"New" old lathe questions ???

[Scott Rebello]

Recently picked up this lathe with a GE 1/2 HP motor for a bargain. This is my first venture into the abyss. I will be doing spindle work. Handle, pens and miscellaneous stuff. I also really like ole iron. So here are a couple questions.
Any ideas on manufacturer, I thinks is a 1940-1950 generation, but there are absolutely no markings on it whatsoever. It looks similar to some older C'man I seen. It has MT 1 on head and tail. Tail has what I think is a live center with enclosed bearings. The headstock is 3/4" and Im guessing about 16 TPI. There are only 8 threads and its just a hair over 1/2".
Second is there are 2 holes above the bearings on the head stock. One still has a hinged cap on it. Im assuming these are for lubrication. This leads me to ask what type of lube?? Is it an oil or a grease? Ive read grease and dont pack more than half full etc. But Im still unclear.
Thanks alot. Looking forward to getting this up and turning!!
Scott

55539

55540

55542

[Bill Boehme]

It looks very much like a Rockwell Delta, but there were several other lathes that looked a lot like this.

Bill

[Neal Addy]

Strong family resemblence to a Delta 1460. See this link.

http://www.owwm.com/PhotoIndex/detail.asp?id=5541

[Gary DeWitt]

Looks like you may just have something to get you started there. Here's a link to a site you can peruse, see if you can spot your model:
http://www.owwm.com/
Sounds like bronze bearings, more like a sleeve that rollers or balls in a race. I've heard old timers say these type bearings, properly cared for, will outlast the tools' owner. I would think 30w or 40w oil in the cups. I usually see them marked "oil here" or some such. Check for excessive play in your spindle and tailstock. You can still turn even with obvious looseness, you just might have a hard time getting a really smooth surface.
3/4 x 16 is fairly common spindle thread, you should be able to get chucks and accessories. You may need to find an mt1 to mt2 adaptor, most stuff is mt2.
I like old iron too, usually very worth it to restore if the current accessories will fit.

[George Tokarev]

Really generic iron lathe. Color is off for Delta, age wrong and black or yellow for the cheapie Rockwell, but Sprunger or Atlas are plausible manufacturers. You want to use non-detergent oil in sintered bearings, probably 20W recommended, and remember the oil is one of the things that tightens the bearings.

http://www.acetoolrepair.com/DeltaHtml/Tables/WoodLathes.htm Will show you how that generic lathe just held on until iron went out of style in favor of electronic displays. The old 930 type headstock was the last one I saw with oil cups, which is not to say it couldn't have happened elsewhere. The 930 persisted into the roller bearing age.

[Scott Rebello]

Thanks alot for all the info! Im gonna get some oil in it this weekend and spin it up. It spins, by hand, pretty straight and true, well see how it holds up with the motor. Ill keep ya'll posted! Scott

[Bill Boehme]

............ use non-detergent oil in sintered bearings, probably 20W .........

You probably mean SAE 20 since 20W will in all liklihood be either detergent or ashless dispersant rather than straight mineral oil.

Bill

[Dick Strauss]

Scott,
IMHO, it must be from the late 20's to 30's due to the "art decco" look and reservoirs. They did away with the oil reservoirs in the late 30's/early40's and changed the bearings. Your old lathe probably called for SAE20 oil as others have mentioned.

Here is a lube schedule for older Atlas metal lathes...

http://www.atlas-press.com/tb_10lube.htm

I hope this helps,
Dick

[John Hart]

Well...whatever it is....it is sweet!!! Good luck on your restoration. The motor seems a tad on the low-power side, but I bet you could increase that fairly easy if you ever decided to move out of spindles and start doing some larger chunks. Great find!:)