Not sure this belongs here - If not I can move
My life seems to be a series of train rides - what do I mean by that? Well if you have ever been on a train they start slowly allowing you to jump off with minimal damage. However as you are thinking about it, the train speeds up and before you know it you are at the end of the line. How does this relate to OWWM/OMWM? Well it only takes one CL ad for me to step on the train - out of curiousity I tell myself. I can always get off! Then, before I know it, I am speeding along chasing something that I now HAVE to have - not because I need it - but because the train is going so fast I can no longer get off.
Earlier this week I saw an ad for an LW Chuck dividing head in very nice condition with 2 extra plates and a tail stock. I have no experience with dividing heads but do know there have been a few times it would have been handy to have one and, I expect, the future will present more useful situations to me. Well - the guy wanted more than I was willing to pay - I just wanted something that I could play around with - more of an entry level. He was not having any negotiation and everything I offered in trade was refused so I walked away. I decided that since everything I wanted to trade was now sitting on the bench - let's take a few pictures and see if I could sell it and gather up the funds he was looking for. I was getting close when his ad disappeared - he had sold it for exactly what I was going to offer.
Well you can see that the train is moving at a faster pace - so off to Ebay I go. Unfortunately everything there was either priced too high or was tagged for high shipping. That was the first thing I learned - dividing heads are heavy. Then I stumbled onto a listing that was fairly close by (1-1/2 hours) and reasonable priced ($200). I could tell by the pictures it was old and the ad indicated no manufacturers name. I figured what the heck - go look and get it out of my system. Before I went I did some cursory googling to see what a dividing head should have. What I found was a dividing head with one plate, missing handle, no idea from the current owner how it worked. It did have a small skinner 3 jaw chuck but no tail stock. The owner and I gabbed a bit about his other equipment while I tried to pull the train's emergency brake. He says - what do you think? I say missing handle, no manual, some issues with rotation , $200 seems like a lot. He says - make me an offer. I say I don't want to insult you but how about $100? he says $125 and I'll load it. The rest of the story should be clear by now.
When I got it home the only marking I could find was a patent number - 432621. I googled that and found it was issued in 1890 to Cincinnati Machine and the inventor was Frederick Holtz (not sure if he is the same Holtz as Holtz-Herr or not).
There is a fellow I found on the web that has a page about this exact dividing head where he indicates it is a Cincinnati product. I sent him an email to see if he had a manual.
As usual this is coming complete apart for cleaning/painting but right now I am looking for confirmation that this is a Cincinatti product and a source for a manual/operating instructions. Time will tell if I got a great deal or a boat anchor
Thanks for any thoughts/suggestions you may have
Rick
My life seems to be a series of train rides - what do I mean by that? Well if you have ever been on a train they start slowly allowing you to jump off with minimal damage. However as you are thinking about it, the train speeds up and before you know it you are at the end of the line. How does this relate to OWWM/OMWM? Well it only takes one CL ad for me to step on the train - out of curiousity I tell myself. I can always get off! Then, before I know it, I am speeding along chasing something that I now HAVE to have - not because I need it - but because the train is going so fast I can no longer get off.
Earlier this week I saw an ad for an LW Chuck dividing head in very nice condition with 2 extra plates and a tail stock. I have no experience with dividing heads but do know there have been a few times it would have been handy to have one and, I expect, the future will present more useful situations to me. Well - the guy wanted more than I was willing to pay - I just wanted something that I could play around with - more of an entry level. He was not having any negotiation and everything I offered in trade was refused so I walked away. I decided that since everything I wanted to trade was now sitting on the bench - let's take a few pictures and see if I could sell it and gather up the funds he was looking for. I was getting close when his ad disappeared - he had sold it for exactly what I was going to offer.
Well you can see that the train is moving at a faster pace - so off to Ebay I go. Unfortunately everything there was either priced too high or was tagged for high shipping. That was the first thing I learned - dividing heads are heavy. Then I stumbled onto a listing that was fairly close by (1-1/2 hours) and reasonable priced ($200). I could tell by the pictures it was old and the ad indicated no manufacturers name. I figured what the heck - go look and get it out of my system. Before I went I did some cursory googling to see what a dividing head should have. What I found was a dividing head with one plate, missing handle, no idea from the current owner how it worked. It did have a small skinner 3 jaw chuck but no tail stock. The owner and I gabbed a bit about his other equipment while I tried to pull the train's emergency brake. He says - what do you think? I say missing handle, no manual, some issues with rotation , $200 seems like a lot. He says - make me an offer. I say I don't want to insult you but how about $100? he says $125 and I'll load it. The rest of the story should be clear by now.
When I got it home the only marking I could find was a patent number - 432621. I googled that and found it was issued in 1890 to Cincinnati Machine and the inventor was Frederick Holtz (not sure if he is the same Holtz as Holtz-Herr or not).
There is a fellow I found on the web that has a page about this exact dividing head where he indicates it is a Cincinnati product. I sent him an email to see if he had a manual.
As usual this is coming complete apart for cleaning/painting but right now I am looking for confirmation that this is a Cincinatti product and a source for a manual/operating instructions. Time will tell if I got a great deal or a boat anchor
Thanks for any thoughts/suggestions you may have
Rick
