I had been interested in getting one for some time but they are few and far between here, and when they do come up they are well out of my price range. As it happened, I wasn't actually "looking" when I saw the add in a local classified. It simply read Metal lathe. large. 3 phase.
The add was correct - It was BIG! The overall length is 9' 10", height is 8' 10" and it needs 4' 10" to accommodate the depth. It has a 10" 3-jaw chuck and a 16 4-jaw. The spindle through hole is approximately 3" and the bed is 5' long. She swings 18 over the ways and 36 in the gap, and was designed for an overhead line shaft and had been converted to run with a 40 Hz 440V 4HP motor.
Note the 16" 4-jaw chuck and change gears on the ground
I had no idea as to the make, model or age. The previous owner had no idea either. There were no name plates, stampings or other marks that would indicate its origins. It was in need of a good clean up and needed some work, as there were a few bits missing that are required to get the auto feeds working. I took a mate of mine (who is a machinist) along with me to look at it, as I was actually thinking of walking away. Good that I took him, otherwise this would be a very brief thread.
I bought her at the end of October 2010, so I have had her from 2 years now. It took about 12 months to get her cleaned up and running, spending only Saturday's working on her. Whilst I have made good progress, I still have plenty to do.
I posted this info and a few pictures on some other sites (as this one didnt exist back then) to see if anyone could help identify it. I was directed to lathes.co.uk and contacted the owner for his thoughts and comments. Whilst he hadnt seen anything like it, he suggested that it was built sometime between 1895 and 1910.
I received a PM from a member on one of the sites that I posted on, who had a similar lathe. His is larger and a little more modern but there are too many similarities for it to have been made by a different company. His research had also failed to turn up a definitive answer but he had learned that some of the larger mining companies here in Western Australia made their own engines and other machinery. Some other early companies may also have done so.
The add was correct - It was BIG! The overall length is 9' 10", height is 8' 10" and it needs 4' 10" to accommodate the depth. It has a 10" 3-jaw chuck and a 16 4-jaw. The spindle through hole is approximately 3" and the bed is 5' long. She swings 18 over the ways and 36 in the gap, and was designed for an overhead line shaft and had been converted to run with a 40 Hz 440V 4HP motor.
Note the 16" 4-jaw chuck and change gears on the ground
I had no idea as to the make, model or age. The previous owner had no idea either. There were no name plates, stampings or other marks that would indicate its origins. It was in need of a good clean up and needed some work, as there were a few bits missing that are required to get the auto feeds working. I took a mate of mine (who is a machinist) along with me to look at it, as I was actually thinking of walking away. Good that I took him, otherwise this would be a very brief thread.
I bought her at the end of October 2010, so I have had her from 2 years now. It took about 12 months to get her cleaned up and running, spending only Saturday's working on her. Whilst I have made good progress, I still have plenty to do.
I posted this info and a few pictures on some other sites (as this one didnt exist back then) to see if anyone could help identify it. I was directed to lathes.co.uk and contacted the owner for his thoughts and comments. Whilst he hadnt seen anything like it, he suggested that it was built sometime between 1895 and 1910.
I received a PM from a member on one of the sites that I posted on, who had a similar lathe. His is larger and a little more modern but there are too many similarities for it to have been made by a different company. His research had also failed to turn up a definitive answer but he had learned that some of the larger mining companies here in Western Australia made their own engines and other machinery. Some other early companies may also have done so.
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