My Logan 820 Lathe Journey

[wachuko]

I might be jinxing myself... but could not wait to share...

So I always wanted a vintage looking small lathe, those that have read my threads are probably tired of reading this from me time and time again... but everything I would find would be snatched before I could even see it or asking price was way more than I could pay...

Initially I was looking for an Atlas lathe as that was all I knew, besides the South Bend lathes, that had the look I wanted... but back in December 2021, when I was looking at used larger lathes, I ran into a Logan lathe with turret setup (Feedback on buying Logan 7500 lathe)... that got me to join the Yahoo group where the owner of Logan (Scott Logan) is active and learn more about them. A turret lathe was not something I wanted so I let that go and ended up with the Grizzly G0709 that I have now...but the bug for one of these old lathes never went away.

Then, a few months back, I ran into a few threads on small Logan lathes (200 and 820s) ... man, those threads screwed me up badly... so the search was back on... And I know I said I was done looking and that I would keep the HF 9x20... but who the heck I was kidding! Saw this one a couple of hours away from me and reached out to the owner...

Anywho... photos. I plan to pick it up Sunday... I tried to go today, but it is a busy day at work... I think that this thing weights around 5-600lbs... so I need to take someone with me to help me load it... I still have not ruled out trying to get it today...

Logan Metal Lathe, Model 820, Swing Over Bed 10½", Swing Cross Slide 7", Distance Between Centers 24







Serial number dates the lathe at around 1945...



Current owner

 

[C-Bag]

I too have that curious(to me) attraction to Logan's. They don't come up as often as SB's or Atlas. I have a weakness for Emco's too.

Your Logan certainly tick all the boxes for me. Looks like it just needs a cleaning. How's the wear?

 

[wachuko]

I too have that curious(to me) attraction to Logan's. They don't come up as often as SB's or Atlas. I have a weakness for Emco's too.

Your Logan certainly tick all the boxes for me. Looks like it just needs a cleaning. How's the wear?

I will let you know in about 5 hours... heading out to pick it up.

 

[wachuko]

Well… it is mine… Photo with previous owner, John Irvin. He bought the lathe 25 years ago as a retirement gift for himself.

He worked at the St. Pete Times for about 32 years. Started as a plant engineer and retired as Operation Director.




Took as much apart as we could manage and loaded to the trailer… off we went from St. Petersburg to Orlando…

 

[wachuko]

But first… a quick stop at Ybor City to eat something…



Lucky to be able to get my cousin to come along to help load and unload it...



Fuel stop and off we go again… I miss my truck… had to use my son’s car for pulling the trailer…

 

[wachuko]

It was 1:30am by the time we were done unloading, returning the trailer, etc.

A few photos... I hope I can remember how to put this all back together... there is a lot to clean...

He got a new belt back in 2020




I guess now I do not have to make a stop...lol...


I forgot to ask about the reason for the yellow paint on the chuck...

Yeah, lots and lots of cleaning needed...



Face plate, belt cover is underneath... not sure what that rectangle piece is...

Like I said... took it apart to make it easier to load...




Motor support




All gears look to be in excellent shape...



More stuff... tool post, cutters, keys...




That is all for now... heading to Ocala... working on this lathe will have to wait... I just wanted to get it home ASAP!

 

[wachuko]

True story...



I guess, once this one is done... I should consider selling the HF 9"x20"... The Delta wood lathe, I should sell it as well if I do not develop a thing for working with wood... but it just looks like art...

 

[C-Bag]

We have very different approaches. I have a total aversion to taking stuff apart in the field. I would have taken my folding engine hoist and separated the table from lathe and put it on the floor of the trailer, then the table, then the hoist in the trailer. I’m a use it and if it ain’t broke maybe I’ll clean it, maybe I’ll just use it as is kinda guy. Lazy I guess.

 

[wachuko]

We have very different approaches. I have a total aversion to taking stuff apart in the field. I would have taken my folding engine hoist and separated the table from lathe and put it on the floor of the trailer, then the table, then the hoist in the trailer. I’m a use it and if it ain’t broke maybe I’ll clean it, maybe I’ll just use it as is kinda guy. Lazy I guess.

I don't think it is laziness on your part... like you said, different approaches...

I enjoy the process of cleaning it and making it look a bit better... part of my enjoyment and helps me getting to know the internals of the lathe better…

 

[rabler]

Three lathes is the perfect number. Because sometimes you need a lathe to fix a lathe. And a spare.