1927 Moyer Lathe

I had the pleasure of having a go on this (apparently) 1927 Moyer C. lathe...

Lovely old machine, lotsa "character", but a wee bit "loose"

And look at all the lovely toys!

But I'm having a hard time finding any information about the maker's of the thing..Anyone out there familiar with such a beast?

The nameplate looks homemade; could the whole thing be homemade? When I was in Jr. High shop we had a beat up but real honest-to-goodness cast iron lathe that the students had built themselves many eons before. It was along the lines of a South Bend 10". They must have done everything from the patterns on up, because the bed had the school name cast in it. Moyer is a common name in the Mennonite Pennsylvania Dutch (not really Ductch, but German) area outside Philadelphia where I grew up. I think >10% of my first grade class was Moyers.

I don't think it's totally homemade, but it's got a strange extension under the gear box that does look homemade..I'll post a few more pics mebbe tomorrow,
when I have access to the lathe again..

A couple more pics I dredged up..



I found "c.Moyer" stamped into the tailstock end of the ways. I'll continue scrutinising the lathe as I get the chance. I find it very strange that no- one has seen one of these..If someone did make it at home, I'm sure like to live there.

Phaestos

This doesn't look 'home made' to me.

Perhaps the thread chart was missing and it was supplied by a sharp shop or owner.

Northernsinger

The bed, the feet, the apron and the headstock on this lathe look an awful lot like the old 9" South Bend Junior lathe. I have never seen one that had a quick change gearbox on it though. I suppose the gearbox could have been added by some entrprising person at a later date.

Perk in Cincinnati

Could it be from the Moyer motor car company?
Believe they were in New York in the teens-20's

tt

I'd love it if it was that simple..Unfortunately, where we live is a long way from Noo Yawk..Not long enough, though, for the old machinists from around here, who seemed to prefer shipping machines from England and Scotland for some reason..This lathe was obtained from the widow of an old Ukrainian fellow..She said he was " allus cut-tink tread" but light on any other details..
Maybe I should get the lathe on "America's Most Wanted" ..I'm sure someone woulkd recognize it if they saw it on a videotape robbing a 7-11..

Phaestos:

You wrote: "I don't think it's totally homemade, but it's got a strange extension under the gear box that does look homemade. "

Alright, here's a hypothesis:

The lathe is a standard loose-change lathe TO WHICH A GEARBOX HAS BEEN ADDED. The gearbox changed the threading arrangement, so the mechanic, Mr. Moyer, "struck" a new threading chart with number stamps. He "signed" his work, and also added an "owner's mark" to the bed.

This is not as far-fetched as it sounds. Lindsay Books recently reprinted a collection of old magazine articles that described various gearboxes to convert loose-change-gear lathes entirely or at least partially to quick-change. In the days when QCGB's were first coming into widespread use, there were many owners of perfectly good loose-change lathes who wished to improve the efficiency of their shops by adding shop-built QCGB arrangements in one form or another. I beleive there were even a few pre-made QCGB's that could be added to certain existing lathes.

Now, there is of course a certain amount of speculation in this, but it fits the known facts regarding your lathe, especially if Perk is correct that it is really a modified South Bend Junior.

John Ruth