Live center for old old lathe

[Todd Maci]

Hello,
I am a new member and am looking for some advice on getting a live center and new “arbor” for a very old lathe. This thing is from when Noah built the ark. It does not have a MT #2,#1.#0 . On the dead center end it has male fine thread with a hole bored into it to receive a sharp pin that is the center. The “arbor end” has a course thread that threads into a piece of metal that the wood is driven on to. The lathe came with a Sears face plate for bowl turning but nowhere else on the lathe does it say sears. I would have included pictures but my SLR camera exceeds the space limit for JPEGS. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Todd

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Todd, go to this website. http://www.tucows.com/preview/194967 and download the program ifran view. it is free. With it you can reduce the size of your camera's photos. Then try posting them. Hope this helps a bit to help us. :) By the way WELCOME to the Creek!!

[Todd Maci]

Christopher,
Thanks for the welcome and the link. Here are the pictures of my lathe. Don’t laugh, it was given to me. It is functional as is but the dead center has a tendency to burn and loosen the whole piece up.

Todd

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Christopher,
Don’t laugh, it was given to me.Todd Todd, First Spinny Rule...Never laugh at a Lathe.:eek: Lathes are sacred! They are the focus of our affection! They are what we covet all week while we work! We dream about their curlies at night while on our pillow. We affectionally pat their little headstocks before we close their light of and close their shop door. Come on Creekers I need some help here... Oh ya, and so does Todd!

[Curt Fuller]

Wow, that is different! The first pic appears to be a drive spur of some type that threads onto the spindle. Do you know what the spindle size and thread are? If so, a good machine shop or probably even Oneway would custom make some faceplates and even a threaded insert for one of their chucks. It doesn't look like the spindle is hollow so it would be hard to use any of the other readily available drives. But that spur that's on it looks like it should work for spindle work. (It probably has worked for years in fact). As for the tailstock, it apears to be threaded also. If you could get someone to make an adaptor for it that was threaded to fit on one end and bored to a #1 or #2 morse taper you could use any of the live centers available. Otherwise, a similar setup as the drive spur but without the teeth would work as a dead center with a dob of grease on it.
But with all that it would be expensive and more for the nostalgia of using the old machine. You could probably buy a Jet mini and be turning faster and with less expense. But you never know, someone out in the woodturning world might have all the things you need sitting in a drawer somewhere too.

After looking closer at the pictures, the last one showing the tailstock already has a dead cup center in it. Have you tried using a knock out bar to see if you can get it out. It may already have a #1 morse taper that the cup center is seated in. And if it won't come out, those dead cup centers are supposed to be used with a little grease to keep it from burning.

That's a pretty neat looking old machine too!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Todd - Welcome to the Creek!

Looking at the photos of the lathe - what kind of a bed does it have? My old 1954 Craftsman uses a mono-tube - reason I am asking is that manufacturers usually mark their product - somewhere. I was wondering if there were any markings on the underside of the headstock/bed area. Might be something to help identify the lathe.

Also, have you tried measuring the thread size on the headstock? I am sure you have probably been all through this - but, maybe we can figure something out.

[Randy Meijer]

There is a web site that is devoted to the discussion of old machine tools. I don't remember the name or the link; but I am sure someone here does. You might have better luck getting information if you take this inquiry there.....assuming we can figure out where "there" is??:D

[John Hart]

There is a web site that is devoted to the discussion of old machine tools. I don't remember the name or the link; but I am sure someone here does. You might have better luck getting information if you take this inquiry there.....assuming we can figure out where "there" is??:D

Here ya go.

http://www.owwm.com/

[Raymond Overman]

My old Craftsman from the 50's had a similar setup and worked like a champ for spindles. The difference was I had a 5/8" D spindle at the headstock and was able to get an adapter for a talon chuck that fit it. If you're interested in spindle work it looks like you're set. Put some wax on the dead center on the tailstock and spin it up.


If you just have to do some bowls, and most of us do, my suggestion would be to load the lathe up and take it to a machine shop. Explain to them what you're looking for and they can possibly fabricate something for you that will work.

When you talk to the machine shop you want a 1" 8 TPI thread at the headstock and a #2 taper in the tailstock so you can use standard live centers for that size lathe probably.

Good luck.

[Bruce Smith]

I ran across the same problem with my first lathe it was an old Walker Turner that came from my grandfather, 1950 vintage. Like some of the others were saying Todd, you first have to find out the shaft size and thread pitch on both the head and tailstock. Unbolt both the head and tailstock, take them to your local machine shop and have them measured, it will only take a couple of minutes. They probably won't even charge you. After you get the shaft diameter and thread pitch, check out some of the woodturning catalogs or the sites here on the web and it will probably surprise you as to what is available.I wouldn't bother to ask the machine shop what the cost would be to fabricate adapters as it migh just give one a heart attack. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

[scott Gilley]

that is an AMT lathe they made some for sears. American machine and tool out of Penn. I think if memory is working today.

[Richard Coers]

that is an AMT lathe they made some for sears. American machine and tool out of Penn. I think if memory is working today.


You think he still has that after nearly 14 years?