What is this lathe attachment?

Home Model Engine Machinist Forum

Help Support Home Model Engine Machinist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

clivel

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2012
Messages
101
Reaction score
9
As my little Unimat is too small for almost anything I really want to make I have been keeping my eye out for a larger replacement.
As funds are limited and I am not in any pressing hurry, I thought that it might be worth holding out in the hopes of finding a reasonably priced used machine before rushing out and buying a new Chinese lathe.

Unfortunately used machinery seems to be scarcer than hen's teeth in this part of the world, but even then this lathe seems to be obscenely overpriced http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rch/tls/3883413120.html does anyone know what make of lathe it is?

However the real point of this post is that I was curious as to the purpose of the device is at the tail end of the bed, it seems as if it may be driven from a pulley on the lead screw?
Thanks,
Clive
 
It is difficult because of poor quality photography but I would guess that this attachment is no more than something which could be driven from some form of overhead drive or shafting.
I have a traditional flatbed Myford Super 7 with gear box but I have the ability to add two spindles which can either drill or grind. I gave the other one away to a friend who wanted to do watch and clockmaking as it acted as both a vertical slide and a dividing head. The manufacturer was a Mr G P Potts. The bits were also sold as castings by Woking Precision Models who were taken over by Hemingway Kits.

It is far from new- Holzapffel had something similar in the days of Maudsley and the feature continues as one of the artefacts of ornamental turning.

Yes?

Norman
 
I'm guessing lead screw power feed components as well, I built one similar awhile ago.

image.jpg
 
Thanks all for the suggestions.

Shawn, I am curious, why would you need a separate power feed if the lathe already has a gearbox feeding the lead screw?
 
Thanks all for the suggestions.

Shawn, I am curious, why would you need a separate power feed if the lathe already has a gearbox feeding the lead screw?

That is a good question! You might want to ask the owner or seller for more specific information.

A couple of possibilities come to mind here for such a drive. One would be something broken in the drive train. Another might be a desire for variable speeds and thus feed rates. Rapid movements might be another.

---------

As to the lathe it might be overpriced, it is hard to tell the size from the pic nor the machines state. The problem you have is that once you get past $2000 mark the quality of the import lathes goes up. So if you can budget $2500 that can put you into a new lathe that won't be that bad. Spend a bit more and you are likely to end up with better quality than the vast majority of used lathes out there. My personal opinion here but used lathes generally aren't a bargain unless you are really lucky in the smaller sizes. On the flip side if you have room for a really large lathe you can save big dollars buying used.

So I wouldn't stop looking for a good deal, when it comes to small lathes. What I would stop is believing that good deals are essays to find. You would likely have a better chance finding a four leaf clover in the Mohave desert. Smallish lathes are in demand thus people get away with the silly sticker prices as you see on this unit.
 
I just found that changing the gears out was a pain in the butt. With the separate drive system I have a few easily changed feed speeds and its just a toggle switch to engage the drive. I also don't have to mess with a screw cutting setup. There is also the benefit of running without the gears engaged which is much quieter and less vibration.

Shawn
 

Latest posts

Back
Top