Gullman Lathe

[Reddinr]

On a recent trip I went with family to a little tourist town called Goldfield in AZ. Right next to the gun fights and just across from the reptile exhibit and just behind an old dynamo I was surprised to find a fairly large lathe. I'm not looking for a project but I am curious. Anyone know any history of Gullman lathes? There is a tag showing "Perine Machinery and Supply Co., Seattle WA".

 

[Silverbullet]

If there were more of it there it may have been a good project. Looks like several missing parts ,, expensive ones to find. But there are some good parts there the line shaft underneath it , the legs and more . But very heavy machine lug around. I've never heard of gullman LATHES but a hundred years ago foundries were abundant so many brands are around. Even unbranded ones . Looks well made to me.

 

[Nogoingback]

Could it be Cullman? There's a couple of references on Google to a lathe company by that name.

 

[Reddinr]

Yes! It is Cullman. There was a shadow on the logo that made it look like a "G". Still wasn't much info. to find. There are online references to Cullman Wheel Company which might be related. One forum member thought it might not have been produced much past the 1940's.

 

[Nogoingback]

It looks like an older design, and, as Silverbullet said, the gear on the ground in the first pic suggests it was driven by overhead shafts. I recently read that line shaft machines
were often still around up until around WWII, when smaller towns got "electrified" and shops began switching to electric motors. I imagine a town like Goldfield would have
had a machine shop with all the mining around. Cool machine!

Edit: I just found a post on Practical Machinist where one guy said Cullman Wheel didn't make lathes, they made electric motor conversions for older flat belt machines
during the 30's.

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...-tell-me-about-cullman-wheel-co-lathe-112854/

 

[Reddinr]

That makes sense. The logo was on the drive end. I didn't see any other trade markings on the lathe except for the distributor. Anyway, if you end up in Goldfield, I'm sure the lathe isn't going anywhere. It made the visit there more interesting.