Now thats a lathe

[jeremy levine]

Metal (axle) lathe at the metro-north (rail road) maintenance facility 238559653RL730894109.jpg (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=73950&stc=1&d=1193059310)

Two sons added for reference

[Heather Thompson]

Looks like a little more than I need, and my shop would be overwhelmed. Bet my 100 amp panel would suffer too!!! :eek:

[David Epperson]

I wish I had a picture of the lathe out at AO Smith Fiberglas. It's 44' between centers and will swing just over 14' diameter. Has the operators booth mounted on the carriage. Story is that it was military surplus/salvage from a torpedo tube turning lathe from WWII.

[jeremy levine]

I wish I had a picture of the lathe out at AO Smith Fiberglas. It's 44' between centers and will swing just over 14' diameter. Has the operators booth mounted on the carriage. Story is that it was military surplus/salvage from a torpedo tube turning lathe from WWII.

I've seen videos of monster naval lathes, really cool.

[Glenn Hodges]

With the 2 lathes in my shop I would have little room left in my shop if I added one like this....probably no money left in my bank account either.

[Nancy Laird]

I think I'd have to double the size of the addition we're putting on the shop--which addition is just for the lathes!! Bigger than the one I saw in Colorado this summer.

Nancy (60 days)

[Dean Thomas]

Great shot. Yeah, the naval lathes are incredible. When I was teaching my little boys from church about turning and other power tool woodworking, I found a recording on the History Channel where they were turning segments of what would become the drive shaft for the George HW Bush aircraft carrier. HUGE beastie that is the only one like it in the country, and has been turning driveshafts since WWII exclusively for the Navy. Tolerance of .0005"--half a thousandth, and the sections were something like 20' diameter and 40 feet long. I'd have to watch the video again to be sure of the real dimensions. And that's the horizontal lathe. They also have a vertical model for turning the gun turrets on battleships!

It was amazing watching those tools take a 3/4 or 1" swath of metal off at a pass, maybe 1/32 or 1/16" thick. Just curling off like it was green maple!

[David Epperson]

Metal (axle) lathe at the metro-north (rail road) maintenance facility 238559653RL730894109.jpg (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=73950&stc=1&d=1193059310)

Two sons added for reference
But that is a nice looking lathe.

[Brett Baldwin]

Even if you could manage to afford the lathe, imagine the cost of the wood you'd chuck up in it! You'd have to be on intimate terms with an arborist just to have something to spin.;)

[jeremy levine]

I love super sized tools. I many cases I am just amazed that they scale.

I put a photo of a wheel (train wheel) lathe ( I think ) in this thread
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=67655