My Rivett watchmaker's lathe

cazclocker

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I picked this lathe up at my local flea market about 3 years ago for fifty bucks. At the time I had never heard of Rivett, but I've since learned quite about the company. Apparently they produced watchmaker's lathes in low production numbers, of super-high quality, and for intentionally very high prices. This little gem came to me without a tailstock, but I was fortunate to find one that perfectly matched elsewhere.

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cazclocker: Nice find. Especially the tailstock. Thanks for posting pictures. It's a treat just to look at. Roger
 
That's the lathe I am centering the design on that I am working on for my own watch/clockmakers lathe.There is a certain appeal to the styling. I'll be doing mine out of bar and flat only, with no casting at all. Some good, closeups of the spindle would be appreciated.
 
Congrats. That is a good find on the lathe also. Do you plan to use it? I still have a Peerless that I used years ago on slotcar armatures and to make gears for old toy trains.
It is amazing how many accessories are available for these little lathes.

Joe smith
 
cazclocker: Nice find. Especially the tailstock. Thanks for posting pictures. It's a treat just to look at. Roger

Thanks, Roger. Some makers did not hold close enough tolerances to permit using a tailstock that was not made specifically for a given bed & headstock. Rivett was an exception, so I've been very pleased with it.

That's the lathe I am centering the design on that I am working on for my own watch/clockmakers lathe.There is a certain appeal to the styling. I'll be doing mine out of bar and flat only, with no casting at all. Some good, closeups of the spindle would be appreciated.

Hi Tony! Hey I found your message on my website's guestbook...thanks so much for that, it means a lot to me! Wow, I was amazed to hear you're planning on making your own watchmaker's lathe. I'd be happy to snap a few closeups of the spindle - do you mean from the headstock or from the tailstock? I'm betting you mean the headstock spindle.

Congrats. That is a good find on the lathe also. Do you plan to use it? I still have a Peerless that I used years ago on slotcar armatures and to make gears for old toy trains.
It is amazing how many accessories are available for these little lathes.

Joe smith

Thank you Joe - and yes, I use this little gem all the time. It's a bit ironic that my original investment was only $50.00, because it's cost me a TON more than that to acquire a full set of all 80 wire chucks (collets), two compound sliderests, a 3-jaw chuck, a 4-jaw chuck, a steady rest, a filing rest, and a few other assorted goodies - oh yeah, and a Rivett countershaft! I'm still looking for the davit that goes in the top of the countershaft to drive my pivot polisher that I scored last year. I guess I'm hooked!

Tony, let me know if you want pictures of my lathe's headstock spindle or the tailstock spindle.
 
I thought I'd put up a couple more pictures. Hope you like them. All accessories are genuine Rivett except for the steadyrest and the Sherline chuck. The steadyrest was custom machined for me by my machinist friend in Oregon. He also custom fabricated a Rivett-fitting adapter to hold the Sherline chuck - I have a 4-jaw independent, and a 3-jaw.

DSCF7423.JPGDSCF7437.JPGDSCF7440.JPGDSCF6982.JPGDSCF6979.JPGclose-up of Sherline 4-jaw on # 2066-m.jpgDSCF6211.JPG

DSCF7423.JPG DSCF7437.JPG DSCF7440.JPG DSCF6982.JPG DSCF6979.JPG close-up of Sherline 4-jaw on # 2066-m.jpg DSCF6211.JPG
 
Thanks for the additional pics, Doug. You have a nice machine there. I realize the accessories are probably going to cost a fortune compared to the basic lathe, but that can be spread out over time, since that pat of machining will be just a hobby. I have hit you up for some specifics on the spindle ID at some point, but I'm not quite there yet.

Thanks again!
 
Doug, whenever you get a chance, no hurry, any closeups of the headstock bearing setup would help. I have some ideas of my own, but I may want to mimic the Rivett pretty closely. I am planning a variable speed, so no plans to build the countershaft setup. And even though I have an idea of the size I want to build, it would be a help to either toss out some rough dimensions on the lathe, or at least show a scale in the pics. I need some advice on the spindle ID as well. What type of collets are the best choice. I don't want to build to some oddball hard to find expensive collet. I could probably find the necessary dimensions for the spindle ID if I knew what style of collets would be best.
 
Doug, whenever you get a chance, no hurry, any closeups of the headstock bearing setup would help. I have some ideas of my own, but I may want to mimic the Rivett pretty closely. I am planning a variable speed, so no plans to build the countershaft setup. And even though I have an idea of the size I want to build, it would be a help to either toss out some rough dimensions on the lathe, or at least show a scale in the pics. I need some advice on the spindle ID as well. What type of collets are the best choice. I don't want to build to some oddball hard to find expensive collet. I could probably find the necessary dimensions for the spindle ID if I knew what style of collets would be best.

Tony, I finally have my headstock apart for cleaning now, so I can take pictures of the Rivett headstock bearing setup if you are still interested. At this writing I am planning to leave the headstock apart for several days, awaiting delivery of some Nitrile O-rings that I plan to use as drive belts - so, I'll just take a bunch of pictures and hope that some of them capture what you are after... unless, of course, you've already completed your homemade lathe! I'll send a private message to you, as well.
Regards,
Doug Haeussler
Prescott Valley, AZ
 
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