[Antique] Thoughts/ID help with old lathe, 1870s?

J

JDC6.14

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Hello all, long time reader, first time poster. Thanks for all the great info on the forums here.

I'm wanting to get into machining and saw this lathe listed locally. I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts/knowledge of this lathe as I can't find much information out there.
It appears to be a Star Tool Co. from Providence, RI. But I haven't been able to find any information about them other than it seems they were active in the 1870s. I like old machinery and enjoy restoration, but don't know how a lathe such as this would compare to say an Atlas/Craftsman 12 inch lathe.

Lister says he is listing for a friend who used it in his mechanics shop until it closed 20-25 years ago, claims it is in "working condition."
I asked him a few questions, but he doesn't know much about the lathe. I think I've spotted a few change gears in the pics, lister says lots of bits come with the lathe. No sign of a tail stock other than a few dead centers seen in some of the pics. He's asking $950, though the listing has been up for ages. Could mean he's ready to come down, or he's holding to firm on the price.

Lathe.jpgLathe2.jpg
(More pics available if wanted)

Any info or thoughts you all have would be greatly appreciated.
 
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I am pretty sure I looked at that exact listing myself when I was searching a while back. I too found very little information online about them. 2 things to keep in mind, with no literature it will be pretty hard to know what you are needing to do for a restoration and parts will be non-existent or possibly worse, existent and worth their weight in gold.

It is entirely possible it has very workable wear on it but it is at least as likely that it is swaybacked and has nothing recognizable as a bearing left in it.

Comparing that to a Craftsman 12" is apples and oranges in that the Craftsman was mass produced and parts are available on the used market. If you already had a lathe it would make restoring this one a ton easier.

I don't know of a better way to say it but I had the opportunity to buy it and passed because I wanted a working machine. After all you do to restore it you still may end up not having a working lathe.
 
+1 on what MontanaLon said. If your goal is to acquire a working lathe that you can actually use there are lots of more modern machines that are suitable. It would also be a mistake to let the possibility of a lower price suck you in. You can do much better for your first lathe.
 
there appears to be a badge, but it appears to be covered in shinola
at a guess, it looks a lot like my 1896 Flather lathe

the lathe pictured was retrofitted with an electric motor and gearbox, as the machine was originally set up for lineshaft work

some of the old time equipment is still suitable for operation.
you'd be surprised how resilient and useful old iron can be

but 950 is too much
 
Yep an old Star, they made them up until 1906 or a little later- Stars were well regarded in their heyday
The biggest issue for me with these old ones is the spindle thru hole is usually pretty small and the spindle bearings are either bronze, brass, iron or babbitt
so they can't be used at high speeds like more modern roller or ball bearing headstocks can. Also, there are few parts available on Ebay for these machines- If you need a part you'd have to make it
I would not buy an old lathe without the tailstock-period
 
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Depends why you want it. If it would be fun to restore and display, great. If, however, you have stuff to make, need a working tool now, and not a project, time to reconsider.

Separately, anytime I see a listing that says "selling for a friend", that's always a big red flag. While it could be legit, it's also a way for sellers to pretend they know nothing about it, to avoid hard questions, and not disclose big problems.
 
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Wow, thanks for all the replies!

Let's put it this way. If you said you wanted to learn to drive, would a Model T be the best choice for your first car?
Click to expand...

That's a great way of looking at it, I am thinking I will pass on it. The price is certainly to high.
I will have access to my schools machines, so that would offset learning on an old machine. Then again, it could make me frustrated with an old one :bang head:
I may see if he's willing to go down on the price, but I think it would have to go way down for me to think of it.
 
Nope,

I bought a Seneca Falls Star 9x5 lathe for $300 but it came with a tailstock, all the change gears and some other stuff. It worked great for my kart engine building business and I have now fixed it up with a qctp, collets, 4-jaw, and 3-phase motor w/VFD. I probably have around $950 into it and it does decent work but I'm definitely on the lookout for something newer.

Without a tailstock that unit is pretty much scrap value only. It would possibly be great for someone restoring the same model but you should be able to find something much better for that money. You will want a quick change gear box and ball/roller bearings to make threading easier and carbide tooling viable.

Cheers,

john
 
1940s and up is what I consider "modern", turn of the century is getting into historical pieces for me
 
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