Seneca Falls 9" Lathe

C

C Gruby

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I have an early model Seneca Falls Mfg Co. STAR lathe. The front apron of the bed has inscribed:
STAR Registered in USA
June 80.86 Feb, 25, 96
Aug 20, 89 Apr 14. 96
Nov 5, 96
I suspect all these dates are prefixed with 1800,
It was belt driven with no setup for an electric motor, however a device has been fabricated to support an electric motor.
There is no lever operated gear change mechanism.
The gears are all open
Mounted on the head stock is a table of gear selection that has three rows, labeled THREAD; STUD; SCREW
Following each of the heading are a series of numbers, which I assume is for selecting the proper combination for the threads you would like to cut.
There's no paperwork as to which position each one of these headings refer to.
The question is: Does anyone recognize this lathe and if so have a manual they could share? Or can share their knowledge as to how to decipher this table?
Thanks in advance, Chuck G.
 
The stud gear is driven by the spindle, the screw gear is the one that fits on the end of the leadscrew, and there are likely idler(s in between the two depending on whether or not it is a right hand or left hand thread. Thread is the number of threads that are desired to be cut, per inch. The quick change mechanism had not been invented by that time, but quite close to that date, and it was patented, it is called the Norton gearbox and first appeared on Hendy lathes around 1897-8.
You have probably read this before on this site "If there are no pictures, it does not exist"
 
John, you are a treasure! you have cleared up so much. I think I can proceed from here. And I get the message. I shall get some photos of this old fellow and post them soon. She is actually in very good condition and well tooled. Thanks loads. C Gruby
 
I have seen some other folks on this site with Seneca Falls lathes, at least I think so, they should take notice if you continue to post regarding yours.
 
I would like to obtain some operational data, not just catalogs. If anyone out there has an operation manual they would allow me to copy, I would be most appreciative.
While we are at it, another thing I'm confused on. Is a lathe rated by the diameter of the part it can accommodate, or is it the radius? Mine has a 5" radius swing, but I don't see anything less than a 9" lathe in their catalogs.
 
In the USA, lathes are rated by diameter of swing, and in the past especially, they were rated at less than the maximum swing, such as the maximum diameter that could be chucked up, I think that is the case with your lathe; in Britain, lathes were rated by radius of swing.
So far as an operational manual, South Bend's " How to run a lathe" would likely work for you.
 
Hello and welcome:)

I have a Star lathe and it's pretty good for what it is. Doesn't turn real fast but mine has a taper attachment and I've fixed it up a bit.
Here's a photo:

MY9_inchStar.jpeg

Yours is probably a 9" which is a decent size for a hobby machine. The South Bend book will cover most of the stuff you need to know, just take it slow and pay attention to shop safety.

This forum is a great resource but be careful, we're awfully good at spending your money;)

John
 
There are several Seneca Falls catalogs available to download from the Vintage Machinery website, but that's about all the information that was published by the company. I've had a Seneca Falls Star #20 machine for over 20 years. It's listed in the catalogs as a 9" machine, but the swing is actually 10 1/2". I've tried a number of sources for information including the patent office and Tony at Lathes UK. Both places explained to me that "manuals" were never written for these machines.

The dates cast into the bed aren't necessarily the date the machine was built. The machine serial number is stamped in the top of the bed way at the tailstock end. There are a few sources that attempt to decipher the serial numbers into build dates, but I'm not sure how accurate they are. Your best bet for dating is to download the catalogs and compare your machine to those listed. There are a number of obvious differences between the earlier and later machines.

Here's a couple pictures of my machine. Like yours it was originally a line shaft driven machine, but later changed to be electric motor driven. My machine was originally used by my wife's grandfather for over 40 years in a prototype shop. It was given to him as a retirement present. It was passed down to her father, and when he passed I was able to acquire it. The stand and motor in the pictures are changes I made when I acquired the machine
 

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projectnut said:
There are several Seneca Falls catalogs available to download from the Vintage Machinery website, but that's about all the information that was published by the company. I've had a Seneca Falls Star #20 machine for over 20 years. It's listed in the catalogs as a 9" machine, but the swing is actually 10 1/2". I've tried a number of sources for information including the patent office and Tony at Lathes UK. Both places explained to me that "manuals" were never written for these machines.

The dates cast into the bed aren't necessarily the date the machine was built. The machine serial number is stamped in the top of the bed way at the tailstock end. There are a few sources that attempt to decipher the serial numbers into build dates, but I'm not sure how accurate they are. Your best bet for dating is to download the catalogs and compare your machine to those listed. There are a number of obvious differences between the earlier and later machines.

Here's a couple pictures of my machine. Like yours it was originally a line shaft driven machine, but later changed to be electric motor driven. My machine was originally used by my wife's grandfather for over 40 years in a prototype shop. It was given to him as a retirement present. It was passed down to her father, and when he passed I was able to acquire it. The stand and motor in the pictures are changes I made when I acquired the machine
Click to expand...
I've taken a couple of pictures, sorry about the dirty floor, I'm rearranging my shop. I was only able to get one picture to transfer.
IMG_2580.jpeg
 
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