New to the forum, Logan 200 and 1875

[FarWesternGuns]

Hello everyone. I purchased a much older 200 , roughly 1946 s/n 36598 last year but it was in rough condition. Needs all new wiring and total going through. Seems smooth through all the operations though so I had hope. Then I realized what a pain using change gears would be in my shop. So I've been on the hunt for a similar unit that had a quick change box.

I saw this one on craigslist. Looked nice. I went down and the guy fired it up and took a few swipes at some steel. Motor runs really quiet and smooth. Seems to cut straight as an arrow. Came with one small wrench, a nice three jaw chuck and key, a somewhat rougher four jaw chuck a steady rest that had been repaired, a lever operated crossfeed/compound rest thing for production work, I assume...and some miscellaneous stuff you see in the pictures. The motor is a newer 1 horse american made unit. Can't remember the make right now. So I just became the owner of a roughly 1961 Logan 1875, s/n 75929.

For now, I'll just post some pics of the 1875. The plot thickens quite a bit but I do want to ask confirmation on something that I think I'm about to be REALLY disappointed about. I bought the 1875 just positive that the original lever collet closer system I picked up for my 200 would work just fine with the 1875... It seems I might be sorely mistaken about that. The spindle bore is the same but the OD of the spindle seems larger on the 1875... I would prefer to find out I'm doing something wrong... However I have a feeling I'm not.

I also want to know if the beds are interchangeable between the 200 and the 1875. The ways on the 200 look better. I know the cast feet bolted to the bed are definitely different. Anyway... Thanks for any help! I appreciate it and I look forward to learning about my new toys and how to use them. I'm also going to be waiting on some way oil and spindle oil to show up in the mail before I can really do any work with them.

 

[Rennkafer]

Welcome... that looks to be in beautiful shape! Wish I could help with your questions but my Logan is a different model.

 

[FarWesternGuns]

Thanks. Yeah the lathe, I think in general, is in nice shape. I am pretty sure I answered one of my own questions when I had a "Duh" moment at about 4 AM. Of course the beds would not be directly interchangeable without modification because there's no provision for the QC box on the 200. So I'll be making due with the 1875 bed for now. I guess that somewhat saves me from myself. Myself being the type that would tear this thing apart and then not get it back together quickly enough for it to be of any use for a while...

 

[FarWesternGuns]

Hmmm... Looks like someone pruned out about three replies to this thread. Not sure why. Anyway, I'm going to see if I can find that yahoo Logan group that Chuck K pointed out. I have been busy with work and didn't get a chance to follow that link. In response to the man that was giving me a ration for possibly interchanging parts between my lathes... Well, I respect your opinion, and understand where you're coming from. My preference would always be to keep a lathe as it was intended to be used, especially one of these classic units. However... Upon disassembly of the crossfeed and compound I found a crossfeed nut in my 1875 that is so beaten to death that I'm amazed the thing was cutting as straight as it was when demonstrated for me. IN comparison, the crossfeed nut from my 200 looks extremely nice. If the two will interchange, it'll be a much cheaper short term fix than buying a new one. I'm more in the position of needing the lathe to work so I can learn to use it. That said, like I said, I understand the viewpoint of a purist, and appreciate it.

 

[astjp2]

Invest in a Phase II quick change tool post and some tooling with replaceable inserts, you will enjoy how quick you can adjust the mill to your needs with these features. Tim

 

[Redlineman]

That was me that was pruned;

I guess my posts that day were fodder for the hacker... or something. I was erased elsewhere as well.

That was not a ration. Believe me, I'm not that nice when rationing. I'm not sure I would call it purism either. Never thought of it that way, at least. Maybe it is. There are TON of parts available for these online for very cheap prices. I know because I had to buy a ton of them to rehab my ongoing early 200 project. The early non-QCGB Logans are getting scrapped and parted all over the place due of the notion that change gears are a PITA, and therefore they are of no value. I don't really know, as I've not gotten to use mine yet. However, I think that most people thinking they "need" a QCGB find that they end up not changing speeds very often. How many threads do people cut? It's mostly down to what feed speed gives you the finish you want, and that stays fairly constant for a lot of hobby guys. I'm betting that the QCGB versions get used a lot harder too.

You're free to do as you like, of course. Regarding learning, I can tell you for sure that it is best done by the rudiments, and you certainly have a rudimentary beginning ahead with a change gear 200. That's about as basic as it gets. Perhaps learning that way - in the grand tradition of those before us that had to "work for it" - will also teach you that you kind of like it that way?! Some of us do.

I do have a QCTP on my 100+ y/o Prentice Bros 16" gearhead. I'm not a total purist!

 

[Chuck K]

Unless the bed on your newer machine is worn out, it would seem fairly drastic to make the swap just because the cross feed screw and nut are worn. The nut from your 200 might fit the 1875...don't know about that for sure. I am fairly sure the screw wont fit. In any event those are not major fixes. The 1875 was probably used in a production scenario. It certainly looks like a nice machine in the pic, but looks don't always tell the story. I have had both the underdrive unit like your 1875 and the older rear drive units like your 200. I personally prefer the rear drive models. No bending over to change belts. Easier to maintain. They really don't take a whole lot more room. As far as the qc box. It's easy to say they are unnecessary if you're not used to having one. And yes you can use the same feed rate a lot of the time. But if you have the qc box it's easy to tweak your feed just a little to make the chips come off better. Threading is much easier too. Given the choice I'd go with the qc every time.

Chuck

Here's the link the hacker took away:
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/lathe-list/info

You'll probably have to join to read or post anything there. All of the yahoo groups seem to have gone through a format change. I have a problem with people that buy machines to part them out too.....but having said that, I have found a lot of parts I needed from those same people. They do serve a purpose. Also they're making a lot more profit on the machines than I do by fixing them and selling them as working units.

 

[FarWesternGuns]

I'm sorry, that last post by me was misleading... In my previous post I wrote about changing the bed because the ways on the 200 are in much nicer shape than the 1875. There are lots of dings under the spindle on the 1875 and not so many on the 200. I have a chance at a rebuilt QC box, including lead screw and brackets from an 820, which I believe is the same as an 1875. It's actually owned by the same man I bought the 1875 from. He wants $300 for all of it. Seems like a fair price. He was working on it when I went to get the 1875. He had three gear boxes he was making one good one from. He called me today to let me know it was good. I'm tempted to get this one in case I have the desire to convert the 200 over to a QC unit. Any thoughts on that price? Also, I told him about the messed up crossfeed nut and he immediately paypal transferred enough money to me to buy a new one which I thought was pretty good of him.

 

[Chuck K]

The fact that he made good on the crossfeed nut says a lot for the seller. I guess I just have a problem with the fact that your talking about a gearbox that was put together with the best parts from three not so good gearboxes. How good are the best parts? 300.00 probably isn't way out of line, but if you don't need it right now you might find the parts cheaper. Dings in the ways near the head stock are pretty common. I would still reserve judgement until you have had the chance to turn some long pieces on it and see what it does.

Chuck

 

[FarWesternGuns]

Chuck, I see where you're coming from. From what I recall, he had at least three boxes there, but I am not sure if he was using parts from all three. He did show me that one box had some bad gears in it, and the other one had the gears he needed in good shape to complete the box. He mentioned at that time that he would probably ask three hundred for the gear box with the lead screw, banjo bracket, and the tail end bracket once it was all put back together. I just called him and asked for as many high res pictures as he could send me and he said he'd take them tomorrow and send them over. As far as the crossfeed nut goes, well, he admitted he had not taken the machine apart to see the crossfeed nut and did not realize there was a problem. I didn't even ask for a replacement or anything at that point... He just volunteered to give me back enough money to buy a new one. He said "I sold it as a good working machine so I want to make sure that's what you got." As far as that goes I'm real happy. He seems to be an old-iron junky. He has a really nice SB Heavy 10 he's restoring to sell as well. Anyway, once I get pictures of the gear box and parts, I'll post them up and see what you guys think. I had been watching for gear boxes for quite some time thinking I'd convert my 200 over, prior to finding the 1875. Seems like the very very few of them I happened to catch on ebay went for tall dollars and never included a lead screw or brackets. I'm not sure the brackets would be needed but I won't question the inclusion of the parts...