Calling All Old Lathe Owners...

[Dick Strauss]

Is there such a thing as A-weight oil? I recently got a lathe from a neighbor that has "A" marked on the caps to the lubricant reservoirs!

The lathe currently has at least one frozen bearing in the headstock. I'd like to use it for buffing and pen turning in the long run.

Can anyone help me identify my lathe and help decide if it is worth fixing?

Here are the vital stats of my vintage (WWII?) lathe:
-two bearings on headstock with a 4 pulley system in between bearings. One brass and one steel bearing.
-1.5"/8tpi with MT3 headstock.
-38.5"x5"x1/2" lathe iron bed top
-12" diameter turning capacity
-30"+ turning length
-Dayton 3/4HP 115/230V (mod# 4K179 ser# C-286C)
I don't know if the motor is original!!
-1.5" collet with 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 3/4" inserts. I assume this lathe was used for metal at some time.
-dead center on tailstock
-the only marking on the lathe is on the tailstock with three letters in this order J/I, P/B, 3/8 so it looks like it could be JP3 or JB3 or JB8, etc.
-It also came with a MT3 to MT2 adapter

Thanks in advance,
Dick

[Jeff Horton]

YOU CALLED?????

Photos would sure help! Sounds like a heavy lathe with that big of a spindle!!

[Andy Hoyt]

Who you calling old?

[Dick Strauss]

Maybe it should have been titled "Anybody out there own an old lathe?" I didn't mean the lathe owners were old...I meant owners of old lathes. I'm sorry if I offended anyone that likes to eat a big bowl of ice cream, lives in Maine, and has a Lincoln-esque avatar!

Sorry Jeff,
I don't own a digital camera so no pics to be had...the lathe is not as heavy as it sounds. I would guess the whole unit weighs about 200lbs with headstock and tailstock included since I can lift it. Unlike Lieutenant Dan of Forest Gump fame, my lathe is without magic legs (titanium or otherwise).

Has anyone seen a machine with lubricant reservoirs stamped with an "A"? Is this the equivalent of SAE20 or SAE30 today?

[Steve Clardy]

Not sure about the A.
I have a overhead router [20,000 rpm] that takes a #6 spindle oil.
Don't remember an A-weight oil

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Who you calling old?

If you have to ask...you probably are

[Jeff Horton]

Sounds like it might have been a metal lathe but without photos it's hard to know. My best advice is to spend some time at www.owwm.com photo index and see if you can find it. It's a long shoot though.

But any old lathe is worth fixing!

[Dick Strauss]

Jeff,
I've been looking at the OWWM site but haven't found the pic index yet. I'll have to find it.

Does anyone have an idea what a reasonable machine shop will charge to push the shaft out of the frozen bearings?

TIA,
Dick

[Jeff Singleton]

I had to have a set of Link Belt bearings, taper rollers, pulled off a Master disc sander spindle form 1951. They did it in 5 minutes and charged me $5. I ask for a price on new bearings and after the man looked at what he took off he said to throw them in kerosen for a couple days, blow them off repack them, and reinstall them. They reinstalled for $5 also. Runs like new now. He said new bearings and the bolt-up flange with races machined into them would cost about $1500 for the set of two. His and my eyes bugged out when he gave me the price. This was at a motor repair/bearing distrubutor/electrical supply house. Most bearing distributor will have a cross reference for machine/spindle oil, and some will have an Oldtimer who will know what A weight is. I have always use Lubri-Plate spindle oil in my Oliver shapers and it seems to work fine.

Jeff Singleton

[Dick Strauss]

Jeff S,
Thanks for the insight. I think that at least one of the headstock bearings are seized so kerosene probably won't do the trick. The center shaft will not turn using any tool I've got access to right now (quite a few on the list). My neighbor told me it stopped in a hurry when it died. He thought it took grease rather than oil and couldn't get the grease down to the bearings. That is how I got it...he didn't want to mess with it after it died! I tried to lube the bearings by filling the reservoirs with WD40 to loosen up the old stuff but to no avail. One of the bearings wouldn't even allow the WD40 from the reservoir into the joint so I assume that one is bad.

Jeff H,
I've searched all of the pics from the OWWM site that relates to lathes. None of the pics matched the lathe I was given. I came to the conclusion that the lathe is probably from 1920-1940 given the uncovered v-belt stepped pulleys. Here are the pics that most closely match mine with exceptions noted:

1608-B.jpeg

Oil reservoirs similar to the pic above

2214-B.jpeg

Stepped pulley similar to above pic but the support vein is in the center rather than on the side like the pic below

4468-A.jpeg

Stepped pulley looks like this pic but has a bottom plate that bolts the headstock to the bed.

I guess it is time to borrow a digicam!!!!

TIA,
Dick

[Curt Fuller]

You looking for old lathe owners or owners of old lathes? I might qualify for either.

I wonder if the "A" corresponds with a maintenance schedule. Like as in "A" get's oiled every time you use the machine. "B" less often.

Just a wild guess though.

[Jeff Horton]

Well oil reservoirs should help date it but I have no idea. It's older than I expected and older than me I imagine!

[Doug Thompson]

Your right, people that own lathes are old... one day Jospeh might be the exception. That aside... you should be OK. First the spindle must pulled no matter what so take a look and find out what is holding the bearing in place it could be a simple snap ring. Second, if the bearings were installed from the outside the shaft can be driven out with the frozen bearing then pressed off the shaft. Third, the stepped pulley must slide on the shaft before anything is taken apart... (lol this should be first step) you get the idea.

We need pictures rather than guessing. If you have any questions ask.

EDIT - Is it worth fixing... Yes
Let us know

[Dick Strauss]

Doug,
I've got the 4-step pulley loose so it slides back and forth with lots of hand pressure.

One of the two bearings are held in place by threaded collars that are tightened using tommy bars (like a garage door spring collet). With the pulley slid as far back as the two bearing frame will allow, I still can't completely clear the tommy collar off the threads of the split brass bearing. I guess I'll have to have the shop press the spindle out a little and then finish loosening the collar off the bearing.

The other bearing only has a tapped collet holding it in place as far as I can tell. I can't tell more because the collet won't move even budge with the tap screws removed. It might be an integrated collet/bearing all in one. I think this bearing has gone bad given that WD40 filling the lube reservoir does not trickle down around the bearing.

Time to go the machine shop and have the spindle pressed out...

I'll post pics as soon as I borrow a digicam!

[Jeff Singleton]

You might want to try P.B.Blaster or Rust Buster. I have had luck with both. P.B. is like a rust colored oil and very light in weight. Rust Buster is almost clear and comes in a little squeeze bottle with a long thin spout and a hose to attach to the spout, looks almost like water. Last resort would be a arbor press or heat. I am not the one to ask about heat though, but someone here on this site could help. Also any heavy truck repair shop could pull it apart. Pic's would be helpfull though. Good luck.

Jeff Singleton