Metalworking Lathe?

[mahking51]

Hi all,
The guy up the road from me has offered me a small metalworking lathe that he wants rid of.
No picture yet but it is made by Drummond and is about 30" long heavy looking; old fashioned casting; lots of exposed gearwheels; sits in a cast tray sort of thing.
Comes with a four jaw chuck some bits and pieces and a face plate.
he wants £75 for it.
What do I need to watch out for and is it a easy thing to do simple stuff on like knobs small brass bits and bobs etc?
Perhaps Scrit has a picture?
Regards,
Martin

 

[Alf]

Never mind if Scrit does - try here.

Cheers, Alf

 

[mahking51]

Alf,
Quicker next time please! As usual, right on the money, had no idea there were so many different types. Will get a pic tomorrow and look at the ID plate thingy.
Regards,
Martin

 

[Alf]

Yeah, sorry about that Martin, the connections a bit slow this evening... :roll:

Cheers, Alf

 

[engineer one]

nice bits of kit. you need to look at the bearings on the headstock,
make sure they are ok.

it's a bit big for brass turnings, but actually at that price i would run to arrange the forklift to move it to your place. actually the biggest problem that you will have is getting brass bar about 30mm-40mm dia.

you will need decent tool steel for the tools, and is there a decent four way tool holder with the machine. does it have a lead screw, so you could thread with it???

heavy lump but really decent long lasting machines.

good luck
paul :wink:

 

[jasonB]

Should not be a problem getting brass bar (or any other metal) if you look for model engineering suppliers, They sell smaller dia in 12" lengths but as the dia goes up the length comes down so you need only buy what you actually need.

I use College Engineering quite a bit. Worth making up a decent order as postage can be a bit high on small items but works out very reasonable if you are ordering several kg of metal.

Items to look out for are wear in the bed towards the chuck, worn head bearings, wear and excess backlash in the feed screw nuts, etc

Jason

 

[dickm]

Wow. I paid £100 for an M-type about 20 years ago and thought that was a bargain. It was absolutely precise and did all you could ask of a small metal lathe. If the one you've been offered has only had amateur use, it sounds like an absolute bargain, especially if it's got all the necessary change wheels. But watch out for hernias moving it - the cast iron stand on mine was heavy enough on its own.
The other thing to watch out for is whether the bed is worn - check whether the saddle catches at all as you move it the length of the bed. Bearings can be replaced, but scraping the bed to compensate for wear takes a LONG time.

 

[9fingers]

Martin,

Provided the machine is not too worn then this sounds like a bargain. I'm assuming it is motor driven not treadle powered.

Unless the 4 jaw chuck is a self centering one (quite unusual) then you are quite likely to need a 3 jaw self centring chuck for it and this will likely cost you as much again as the lathe.

An almost essential item will be a tailstock drill chuck for drilling holes on centre. Not too expensive though.

To check which sort of chuck you have, turn the screw beside one jaw. If the others move then you have a self centering one. Without a self centering chuck, each time you chuck a piece of metal, you will have to adjust each jaw a bit at a time to get it to run true and you will need to complete the whole turning at that setting. Removing the workpiece part way through the job will mean accurate re-centering once more.

Arc Eurotrade and Chronos are suppliers of reasonable quality tooling and trustworth people to deal with IMHO.

Good luck

Bob

 

[mahking51]

Well, I seem to be the owner of this thingy!

Comes with a cast iron stand and a motor the size of a small washing machine!
God knows where I'll put it, probably in the space in the house that I used to occupy before my missus threw me out.....
Regards,
Martin

 

[9fingers]

Martin,

I used to have one of those in the late 70's. Mine was a 1906 model. See the brass plate for a date on yours.

The spindle nose thread is possibly quite small by normal standards and buying a new chuck will involve making a backplate to fit.

It would have been originally foot powered. the notches in the base near the left hand end would have been for the belt to go to a big flywheel underneath.

PM me if you need any more info/guidance.
Bob

DOH! just spotted a 3 jaw chuck in the tray. This is a useful item and you have a tailstock chuck too.
A real bargain.
Enjoy

 

[mahking51]

9f
Apparently the three jaw chuck is useless and worn out so the man says!
I seem to remember that my etalwork skills at school stopped at filing bits of metal and making them screech!
I sense another slope.......
Martin

 

[Alf]

Sheesh, jammy blighter. Here's me been poring over lathes and stuff for months and one falls in you lap. :roll: Lucky for you no lead screw or I'd really have started calling you names... :lol:

Cheers, Alf

P.S. Going to convert it back to treadle power? :wink:

 

[mahking51]

Alf
Whassaleadscrew??
Martin
looking for a snorkel as hes so far out of his depth.....

 

[9fingers]

Ah Ha there is a leadscrew on this machine but unusually it runs between the shears and is driven by the pair of gears at the far right of the bed and engaged to screw cutting gears by the dog clutch below the saddle.

HTH

Bob

 

[Alf]

Oh lawks... Better start with this and order a copy of The Amateur's Lathe PDQ

Cheers, Alf

P.S. I don't think a snorkel's going to be enough. Have you got a diving bell handy...?

 

[Alf]

Ah Ha there is a leadscrew on this machine

Oh sod it. Martin, you utter, utter bleeeeeeeeeeep.

I'm going away to sulk now. Humph.

Cheers, Alf

 

[DaveL]

Lucky for you no lead screw or I'd really have started calling you names... :lol:

Alf, best sort out some good names, these have an unusual layout. The power feed for screw cutting is inside the bed rails, with a dog clutch, the flat lever under the headstock, sticking out of the slot in the casting.

I think it must be said, Martin, you suck!

Beaten by 9fingers, must learn to type!

 

[engineer one]

you might find a product i have just seen in The Classic Motorcycle,
called Scottoiler FS365, it is a corrosion protector which is water soluble
yes i know that seems nuts, but what it means is that you can spray it off,
and the local water board will not fine you for its going down the drain.

i think it might be valuable for spraying after use, particularly if your shed is a little damp. try http://www.scottoiler.com
email. [email protected]

not sure what it costs, but definately worth looking for. :twisted:

by the way what i meant about brass was particularly about tubing which is very difficult to get now.
paul :wink:

 

[9fingers]

Alf,

If you are after a metal working lathe then you might find something here
http://www.homeworkshop.org.uk

HTH

Bob

 

[dickm]

Well, if sour grapes is any comfort to those who wanted a metal lathe, the feed handles on the early Drummonds are not usually graduated, so you have to measure a lot more than you would with the graduated handle on a more recent Myford
Of course, you can always use one of the change wheels as an index while you make a collar to go on the feed......