Question On How Bad Is It / How Did They Do It.

Current steel prices won't cover the cost of hauling it to the scrap yard for $500.00

Good call.

You're looking for a lathe not a project to rebuild a lathe.
 
The only way that I buy that lathe is if I already had one similar to it. Save what is good, and scrap out the rest. Still, I would not give him much more that scrap prices at that.
 
Not to get off subject too much, I recall my dad telling us kids, this was around 1968, about a large lathe that was destroyed when a screw broke and the chuck jaw was wedged between the bed and the chuck body. The headstock was ripped completely off the bed and shot up into the ceiling of the building and coming down on top of the bed damaging it severely. The machine operator took off running and never seen again!
 
Yeah, the old boy that had the lathe built hydraulic house lift systems and was an accomplished machinist that had no doubt experienced other crashes, but seeing the damage to the chuck, it would have certainly gave me pause. (Politically correct way of saying I would have crapped my pants)
 
Another thing to check for on a crashed lathe is to see if the front face of the quick change gearbox has gotten cracked or jerked and broken off of the casting. Mere cracks might not be noticed,but is not good! If the shear pin on the leadscrew or shear pin was made from too strong a steel,that can happen.

I saw a 9" SB lathe that had the front face of the QC gearbox ripped out. Someone had made a replacement shear pin out of stainless steel. That was strong enough to cause this to happen.
 
I don’t like it when I see the left back corner of the compound all banged up from hitting the moving chuck jaws. That’s enough for me to walk away…Dave
 
4gsr said:
Not to get off subject too much, I recall my dad telling us kids, this was around 1968, about a large lathe that was destroyed when a screw broke and the chuck jaw was wedged between the bed and the chuck body. The headstock was ripped completely off the bed and shot up into the ceiling of the building and coming down on top of the bed damaging it severely. The machine operator took off running and never seen again!
Click to expand...

I probably would have died from shock.
 
4gsr said:
Not to get off subject too much, I recall my dad telling us kids, this was around 1968, about a large lathe that was destroyed when a screw broke and the chuck jaw was wedged between the bed and the chuck body. The headstock was ripped completely off the bed and shot up into the ceiling of the building and coming down on top of the bed damaging it severely. The machine operator took off running and never seen again!
Click to expand...

I read your message last night then when I went to bed I could visualize the accident. My luck the part would be heading my way if I was the machinist after the crash. I can imagine the operator running for miles before the adrenaline wore off.

GE would have a safety investigation to understand how it could have happened and what to do with the lathe. Probably hold safety refresher classes too. Thanks for sharing.
 
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