New / Old Lathe

Tsunami · Post by **Tsunami** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 5:24 pm

Well I finally got a metal lathe. Man! This sucker is heavy. It took five grown men to just lift the lathe without the legs or motor attached. It has got to weigh at least 600lbs or more. It is a Garvin Machine Company lathe and I figure it was made early 1900 or possibly late 1890's. The plate for the chuck is a full 12 inches across. Here are some of the picks of the lathe and some of the misc stuff that came with it. Not a bad deal for $300.00 bucks if you ask me, ask my wife and she'll tell you I have lost my mind! LOL

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 11:15 pm

Looks a lot better in your pictures than in that other set. I expect you're about to prove that there's no such thing as a lathe that's too old to make pipes.

pierredekat · Post by **pierredekat** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 6:03 am

Wow, very nice.

I snooped around for a forum where you might find more information about how to maintain your lathe, and the best one I came across was the Antique Machinery and History forum at Practical Machinist.

And of course, lo and behold, it looks like you've already joined up over there. Good deal.

There are about a hundred places on these old lathes that like to be oiled on a periodic basis, but pay particular attention to filling those two oil cups above your main spindle bearings, I'm guessing on a daily basis.

You will probably want to use spindle oil (or like 10 weight motor oil) in those, and there's a pretty fair chance that there is supposed to be a felt (wool, or possibly cotton) wicking material inside them to dribble the oil down slowly, but double check that at the PM/AM&H forum.

Other than that, be very, very careful, because monkeying around with old machinery is a very slippery slope. If you're not real, real careful, you might find yourself spending the next six months turning your cool old lathe into a museum piece.

JBW · Post by **JBW** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 12:20 pm

Nice looking! I have run a machine that looks a lot like that. I can't tell from the photos, but if you have any bolts on it that are 1/2" in dia. check the pitch. IIRC, 13 threads/inch became the standard around the 1890's. The one I ran had all 1/2-12 head bolts. Also I bet there is no hole through the headstock, correct? Anyway, it should serve you very well.

sethile · Post by **sethile** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 10:23 pm

Wow, congratulations Tsunami! That's a beautiful tool. Looks like it's in great shape too. Keep us posted...