I was given a Logan 10" lathe a few weeks ago, all I had to do was haul it home. After some serious cleaning & lubing and tightening, it works like a charm. The bonus was when I broke into the drawers and found three like-new chucks, all sorts of tools and wrenches and a full set of collets. A super score for me!! I need a little more room......like about as much as Neal has.
I see you're still using a lantern tool post. Chuck that thing, go to Emco and buy as Phase II quickchange toolpost, you won't believe the difference it makes. Here's the link: http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=505-2253&PMPXNO=953080&PARTPG=INLMK32 They're less than $100.00 and they work great. I have one on my 1937 Southbend 9" and it makes jobs go much faster and the lathe cuts cleaner. Shawn
Yeah you better take it my first lathe was made in 1929 a south bend i just upgraded to one made in 1953 a logan use it all the time. Lathe tecknolegy realy dosent change much.
The old saying is " the lathe is the only tool that can reproduce itself ". I have access to one at work but I sure wish I had my own. Get it!
I'll Kick next time, if you dont grab it, but then again yer pretty tall soo you might be able to kick yer self. I'll have to make a weekend and come up and see you and the miss's and the kids and have school night. ~S
a free lathe, ah man!!! you'll also find that some of the older stuff is more reliable and better built, also for a "first timer" an older machine might be better for you since they are a little more straight forward. Now run and push it home if you have to!!
im far from a machinist but a lathe is a great tool to have i can make a few things but even if you just play on it they are a great tool to have id love to master the operation of one
I always had a lathe. Don't know how to get along without it. Well not everybody would want one or could use it, but if you are the mechanical type you need it. I use this analogy. I purchased a new computer in 1995 for $2500. in a few years it was obsolete and thrown away. For $2500 you could buy a very nice lathe, and it will outlast my lifetime and maybe another generation. any make many more useful things than any computer. Ago
A few things to consider, when was it last run, is it 3 or single phase, can you hold small parts (under 1" diameter), are parts available for it, what is the general condition? It would be a bitch to get it home and find that some feature of it is inoperable or the spindle bearings are shot, rendering it as a "clunker". If possible, get a machinist buddy (bribe him with beer and a free lunch) to look it over first. If the thing is still under power that would be a big help. If all checks out, think about getting a machinery rigger to pick it up and move it. Some really big machine tools can be broken if they're not picked up right. Bob
Got a couple of emails wondering about making a square cube on a standard lathe. If necessary - due to original workpiece shape etc. - you can use a three jaw chuck for the first and/or 2nd cut, but most times a 4-jaw chuck is used all the way. Clamp the workpiece in the chuck, make the first cut and get the workpiece close to the size it will be by noting the size/area of the flat you just cut. Remove the workpiece, rotate it 180 degrees, seat it down in the chuck flat workpiece to the flat area of the chuck within the jaws, clamp, make the 2nd cut. Now you have two accurate and parallel surfaces opposite one another. Turn the workpiece 90 degrees, clamp and cut a new flat which will be fairly close to 90 degrees with the first two cuts. Turn the workpiece 180 degrees with the newly cut third flat down against the flat area of the chuck. Make your fourth cut. By now, you've probably got it figured out. Turn the workpiece 90 degrees and cut the fifth flat. Turn the workpiece 180 degrees and cut the sixth flat. What you've got now is a recognizable and roughed out cube. Repeat the turning and cutting until the block is the size you want and all surfaces are at 90 degrees from the adjacent surfaces and that should give you parallel surfaces when doing a 180 degree comparison. A perfectly square cube if you've paid attention or a nice rectangular block if you want to do it that way. On the lathe tool block above, the square block was shimmed up so the 3/8" cutting bits would be centered in the 1/2" + .010 or so grooves and mounted to the compound slide much like it will be when completed. The grooves were cut with a 1/2" end mill mounted in a MT3 end mill holder in the headstock. The shimmed tool block has to be oriented 90 degrees to the lathe ways for each groove cut. Note that a 1/2" end mill will cut a slightly oversize groove. If you want exactly a 1/2" groove, you have to use a smaller end mill and cut each finished side in the groove individually. What makes this tool block nice is it will hold several cutting bits and other accessories with 1/2" mounting points . . . like a knurling tool etc. You don't have to make a 4 sided tool holder. There are advantages to a three sided one, granted a rectangle, but it only holds three tool bits. Drill and tap the tool block 1/4-20 as you wish. If you look close at the tool block you'll see there's more to it than meets the eye....
15 years ago I bought a 3 phase 13" swing WWII vintage LeBlonde for $200. My car buddies thought I was nuts. I changed over to single phase and now they all want to buy it!
Just about any 3 phase electric motor can be obtained in single phase. Or you have to use a phase converter. I'm using 2 static converters, each is good to 5 HP. The rotary ones are better and you have no power loss as found with the static ones, but they are more expensive, unless you can score one used. Bob
I'm a semi-retired machinist withover 40 years in the trade, so here's a subject I can speak on with some authority, I think. First off , the age of the lathe has very little to do with it's worth. For my Monarch 16CW which swings 18.5", I drove almost 800 miles each way to pick it up and haul it home (6000#!), paid $3500 for it, and it's a 1942 model! Condition, Condition, Condition! There are several good forums online, with the 2 best that are home shop oriented being "Home Shop Machinist", and "Home Machinist". "Practical Machinist" is the biggest, and believe the best, but more oriented towards the exprerienced, professional machinist. However, many of the guys are ready to help a newby also. As for electrical service, most important is at least 240volts single phase and sufficient ampacity. There's lots of info online concerning 3 phase conversions and other electrical concerns. "Practical Machinist" even has a forum section devoted to this. Also online are the Yahoo machine specific forums just for the make of machine you have. For instance, I have 2 smaller Sheldon lathes (company no longer in existence), and there's a group for them which includes among it's membership the former shop production superintendent! Consider a class @ a local community school if you have the time, if not,at least cultivate the friendship of an experienced machinst willing to help you get started. LEARN SAFETY FIRST OF ALL! Dave
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