- Joined
- Mar 15, 2019
- Messages
- 708
About 15 years ago I was driving through town and saw a lathe being carried by a forklift out of a building. Sitting at a traffic light I watched the driver take it out into the parking lot and set it down as close to the road as it could get. Being a curious sort, I pulled in and asked the guy on the forklift what the deal was. He said they had just gotten a brand new lathe and the lathe now sitting at the road would either be sold or go to the scrapper. He said I should talk to the owner of the business.
On my way to do that I took a look at the machine. It was a beast, a 16 inch lathe with an 8 foot bed. I'd say from the 50's or 60's with a 4 jaw chuck. It wasn't a South Bend but I cannot recall the brand now though it looked a lot like a Monarch that I see in Keith Ruckers videos. It looked rough but it was all there as far as I could tell. So I went in to ask about it. Turned out I knew the owner as a customer of my own business, and I asked him how much he wanted for it. He said if I could move it I could have it and "everything that went with it" but I had to take it all, I couldn't pick through it and take "the good stuff". At the time, I knew about 3 and 4 jaw chucks, faceplates and dogs and centers and that was it. He showed me the cabinet where the tools were.
There was everything you would need with a lathe, but being a machining rookie it was all foreign to me. But looking back as I have learned more I know for certain there was a steady rest, follow rest, and a collet setup. A couple other chucks both 3 and 4 jaw and a bunch of collets. Then the old rocker tool post with holders of every sort, which I recognized and a bunch of other stuff which I didn't. He said the lathe weighed "a few tons" but it was mine if I could haul it away.
I thought long and hard. I had a forklift where I worked but it was small and had inflatable tires and I was sure it couldn't move it. I was stumped and I thought long and hard about it before giving up on being able to take it. It sat there for a week and then it was gone.
Knowing what I know now and wanting a lathe and a mill badly, I kick myself for not thinking long enough to come up with a way to move that beast. It is almost as heart breaking as my first marriage, on second thought, maybe a touch worse because now I have another wife but I still don't have a lathe.
On my way to do that I took a look at the machine. It was a beast, a 16 inch lathe with an 8 foot bed. I'd say from the 50's or 60's with a 4 jaw chuck. It wasn't a South Bend but I cannot recall the brand now though it looked a lot like a Monarch that I see in Keith Ruckers videos. It looked rough but it was all there as far as I could tell. So I went in to ask about it. Turned out I knew the owner as a customer of my own business, and I asked him how much he wanted for it. He said if I could move it I could have it and "everything that went with it" but I had to take it all, I couldn't pick through it and take "the good stuff". At the time, I knew about 3 and 4 jaw chucks, faceplates and dogs and centers and that was it. He showed me the cabinet where the tools were.
There was everything you would need with a lathe, but being a machining rookie it was all foreign to me. But looking back as I have learned more I know for certain there was a steady rest, follow rest, and a collet setup. A couple other chucks both 3 and 4 jaw and a bunch of collets. Then the old rocker tool post with holders of every sort, which I recognized and a bunch of other stuff which I didn't. He said the lathe weighed "a few tons" but it was mine if I could haul it away.
I thought long and hard. I had a forklift where I worked but it was small and had inflatable tires and I was sure it couldn't move it. I was stumped and I thought long and hard about it before giving up on being able to take it. It sat there for a week and then it was gone.
Knowing what I know now and wanting a lathe and a mill badly, I kick myself for not thinking long enough to come up with a way to move that beast. It is almost as heart breaking as my first marriage, on second thought, maybe a touch worse because now I have another wife but I still don't have a lathe.