Paul Hubbman
Member
- Messages
- 582
- Location
- St. Louis, MO
About 40 years ago, my dad pulled a small wood lathe out of the dumpster at work - he's a machinist, and i guess the wood lathe never got used in the shop. At any rate, he cleaned it up as any respectable machinist would, and it sat unused in his shop the entire time i was growing up.
Now, it's in my shop awaiting new paint and some sort of base. It has bench legs, but i don't like it eating up my bench space.
It's an old FE Reed lathe with a 9" swing and 30" between centers. They were known for their metal working equipment, but did make some wood lathes. The closest i can date it is the late 1800's. The babbit bearings are in fine shape, and there's an old Lunkenheimer drip oiler on the headstock. It's a flat belt drive with a 4 step pulley, and uses M2 morse tapers.
This is my first lathe - i've never turned before and am looking forward to both getting this up and running and learning to use it. I plan on using it mostly to make furniture and toy parts - i think its size will work well for me, and it came with a set of 6 or 7 old Buck turning chisels - just the basics, but certainly serviceable. It also comes with a faceplate (1-1/8" x 12 tpi), a 3 jaw 4" self centering chuck, a dead center for the tailstock, and a Jacobs 5/8" chuck on a taper mount.
Beyond that, what sort of advise can you give a turner-wanna-be? I'm looking for recommended reading, typical set-up configurations such as how high to mount the machine, dust collection efforts, recommended operating speed range (i think i have an idea, looking for input from those with step pulley speed control, especially if your machine is a babbit bearing setup), and any other words of wisdom you wish to pass on.
I'm not looking for "junk the dinosaur and get a new Nova". I like old tools and plan to use this one. I've seen incredible work done on foot peddal lathes - i'm certain this one will do me fine.
Help the newbie?
Thanks in advance,
Paul Hubbman
Now, it's in my shop awaiting new paint and some sort of base. It has bench legs, but i don't like it eating up my bench space.
It's an old FE Reed lathe with a 9" swing and 30" between centers. They were known for their metal working equipment, but did make some wood lathes. The closest i can date it is the late 1800's. The babbit bearings are in fine shape, and there's an old Lunkenheimer drip oiler on the headstock. It's a flat belt drive with a 4 step pulley, and uses M2 morse tapers.
This is my first lathe - i've never turned before and am looking forward to both getting this up and running and learning to use it. I plan on using it mostly to make furniture and toy parts - i think its size will work well for me, and it came with a set of 6 or 7 old Buck turning chisels - just the basics, but certainly serviceable. It also comes with a faceplate (1-1/8" x 12 tpi), a 3 jaw 4" self centering chuck, a dead center for the tailstock, and a Jacobs 5/8" chuck on a taper mount.
Beyond that, what sort of advise can you give a turner-wanna-be? I'm looking for recommended reading, typical set-up configurations such as how high to mount the machine, dust collection efforts, recommended operating speed range (i think i have an idea, looking for input from those with step pulley speed control, especially if your machine is a babbit bearing setup), and any other words of wisdom you wish to pass on.
I'm not looking for "junk the dinosaur and get a new Nova". I like old tools and plan to use this one. I've seen incredible work done on foot peddal lathes - i'm certain this one will do me fine.
Help the newbie?
Thanks in advance,
Paul Hubbman
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