one bolt and a pin so it can rotate a bit but not move crosswise.

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