Who has machine tools?!?

[mikew]

I've owned these two machines for 40 years.

I don't use them that much these days but I really appreciate them when I need them.



Re-badged for Australia the Taiwanese Lantaine Lathe was sold under a number of brand names world wide.



Taiwanese "First" brand Drill Mill. This was the smallest in their range back in the day.

[DocsMachine]

Re-badged for Australia the Taiwanese Lantaine Lathe was sold under a number of brand names world wide.

-Yep. Local gunsmith has that exact model, except for the American-pattern reversed apron (handwheel on the left) and it was originally painted a sort of guacamole-puke green.

Taiwanese "First" brand Drill Mill. This was the smallest in their range back in the day.

-And you can still get nearly that exact model today as the Rong-Fu, yours would be the RF-20, for the 20" table. (I think- corrections welcomed.)

If you're interested in maintenance and repair tips, there's a ton of YouTube how-tos under the RF-20, RF-25, RF-30, etc. listings.

Doc.

[mikew]

Doc,

Have you come across this English web site?

http://www.lathes.co.uk

It has a wealth of info and history on different brands of machine tools.

[superman]

Did someone say Tormach....
picked this one up about a year ago. I have only cut a few things. still getting my head wrapped around the tooling, programming stuff. picked it up as i planned to do feedneck mods and mag rails with it and move into other stuff. ended up fighting the grooving tool and said i dont have time to mess with it. hoping that will change soon.



I also have a msc lathe. It does everything i need it to do and alot more. picked this up from a guy that was getting a divorce. He used it to make motorcycle tools or something. Cool guy, bad situation.



This in my bridgeport. I think its a 1962. short table.
pic is from before i had digital read out installed. It is very well worn, but it will do until i get more comfortable with the tormach and replace the bridgeport with something that still has more life in it.

[DocsMachine]

Have you come across this English web site?
http://www.lathes.co.uk

-Hee hee! I've been using Lathes.co.uk since the days when Tony only listed lathes.

I've contributed to several articles, and once I have my ancient Stockbridge shaper up and... well, at least complete, if not 'running', I plan to get some photos together and submit them along with what I know of the manufacturer. (He doesn't currently even have a listing for Stockbridge.)

I can't recall when I started reading it, but I know I read everything he had on the Nichols mill, while I was waiting for it to get trucked down from Fairbanks. And that would have been the latter half of 2008.

VERY handy resource. For those of you not familiar, it's a pretty comprehensive database on machine tools- primarily older ones, you're not going to find anything CNC and very few Asian-made in there, but if you ever run across an old rusty lathe at a garage sale or something, chances are he's already got an article on it. Better still, it's constantly updated- the archive has better than doubled in size from when I first saw it, and while it originally did just focus on lathes, it now covers mills, lathes, shapers, planers, drills, grinders and even rose engines, if you know what those are.

Doc.

[russc]

He actually sent me a manual for my ML-210 back when I couldn't find ANY information on it and nothing was on the internet/YouTube except his page.

[DocsMachine]

I also have a msc lathe. It does everything i need it to do and alot more.

-Good machine. Basically an Asian clone of a later Clausing-Colchester. I gotta ask, though: Is that a collet handwheel at the back of the spindle? Don't usually see that and a chuck mounted...

It is very well worn, but it will do until i get more comfortable with the tormach and replace the bridgeport with something that still has more life in it

-Have you considered rebuilding the Bridgeport? You'd still likely need a second machine you could do your work on while it's being rebuilt, and of course rebuilding sure as heck ain't cheap, but Bridgeport parts are common and easily found.

That said, trust me when I say I fully understand if that's not a project you want to take up. While I do, in fact, tend to enjoy rebuilding a machine, there's been plenty of times I really wished I could have just written a check, opened the crate, plugged it in and gone to work.

Things are kind of a little different here in Alaska, though.

Doc.

[DocsMachine]

For those interested in asking what a "shaper" is- and haven't been following This Old Tony or Abom79- here ya go. It's an antique machine tool that kind of predates the milling machine, and was the primary device used to produce flat surfaces up to about WW1, but was thoroughly obsolete even before WW2. Basically it just shoves a single point tool, like a lathe tool, across a flat surface.

This one is a circa 1905 (that's not a typo, it's about one hundred and fifteen years old) Stockbridge 16" shaper:



I bought it years ago, back when I had more room and time, and was suffering under a particularly bad bout of Old Iron Disease.

I recently threw it mostly back together in part just to clear some floor space in the shop. For those interested, I have a whole blow-by-blow thread over on the Tinker's Guild. (We may have reason to believe this exact machine was something like a preproduction prototype, or possibly a parts machine assembled for use in their own factory, or something like that. It's actually been kind of fun doing the 'industrial archaeology' on it.)

Doc.

[DocsMachine]

And it's worth noting that no, that machine has very little use in a modern machine shop, and virtually none at all in a production shop.

I bought it back when I was basically treating my shop as a fun hobby- that is, I wanted to keep the bills paid, of course, but I never worried too much about making huge profits or "breaking into the industry" with some new invention, etc. I just wanted to tinker with paintball guns.

Things have changed a bit since then, but at this point I'm stuck with it. The resale value of these things- even fully rebuilt- is nearly nil, and less so up here in Alaska. I'm just a sucker for machines. So once it's up and operational again, I might do something like machine a from-scratch 'Cocker/Sniper body on it just to say I did (and drill it with my 1909 [also not a typo ] drill press) but really they're just taking up space now.

Fun as hell to build, though...

Doc.

[Cdn_Cuda]

-That's an 11" Harrison L5, probably early 70s. English made, which is not an odd thing to see in Canada. They also made inch-pattern ones for export to the US, so it could be either. Well-regarded lathes, looks like an L-00 taper for the spindle, meaning finding additional chucks (if it doesn't already have some) will be easy to find. Best of all, it looks to be in good enough condition that just a little cleaning and oiling might be all she needs to get 'er up and running.

And then you get the joy- sometimes written as "joy"- of starting to collect tools for it (again, depending on what the previous owner left you.) I will say, though, that if you're serious about playing with it, I'd strongly recommend picking up a decent-quality AXA quickchange toolpost. Those old four-position ones work, and will get you started, but the quickchange versions are a huge improvement.

Doc.

I have all the previous owner’s collection of bits and pieces as well. I haven’t sat down and looked at what I have. I’ll definitely look for the quick change toolpost! Thanks Doc!

[superman]

-Good machine. Basically an Asian clone of a later Clausing-Colchester. I gotta ask, though: Is that a collet handwheel at the back of the spindle? Don't usually see that and a chuck mounted...

This was moving day, so i would not be surprised if it was there to get it out of the way. I mostly just use the 5c collets with this machine so the chuck lives in a drawer. I have a 4 jaw as well.

I have thought about rebuilding the bridgeport, but i know the ways likely need to reground and at that point id rather pass it along and pick up something less of a headache. I think i am in this one about 1500 including dro, trailer rental, vfd and all. I have thought about replacing it, but it does do what i want it to do for now.

[tony montana 2]

heres the auction picture of my lathe before cleaning and small fixes it needed

its a south bend 13 from around 1965

[BenoitOWN]

I used to have some 20years ago. But then I quit my machining classes after 6month(out of 18).

my only machine is this ... take raw coffee and turn it in something drinkable.

[Kit]

Put this in my dads Tacoma and drove it home. It broke the rear shock mount off the shock. Paid 700$. It had a stripped gear in the gearhead. Called up Smithy and they still stock parts for this machine. 40$ for a new gear and it was good as new.

For the Bridgeport mill. I rented a drop deck trailer to transport it. Paid 900$ with two vise and some tooling. When I had to move it a year later. I could not get a trailer in time and had to tear it down to big chunks. The load shifted and ate my rear glass.

[DocsMachine]

its a south bend 13 from around 1965

-Nice machine. Needs paint.

Doc.