120 Year Old Metal Lathe

Reviving a 120 year old Pratt and Whitney metal lathe.

[@peterparsons7141]

You have something of tremendous value. You should be able to fabricate anything you need with that machine. From the looks of the tooling you got some great stuff, gauge blocks, drills, reamers, cutting tools…wow. The is something called “the machinists handbook “, probably any edition from 70’s and later. Curtis has a KZbin site “ cutting edge engineering “. Yeh , I know 100’s of ytube sites. If you watch how he does lathe setup, It’s always the same order of operation. Fast, repeatable, accurate and always done the same way. Get started with good habits, because the best machinists always do it the same way and there’s one way to setup for a simple turning operation. When I watch some guys videos it makes me cringe. Seriously, take 5 minutes watch Curtis do 3 or 4 setups, and always do it that way and people watching will think you’ve been machining for 20 years. I’m happy for you, and what’s great is that your “NEW” lathe has found a good home for another 50 years.

[@vicferrari9380]

Have a great time with the new toys. I learned on a early belt drive myself.

[@williamwilson9727]

Great video, thx for sharing bro,

[@michaelennen3432]

FYI - The Pratt & Whitney machine company is not the same company that built airplanes. The machine tool company was funded by the Pratt & Whitney machine tool company, hence the name. They were very close together geographically, though. I learned about this from the book "The Engines of Pratt & Whitney: A Technical History". Still great machines though, not trying to rain on your parade!

[@AustinDaniel91]

You’re correct, it is not technically the same company, but they are very connected. Pratt and Whitney (the machine company) funded Frederick Rentschler in 1925 with 1.25 million dollars, provided space in their building, and gave him permission to use the Pratt and Whitney name to form the Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Company, so it is from the same lineage. The engine he designed was the Wasp radial engine which I actually have on one of my agricultural aircraft and tons of them are still flying and working today.

[@michaelennen3432]

@@AustinDaniel91 You have a working and running Wasp? That's amazing!

[@terrycannon570]

Very impressive. I love the rack for the gears. My hobby is repairing and rebuilding old machines, My current project is a Clausing 5913 lathe. The additional tooling you got with it is worth much more than you paid for it.

[@TheGrimReaper1]

Thank you saving that beautiful lathe, it’s going to very happy in your workshop.all the best from England.

[@melgross]

Whatever you do, make sure the headstock bearings are properly lubed. They could be Babbitt, brass, bronze, possibly even cast iron. So, please, check that out before you try to do anything. Otherwise, the bearings can freeze and that could end them. Spindle oil or #32 hydraulic oil will work.

[@ironwill8596]

I have a 1929 south bend lathe model N from my great grandfather original owner

[@steeveejee4647]

awesome find cuz backlash is in the half nuts i got my atlas from 1947 for free totally refurbished it every bearing and opened up the o.g. motor changed the bearings cleaned it out it is a real powerhouse and acquired every accessory on craigslist and ebay having a decent size lathe ups your game big time good luck with it

[@peterparsons7141]

I just subscribed because I think this could be fun !

[@robjaimiehickford4559]

Looks like a number 2 morse taper in your tailstock. Oh and the cross slide nut will be worn, maybe even the screw too. Also the main bearings on drive spindle have drip feed reserviors on them, best to fill & use them. Nice buy otherwise.

[@shakdidagalimal]

Great deals and that looks very sturdy for a 10" so you should get great cuts and finishes with it

[@ÁREAJ27]

Olá amigo gostei do torno é um sonho de consumo meu!!! Parabéns pelo sua oficina!!!

[@TomokosEnterprize]

These old machines that have been cared for PROPERLY will be around in another hundred years. Great score bud. The real money is in the tooling. Love it and it will love you fella ! A good go over and adjust the gibs is a good idea. Great score got you a new sub my new friend. You will need a couple dial indicators with mag mounts. OOPS you already have at lest 1. Seems your dreams have come through eh.

[@Larry-jv6he]

you have a peace of history there.

[@lloyd4768]

Oil... make sure you get oil into the lathe before you start anything, check out where all the oil points are it's been sitting a long time it's probably dry as a bone.

[@cdrive5757]

Sadly , your warning is Too late!

[@blue68chevelle]

You’re better off to flip the jaws around (they are currently installed backwards) when you’re holding something like that bowl. (Just screw them all the way out, turn them around and screw them back in) The reason is, you will have more clearance if your jaws are reversed and have less chance of running into them with the cross slide or the cutting tool. You also have more engagement i.e. more grip surface on the part with the jaws. You can also grip that part on the inside if your jaws are reversed. The tail stock on that probably uses what’s called an MT-2 (Morse taper) Size. The drillbits you showed are probably an MT-3 . In the same drawer as the large drillbits, there was a reamer mounted in an adapter. It looks like it might be the right size. You can get Shell adapters and might even have one in all the tooling you bought that go from a mt-1 to an mt-2 size. If all else fails, and you don’t have anything else to use the taper shank drillbits, you can chuck them up in the lathe and turn the tapers into straight shanks, then use them in a drill chuck. They are more likely to spin while using them, especially the larger diameters, but if you don’t have any other other options, it’s way to make them usable. A quick change tool post might be something you would want to invest in with a few tool holders. The old rocker tool post work well but it takes a while to get good at setting them up and the quick change have repeatability going from one tool to another and then back again. With the gearing and the mass on an old machine like that, they can inflict an enormous amount of damage quickly if you get hung up in one. You want an on off switch that is easily accessible and within easy reach of the operator for that very reason.

[@nealblackburn8628]

great machine you got there and don't you take any notice of those nay sayers... in fact the man who designed the latest Pratt and Whitney jet engine was the same guy who designed that lathe .....anyway just a little tip if you don't know much about lathe 's first thing you need to work out is what lever or gear or whatever you need to engage to get the apron to travel fast ( for thread cutting ) as opposed to slow (for auto feed ) because if you try to engage them both at the same time you will break something

[@Danglebarry62]

Most, if not all of the tooling you picked up is probably Morse taper. That's been pretty industry standard for near 100 years, but prior to that many companies used their own tapers. Brown and Sharpe had their own tapers as well, and that stuff is getting scarce. Your tailstock quill could be modified, or another made, to have a Morse taper. I'd say about a #3 would be about as big as that diameter quill could accept. MAYBE there is a PW taper to morse adaptor out there, or you could make one of them too.

[@melgross]

It looks like a Morse #2, but he moves around so fast and erratically, it’s hard to be sure. A Morse #3 would be a stretch for that narrow quill. Those old lathes were pretty light.

[@mobiousenigma]

great purchases have fun with it! the drill bits are morse taper which is a standard i do not know which size of morse taper that tooling is but they do make adapters. books! not book lol audels machinests handbook is a must as is pocket reference i advise and almost insist you at least see if there in the library . thanks for the video.

[@joewoodchuck3824]

Great as long as the ways are still true.

[@DonDyarprecision]

I have not seen one in that size at that age. I think it is pre 1929. It looks to be in good original condition.

[@AustinDaniel91]

From what I’ve found, I believe it’s from about 1904. There is a serial number but I haven’t found anything to reference it to yet.

[@biggreasies537]

If indeed none of your Morse taper tools fit the tailstock, I would guess that it may be a Jarno taper, common on some machines like grinders, but never really caught on, all the dimensions of them and amounts of taper were based on formulas, totally rational, unlike most all the rest of common tapers. If it were me, I'd rebore it or make a new quill in a standard Morse taper.

[@AustinDaniel91]

You’re correct, I believe it’s a Jarno 6 based on the measurements. I’m thinking of taking it up to a Morse 3.

[@ypaulbrown]

very cool my friend........well done....new sup here....from Florida, Paul

[@DonDyarprecision]

Hey Paul!

[@keithbaker8212]

Yes it’s a little worse for wear but a dam good deal

[@danhoag373]

Wrong young man!! You grabbed wrong belt! The pulley on the machines left is the driven belt from the shaft 73 dan

[@madmodder123]

Don't hurt yourself, no one wants to end up like the Russian lathe video

[@joewoodchuck3824]

The biggest issue is making sure the chuck key stays out of the chuck except when actually turning it.

[@James-ru4jx]

Find a retired machinist to mentor you ,in house O J T . Good luck . Be safe ! ( that lathe can take off your arm if mis-used)

[@MurlWatne-io2bo]

Are you sure that motor is no good? Have an electrician look at it.

[@ronwade2206]

Score!

I have three old lathes which I have not used yet. I know a tiny bit more than you from watching many YT lathe videos. You should stop doing cuts until you know more, these things are very dangerous!

[@ypaulbrown]

you are so right....be safe....

[@localcrew]

No - you’re NOT a machinist. Yet.

[@Anon-mk4ms]

DUDE!... try standing still for a second, all that swinging around is giving me motion sickness.

[@matthewmoilanen787]

Boy they saw you coming. That lathe isn't worth 10 bucks.