Going To Buy A Lathe... Thoughts, Input Solicited By Inexperienced Dufus

That lathe reminds me very much of one I ran back in the early 80's, I have a name in mind but not sure about the spelling and google suggestions that lead to lathes are not bringing me the right pics. I'll keep hunting. As I remember it, it was built in Romania. There was a couple of factory reps who came in to replace a noisy gear or bearing. They didn't speak much English as I recall. If it's basically the same lathe, it's a hoss. There aren't that many machines with the oil bubble on top like that, but the one I ran had one. Surely it's from the same family. It's long gone from the shop it was in then. We wore it out in about 5 years, but it was really, really pushed hard. Oilfield money was good at the time right before that crash, so we were busy busy. I'll keep looking and maybe I'll get the name right.

Seems like you came away with a good machine. There are plenty of ways to work around most wear on a lathe. I can't really understand the popular fascination folks seem to have with putting their machines on wheels though. I do understand those who have to share a space with a car, or really have limited room, but I am just used to larger, heavier machines that are intended to be stationary. In my mind, I guess I connect precision with stability and even though I know people use jack bolts to get the weight back where it belongs, somehow it just seems wrong to me. Must work out ok though, lots of people do it. I'm just not one of them. I work hard to get my machines sitting where and how I want. I'm not anxious to move them lol.
 
4gsr said:
Mark,
The electrical box indicated as "2" may/will vary from lathe to lathe that was built. They may build fifty of them as shown in the posted picture and then five that have a different electrical enclosure and components. And there's a very good chance that the panel and electrics was changed out over the years. 've seen this many times over the years past. As for the "auxiliary" shaft, that could of been an option that was supplied on the lathe you have too.
Ken
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Ken, Now that I know to look for it, I basically can't find a DLZ picture that doesn't have some form of that box, and most of them, exactly that box. As near as I can tell from the breakdown of the models, the 50x has 50cm of swing, the 60x, 60cm, and the 70x, 70cm. I haven't figured out what the 2, or 3 means. At first, I thought it might refer to the bed length, but then it became clear that wasn't the point of differentiation, because I found vary lengths as 502 or 503 or whatever. So I'm still not certain what that last digit denotes. But I'm pretty certain about the 50,60 and 70. Now, there are a bunch of somewhat smaller Martin lathes I see called "KM" series which is, as far as I can tell, just "K. Martin," and those don't seem to have that same panel, either having one smaller that isn't visible from all the front views I've looked at, or don't have one at all.

I'm certain model year revisions happen constantly. Thing is, I look at certain parts, and from as far back as the 1950s to the late 70s, and even early 80s, some things, like the beds, seem not to have undergone any major change at all, except that the very late models seem to have the addition of the removable gap. In any event, it's an interesting thing to study.

Thanks!

Mark
 
Tony Wells said:
That lathe reminds me very much of one I ran back in the early 80's, I have a name in mind but not sure about the spelling and google suggestions that lead to lathes are not bringing me the right pics. I'll keep hunting. As I remember it, it was built in Romania. There was a couple of factory reps who came in to replace a noisy gear or bearing. They didn't speak much English as I recall. If it's basically the same lathe, it's a hoss. There aren't that many machines with the oil bubble on top like that, but the one I ran had one. Surely it's from the same family. It's long gone from the shop it was in then. We wore it out in about 5 years, but it was really, really pushed hard. Oilfield money was good at the time right before that crash, so we were busy busy. I'll keep looking and maybe I'll get the name right.

Seems like you came away with a good machine. There are plenty of ways to work around most wear on a lathe. I can't really understand the popular fascination folks seem to have with putting their machines on wheels though. I do understand those who have to share a space with a car, or really have limited room, but I am just used to larger, heavier machines that are intended to be stationary. In my mind, I guess I connect precision with stability and even though I know people use jack bolts to get the weight back where it belongs, somehow it just seems wrong to me. Must work out ok though, lots of people do it. I'm just not one of them. I work hard to get my machines sitting where and how I want. I'm not anxious to move them lol.
Click to expand...

Tony, thanks! As far as the moving of the machine and a rolling cart/dolly, I understand your misgivings. Truthfully, in an ideal situation, mine wouldn't move either. That said, the amount of concrete floor space I have is very limited. This lathe will take up a sixth of my workshop floor-space, more or less. Because of that, I'm not going to be able to put a lot of unused space behind the machine, which will mean if I have to work on the back side, I'll need to be able to pull it farther from the wall to give me some working clearance. It won't move often once I have it all cleaned up and running right, but the occasion will come in which that will be necessary. Not ideal, I agree, but more a matter of surrendering to the reality with which I'm confronted, and finding the best way to confront it. Truth is, in a shop the size of mine, equipment will get juggled frequently(though I expect the lathe will move least frequently,) because to make things work out, I have to economize on the way I use space. 40 acres of ground, but only 748square feet of concrete, and that includes the barn's center aisle and the storeroom on the other side. Once walled in, hopefully by Christmas/New Year, the interior dimensions of the shop will be 16x16x12. By the time I through a Bridgeport in there, and my Synchrowave 350, and a couple of bench drill presses, and a work table large enough to be usable, and tool boxes, and on and on, it's going to be tight. The compressor will go across the aisle in the storeroom, because it can be all loud and noisy with two walls between me and it, and I won't care. I'm going to put the Miller Bobcat in a pull-out compartment on the other side, so I can draw it out into the aisle to run, and then stow and secure back in its pocket when not in use. Point is, I really do agree: A lathe shouldn't be shuttled around like a beverage cart on an airplane. On the other hand, to retain the ability to move it, I'm going to put it on a cart, one that will be resting on jack-screws 99.9% of the time. The cart exists for that unavoidable .1%

So far, nearly every lathe I've run across with the oil bubble seems to be either German or Eastern/Central European in origin.

Speaking of things I don't understand, take a look at this picture from inside the gearbox. The items of interest are a couple of copper strands that are set into grooves around the circumference of the spindle. What do they do? What are they for? Here, see inside the two red polygons(at center, and at lower left):
spindle_question.jpg

Thanks!

Mark
 
Note that the wire runs through the slot in that screw. It's simply a means to prevent that screw from backing out.In a gearbox, sometimes locking compounds don't hold up well to certain oils, or they are undesirable for other reasons. But it's hard to beat the simplicity of a copper wire which, incidentally is soft enough not to hurt anything if it happened to get loose in the transmission.
 
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Tony Wells said:
Note that the wire runs through the slot in that screw. It's simply a means to prevent that screw from backing out.In a gearbox, sometimes locking compounds don't hold up well to certain oils, or they are undesirable for other reasons. But it's hard to beat the simplicity of a copper wire which, incidentally is soft enough not to hurt anything if it happened to get loose in the transmission.
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So kind of a lacing wire? That's odd. Why copper?

Thanks!

Mark
 
4gsr said:
Doing a little internet searching, found this page on a bit of Martin history. They have been around for over 150 years!

http://www.bo.de/wirtschaft/wirtschaft-regional/witzig-frank-das-stehaufmaennchen-feiert

Here's a link in H-M

http://hobby-machinist.com/threads/purchased-old-martin-lathe-made-in-germany.45586/

Here's a page from P-M forum

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/antique-machinery-and-history/martin-lathe-318177/

Ken
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Ken, thanks, I've read a couple of those. It's an interesting thing. I'm going to get my wife to translate that first one for me though...LOL Two of them relate to Martin W's lathe. I've been corresponding with him. He's been a wealth of info and assistance.

150 years is a long time for anything to last in the modern age.

Asked my wife to call around the steel shops and get some pricing on my dolly metal. Sheesh, prices continue to go through the roof.

Oh well, that's progress, right?

Thanks again!

Mark
 
Found this, may help with the electrical. It's a picture from inside the electrical enclosure on the back of a Martin DLZ503:
panel.jpg
Don't think it's all stock.
Thanks!

Mark
 
It's copper for one reason I know of, and that's it will do no harm should it get loose and tangled up in the gears.
 
markamerica said:
Found this, may help with the electrical. It's a picture from inside the electrical enclosure on the back of a Martin DLZ503:
View attachment 136320
Don't think it's all stock.
Thanks!

Mark
Click to expand...
That's fairly new modern wiring per the DIN specifications. It's readily available. Nothing special there. I say that.... I wouldn't tear any of it out just yet! Changing the voltages out to 240 volt, may require a larger starter if the existing one is not big enough to handle 15 HP on 240 volt. If it is big enough, just have to change out the heaters to the starter/contactor, if it has heaters. Europeans use some strange stuff for heaters. Those things in the upper top left of the picture, may be them, I don't know. If you decide to put different stuff in, give me a holler, I may have something here that will work.
Ken
 
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