Rockwell Lathe

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hazmat
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Rockwell Lathe

Post by hazmat »

Anybody know anything about Rockwell lathes?

http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/tls/713989855.html

Also found a Craftsman model #112 12231 but can't seem to find any specs on it anywhere on the net that I can get to. Anyone familiar?

Thanks, fellas.
pierredekat

Re: Rockwell Lathe

Post by pierredekat »

hazmat wrote:Anybody know anything about Rockwell lathes?

http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/tls/713989855.html
I believe Rockwell made some nice lathes, but this one seems kinda high to me for a straight wood lathe in used condition.
Also found a Craftsman model #112 12231 but can't seem to find any specs on it anywhere on the net that I can get to. Anyone familiar?

Thanks, fellas.
Are you sure on that model number? I've definitely never heard of it before. Do you have any more information or pictures?

Craftsman made a 113 model for awhile. I wonder if the 112 is related to that.
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Frank
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Re: Rockwell Lathe

Post by Frank »

pierredekat wrote:I believe Rockwell made some nice lathes, but this one seems kinda high to me for a straight wood lathe in used condition.
If it comes with decent turning tools, the price might not be too bad. Quality turning tools are damn expensive.
Regards,
Frank.
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hazmat
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Re: Rockwell Lathe

Post by hazmat »

pierredekat wrote:
hazmat wrote:Anybody know anything about Rockwell lathes?

http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/tls/713989855.html
I believe Rockwell made some nice lathes, but this one seems kinda high to me for a straight wood lathe in used condition.
Also found a Craftsman model #112 12231 but can't seem to find any specs on it anywhere on the net that I can get to. Anyone familiar?

Thanks, fellas.
Are you sure on that model number? I've definitely never heard of it before. Do you have any more information or pictures?

Craftsman made a 113 model for awhile. I wonder if the 112 is related to that.
You are correct, sir. It is a 113 model. I typo'd the 112 when I posted. No pictures, I asked.
pierredekat

Post by pierredekat »

Weeeeeeell, the 113 wasn't exactly the nicest lathe Craftsman ever made. Generally, used ones sell for around $100.

Here's one on Ebay with a Buy-It-Now price of $59.99. And here's another one, with a lot better pictures, that actually fetched $150.00.

It does appear that the spindle is threaded, so you should be able to get a chuck to fit it, in which case, a 113 could probably be pressed into service making stems and stummels.

That's probably the number one thing to watch for with traditional wood lathes, because they're not terribly useful for making pipes if you can't find some way to mount some sort of chuck on the spindle.

Oh yeah, I was checking Ebay, and apparently $300 isn't such a bad price for the Rockwell. They have what appear to be comparable models on there going for around $500.
Last edited by pierredekat on Thu Jun 19, 2008 6:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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KurtHuhn
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Post by KurtHuhn »

That's not a bad price for that wood lathe. I'm going to guess it's a 1980-ish vintage from the headstock shape. Those things are rather sturdy, and if the accessories are of quality make, you could make out like a bandit.

Rockwell, as a company, is what would later become Delta. Rockwell did sell a line of tools branded Delta, but the lathes were all sold as Rockwell brand until 1984 when Pentair bought the lot of the company and renamed it Delta.
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hazmat
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Post by hazmat »

I'm trying to get some more info on the Rockwell. So far all I've been able to find out is the swing over the bed. They list it as "can turn 12" diameter" rather than swing over bed, but I'm going to assume that's plenty. I might go take a look at it this weekend. Anything I should really keep an eye out for?
pierredekat

Post by pierredekat »

hazmat wrote:Anything I should really keep an eye out for?
If you can, you might loosen the tension on the belt and check for a lot of slop or otherwise suspicious bearings.

Check the spindle to make sure that the threads are in good order.

And there's one possibly tricky thing about these "gapbed" Rockwell lathes, and that is that the bed stops approximately 3" from the headstock.

I'm guessing this is so you can put on a really big sanding wheel or turn large plate-type things.

I'm pretty sure you can get, like, a 3-4" wide tool rest and crank the tailstock ram way out there, and turn a stem without a lot of scrap.

But you might want to look at that and see what you think.

I'm about 90% sure it'll work just fine, but see what you think.

Also check if the spindle and the tailstock ram have Morse tapers. You'll have a lot more options for centers if they are Morse tapers, rather than setscrew type things.
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hazmat
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Post by hazmat »

I shot several more questions off to the seller. Hopin he gets back to me shortly and perhaps I can arrange a visit to have a look at it.

I'm hoping it accepts morse tapers, but from the pic, it looks like it's threaded instead. Hard to tell. I don't know if I want it if there's no throughput on the headstock spindle.

I got the model number 46-1L1 from him but my attempts to gain any kind of googleage have been thwarted by the IT Reich here in my office. :evil:
pierredekat

Post by pierredekat »

I'm thinking the spindle should be threaded on the outside and have, like, a #1 or #2 Morse taper on the inside.

But I doubt there's gonna be much throughput on the spindle. From the pictures, I'm guessing 1/2", at the most, but probably closer to 3/8".

You are probably looking at cutting pieces a little oversize to allow for chucking. And then trying to find a use for the scrap later.

It won't be a huge deal, but, like, on an ebonite rod, for instance, you might get four stems out of a rod instead of six stems, or whatever.

You just have to factor in a little more scrap.

Of course, if you're using acrylic or polyester blanks, it won't make much difference either way.
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hazmat
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Post by hazmat »

I have a little Taig for stem work, though I certainly wouldn't rule out using this guy for stems. I really want a lathe for all of the other operations they can be used for. I'm crossing my fingers, but we'll see. I don't want to just buy any old thing because I *want* one so badly. Getting a tool that's not workable just so you have one isn't worth the effort.
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hazmat
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Post by hazmat »

Okay, this thing does accept morse tapers...nice!

Is 5.5" swing over bed enough for turning stummels out on?
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KurtHuhn
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Post by KurtHuhn »

hazmat wrote:Is 5.5" swing over bed enough for turning stummels out on?
Yep. It's plenty for all but the longest of pipes.
Kurt Huhn
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