Wow....some really great looking machines in this thread!! Some of those really old lathes are amazing and even though I personally would never have the patience to restore one, I sure would not mind having one sitting in my shop!

Myself, I've had a few different lathes thinking back in time. Some of them I had even quite honestly forgotten all about until I saw this thread and it got me to thinking............


So here you go.............


My very first lathe......

A Clausing 12" x 36" toolroom lathe. I had this lathe for about 15 years. Bought it used from Boston Machinery back in 1996.......any guesses where that is?.......wait for it.......you're WRONG.......they're in Peabody, Ma. (pronounced "peebuddy"......it's one of those tests to know if you're from New England or not......us natives know it's "peebuddy".......you outsiders call it "pea body"......that's just plain wrong......what is the matter with you people?)

Ok.....back to the story.........

Paid $3,900.00 for it. Came with an Aloris quick change tool post, 6" 3 jaw chuck, an 8" 4 jaw chuck, and a follower, or what ever it is leaning against the back wall right to the left of the clock.

Never did use it, but didn't want to throw it away......cause then sure as shi....ah.....well, let's just say I'd need it for sure then!!

It also came with a bunch of 5c collets and a collet rack (pictured at the right end of the lathe) and about a half dozen tool holders. But best of all it had a collet closer as you can see at the left end of the machine.

Damn that thing was fricken great!!.....with a collet stop in the collet, you could pop pieces in and out of that machine without even turning off the spindle! Made some good money with that piece of equipment
despite its weakness......and that's just what it was.......it was weak!

Don't get me wrong......you could remove some stock in a hurry.....it was just a little cut at a time with a really fast feed......no hogging on that baby.....no sir!

Then one day.....oh maybe three-four years ago.....my neighbor (well, 1/2 mile down the road anyways) was doing some excavation work for me in the yard and we got to talking about his son working in his shop repairing and restoring old , I mean really old bicycles.

One thing led to another and I asked him if he (his son) might be interested in my lathe for free since I never ever used it anymore and would love to just have the space from it being gone. Well, the next day he comes back with his son in tow, and as you've probably already figured out by now, it was love at first sight.

So that afternoon he and his dad came back to the house with some sort of flatbed truck he has with a crane behind the cab and between the three of us.......yup.......two grown men and a boy.......(cool...always wanted to use that in a sentence describing lifting something heavy....now it's done!) we got it out the back door and in a position so he could sling it with his crane and set on the back of his flatbed.

After lashing it down with some chains, off they went...........hopefully he's putting it to good use!

Didn't get rich with that machine, but it put bread on the table at a time when we sure could have used some bread!

Clausing 12" x 36" Vari-speed toolroom lathe.




Oh, and guess what?


To be continued................