Need some help ID'ing a Lathe

[Olaf Vogel]

I'm going next week to check out a lathe that's currently used for metal spinning (which I might try), but the owner says can be used very well for wood turning. Its an older gentleman who has used it semi-professionally (and it retiring), but doesn't have a lot of info on it. He said its made by "JH" (very thick Scottish accent, so I might easily have misunderstood) - I couldn't find anything on the web.

Pic: http://imgc.classistatic.com/cps/kjc/120110/111r1/8565200_20.jpeg
There's no other pics, yet!

Weight ~ 1000 lbs
4 speed manual
3 hp, 3ph motor.

A lot of hardware comes with it (I'll see then), but no chucks etc. I've got Oneway chucks and they've offer a ton of adapters.
The bed is obviously really short, but I'm most interested in doing bowls and hollow forms. I kinda like the idea of being able to walk around the bed, but it might be a little long for that. Dunno. I've got a second lathe if I do want to do longer stuff.

And he'll do a demo of metal spinning, lessons if I want them. So I'm very intrigued.

Olaf

[Bill Wyko]

That's quite an interesting lathe. I can see the benifits it would have. Any idea how heavy it is?

[John Keeton]

I wonder if it is as heavy as it looks? Metal spinning in all about force vectors directly back against the headstock and out of balance blanks are not usually an issue. It looks almost like the center of gravity is beyond the headstock....hmmmm...

No information on the lathe, but sure looks interesting.

Edit - just noticed it appears to be bolted to the floor.

[Robert McGowen]

Weight ~ 1000 lbs
4 speed manual
3 hp, 3ph motor.
Olaf

Guessing it weighs ~1000 lbs. :D

No idea on manufacture. Almost looks homemade.

You said you would primarily turn bowls on it if you were going to turn wood. That means you often start out with heavy, unbalanced blanks and need some swing. The 3 phase motor and only 4 speeds would be a deal breaker for me.

[Dennis Ford]

That looks like it could be a nice bowl lathe. If it does not already have a variable frequency drive, you will probably want to install one.

[Olaf Vogel]

The seller said it came from Europe, but I couldn't get more than that, other than its built like a tank. Could be home made by someone else. I looked up some metal spinning lathes and they seem to come in some very wild variations - all very heavy duty.

Apparently, it needs to be bolted down. He said it wasn't initially, then fell over and put a substantial dent in the concrete floor.

With the motor being 3 ph, I'd add a VFD. The swing is 20". Unbalanced blanks might be and issue, but with that kind of weight, bolted to the floor and speed control, it should hopefully be manageable.

(I just noticed...I'm talking myself into something. sigh. Now if I sneak this thing into the garage....will my girlfriend notice?)

[Steve Kubien]

I think what a see here is a fine bowl-lathe-to-be. If you can install the VFD and get an appropriate adapter for your chucks, and bolt it down....

Whereabouts in Toronto are you?

[Steve Vaughan]

Heck, with that thing already set up for metal spinning, I'd def set it up to do wood, but I surely wouldn't let go of the metal spinning option! Just adds possibilities!

[Wally Dickerman]

If the price is right that could be made into a heck of a bowl lathe. 1000 lb? That's heavy enough to handle most 20 inch blanks with ease...it has a very small footprint but that could be fixed. Electronic controls? A must.

[Jerry Wright]

Olaf: looks like it would a heavy duty lathe. You could always fabricate a support leg under the tail stock. Nice project!

[Gary Max]

I would jump all over it----they when made for turning large bowls.

[Glenn Weathington]

Very nice looking. I seem to remember a thread with this lathe pictured maybe 2-3 years ago...

[Jamie Donaldson]

Is that monster made of cast iron or concrete?

[David E Keller]

I'd be a little concerned about the tailstock... Lifting that mutha to and from the ways looks a bit too much like work to me!

[Jamie Donaldson]

David, you mean like the tailstocks on a Oneway or Mustard Monster?

[David E Keller]

David, you mean like the tailstocks on a Oneway or Mustard Monster?

Exactly! I've got a swing away on mine, but I don't know that it would fit on Big Blue there.

[Bart Leetch]

What about the spindle diameter & TPI if you can't put standard wood turning chucks, faceplate & #2 or 3 taper in the spindle or tail stock I'd pass it by. Unless you want to have a new spindle & ram made. As I understand it 1", 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" x 8 threads per inch is common spindle size.

I am not sure how many chucks etc are available for the 1 1/2" x 8 TPI spindle.

A little free information to read.


http://www.bigtreetools.com/articles/Todays-Lathes.pdf

[Mark Hubl]

Nice looking lathe for bowls. If the mt and spindle are a standard size should make a nice tool, especially if you add a vfd. Did a couple of googles, looks like there was a company J.H. Williams that may have made lathes. Found some tooling, but no pictures of lathes. If the price is right it looks like a nice addition.

[Olaf Vogel]

Well, unfortunately, I'm never find out.
It seems the seller sold the entire business, including both lathes. Never even saw it in person.
Too bad because it would have been interesting to watch (or even try) metal spinning.

[Mike Cruz]

Jamie, I was wondering the same thing... Looks like it is all equiped. Just need a VFD....that'll run you about $200.