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Goodell Pratt Lathe Usable?

Ted Beyer

Plastic
Joined
Dec 4, 2012
Location
michigan, USA
Hi, recently acquired nice looking Goodell Pratt lathe. I really like the idea of using. Is this lathe a novelty antique or can I use for light woodworking (knobs/ handles/small spindels)? I attached picture.
 

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I can't tell you how useful that would be for metal working, not having a cross slide, lead screw, feed, etc, but it would work perfectly well for woodworking, particularly since I think it is actually a woodworking lathe.

Woodworking lathes are dirt simple, and that one looks like it should do very well for tool handles and small furniture spindles.

Check that the bearings are good. if they are, then keep them lubricated, run at slow speeds at first to warm them up /test them out, then start making a few cuts.

You will want to check the bearings twice, first unloaded, second loaded. When My lathes bearings started to go, the difference between loaded and unloaded was night and day, and you couldnt tell much at all by spinning them with out wood between the centers.

do you have a chuck or drive center for it yet?
 
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Hi, recently acquired nice looking Goodell Pratt lathe. I really like the idea of using. Is this lathe a novelty antique or can I use for light woodworking (knobs/ handles/small spindels)? I attached picture.

The answer is yes - I understand the attraction to using.

Yes, this lathe is a novelty antique.

Yes, this lathe can be used for any light turning work, including wood.

Sold as a toy for the 12 to 16 year old market, the GP lathe is functional - but not especially so. Sort of like the Sears 109 series metalworking lathes (Sorry, not to be mentioned) but maybe even less so size-wise.

I think back to my developmental years with a Mattel "Power Shop" which was a fun tool, and could do some practical things, but was severely challenged in functionality - and probably not even that safe (says he who dodged out of the way while a piece flew by his ear after being thrown from between the plastic centers of that lathe.)

m_ZHYwu7VDhUWGBaNM6xPKw.jpg


This GP lathe is certainly a step above the Mattel creation. And possibly an equal to the Sears 109 (Please! Not to mention that name!)

I think the GP lathes are at their best when mounted on the treadle stand. But these are not common. By the time of the GP lathe, electric motors were more or less a standard and treadle lathes something everyone was trying to get away from.

Joe in NH
 
I've had 2 of those lathes and they were great for woodwork. On one, I had the 2 axis screw slide and used it to make stainless steel hinge pins for my brother's Ford Econoline door hinges. Put it to work!
 
Yes, this lathe is a novelty antique.

I don't agree, and have a Goodell-Pratt polishing lathe myself. IMO, this little lathe is perfect for making handles and small spindles as was asked. Goodell-Pratt called these bench lathes. Look at page 172 in the link below.

Sold as a toy for the 12 to 16 year old market, the GP lathe is functional - but not especially so.

I'm not sure where you get your information from, but I've never heard that. I've put a link to a catalog filled with similar tools, err...I mean toys...:rolleyes5:

I think the GP lathes are at their best when mounted on the treadle stand. But these are not common. By the time of the GP lathe, electric motors were more or less a standard and treadle lathes something everyone was trying to get away from.

I have a Goodell-Pratt Improved Lathe also, one of these treadle lathes you speak of, and it's not a bad tool for it's time. Yes, it was for small diameter work and for wood, not metal, but they work fine. The polishing lathe is easier to use as it uses a motor, but the treadle lathes are very usable, IMO. The bench lathe is more useable than the polishing lathe. To quote the catalog,

"The construction and fitting of these Bench Lathes are done with great care and reasonable accuracy. We do not claim to make a precision tool for the selling price of these Lathes; but they can, and do, practically fill all the requirements of the average user." (see page 172 in the catalog linked to below)

http://www.roseantiquetools.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/goodellprattno.16.pdf

I think we need to keep in mind that these lathes were not intended to have the precision of a metalworking lathe, they are for working wood afterall, which is not rocket science and doesn't require tolerances held to an R.C.H.

Cheers,
Alan
 
Maybe Joe is confusing the "Goodell" lathe(a wood turning lathe) from Millers Falls Co.

The Goodell-Pratt No.125 & No.494 lathes were for turning metal(not just wood).
They had adjustable taper cone spindle bearings.
Three jaw scroll chucks were available for the lathes as were a metal turning slide rest, 11 metal turning lathe tool bits, collet chuck and collets, milling attachment, bed turret attachment and a screw cutting attachment.

Many people see a hand turning rest on a lathe and assume it is a wood lathe. Metal turning hand lathes had these rests also.
I have several of the Goodell-Pratt 125 & 494 lathes and they work very well in turning metal.

Rob
 
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The treadle version I speak of is below. This pictured applied to a woodworking rest, but I'm sure the cross slide could be attached.

With the raft of accessories, the GP lathes were a rather ingenious lathe adaptation for home use. and it's too bad that such a thing is not available today for young adults.


img16.gif


Joe in NH
 
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That machine is far superior to the 109.It has a heavy cast iron bed simelar to a P&W#3.In fact the GP compound slide works on a P&W#3 and visa versa only better(the P&W has dials).Many other 7" cross slides will also work on that lathe.Also what you have there is a fine specimen by the look of it.
 
Question:

Hi, recently acquired nice looking Goodell Pratt lathe. I really like the idea of using. Is this lathe a novelty antique or can I use for light woodworking (knobs/ handles/small spindels)? I attached picture.

End of story:
I can't tell you how useful that would be for metal working, not having a cross slide, lead screw, feed, etc, but it would work perfectly well for woodworking, particularly since I think it is actually a woodworking lathe.

Unless you find one of these :)
 

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I am hoping to use for small woodworking items only. It has been years since I used a lathe. I was planning to get a modern lathe but this came up cheap and all my woodworking tools are this vintage. Can you recommend sources for drive pulleys/belts? Also, can I use modern chucks? The morse taper on the tailstock appears quite small (MT0)? Also, do you know of good plans for stand where I can mount the motor below? Thanks for your help.
 
If it's the same model I had, the tailstock is a #0 Morse taper, the spindle inside taper is a #1 Morse and the spindle thread is a 1"-12. You can use a automotive serpentine belt for driving the spindle.
 
Even the cross slide on those are not very strong at all,relying on rather small steel rods for movement,rather than cast iron dovetail slides. It might be best used on brass or aluminum. I have a bed casting for one of those,with the tailstock casting. No other parts included. I'm not sure why I still have it. Found it many years ago at the junkyard for $15.00.
 
They're fun to use and no harm done..... but like all other old lathes it's usefulness is directly related to how much tooling and attachments you have. I prefer to hold little parts in collets so a lot of older lathes don't work well for me.

Use it and have fun.... and post pictures of what you make!
 
Here's what can be done with a Goodell-Pratt No.29-1/2 lathe:

Index - Goodell-Pratt No. 29-1/2 polishing lathe upgrade

In the time since I finished the webpage, I substituted a chain drive to the headstock, as the leather belt was so stretchy that it consumed more energy than it transmitted to the lathe. I also made a crude counterbalance affixed to the flywheel so that the treadle would end up in a good starting position. Threading is easily accomplished now, albeit tedious. The heavy faceplate helps a lot in smoothing out the operation. I made a new spindle for the G-P lathe to accommodate that faceplate, which has a 3/4 10 thread. Note my 29-1/2 degree setover solution to the absent third slide on the simple Montgomery & Co. cross slide. That also helps with threading and can even achieve the right setover for the Derbyshire butress thread.

Finally, I used the upgraded G-P lathe to make a Derbyshire-style, buttress-thread 10mm collet blank to fit my Derbyshire instrument lathe and a chuck arbor for the Derbyshire's lever-operated tailstock. The metric conversion gears that I made for the G-P lathe work quite nicely and the 10mm buttress threads are nice snug fits in the Derbyshbire's drawbars.

As for the Sebastian lathe, all of this is entirely reversible, should that G-P lathe turn out to be the last one on Earth ...

George Langford
 
There actually a number of attachments available - including a scroll saw and a lead screw for power feed or screw cutting and a spindle arbor for grinding and polishing. Occasionally a counter shaft can be found with a belt shifter and iddler pulley. They were made for hobby applications around 1920. Someowhat larger lathes like the South bend were the next step up for serious work - and often are used seriously today.
 
Goodell Pratt Lathes

Think this thread has brought out some good points related to the GP line of bench lathes and the Miller Falls Companion lathe/jigsaw/table saw multi machine.

A great place to lean more about the GP line of bench lathes is Tony's site http://www.lathes.co.uk/goodell-pratt/index.html The 125 and its longer brother, the 494 were promoted as "designed especially for amateurs, experimenters, craftsmen and designers." As pointed out, they came with a large number of accessories. The flat belt and three stage pulley contributed to limit slippage and better speed options. The 132 slide rest did provide some limited metal working ability.

The 130 countershaft is a nice little accessory for the lathe. Has anyone put one to use??

The Companion sold by Miller Falls was strictly a hobby grade machine designed mainly for kids and to do very light wood working. With its round belt, there was slippage (later models did have an idler pulley to help this).

It did come along at the end of the foot power time and think that contributed to the limited number of 121 foot powered tables you find around.

Here are some pictures of the a 125/121 in restoration and a couple 132 slide rests. Also a picture of a Companion multi machine for comparison. The GP combo weighed in about 250 pounds compared to the Companion at about 60 pounds.

Lathe - Miller Falls Companion.jpgGP Slide Rest Both Styles.jpgGP 125 Progress 3.jpgGP 125 Progress 2.jpgEbay Nov 2015 #4.jpg
 
The spindle thread on these is 1"-12tpi while modern lathes are 1"-8. I wish I'd seen John.klings post a couple of weeks ago, although I now own a nice mandrel for machining 1-12 nuts on my metal lathe.

I've been watching evil-bay on and off for about a year and haven't seen any Goodell-pratt accessories come up for sale without a lathe attached. So it's not a good candidate for upgrades.

I've done a little wood turning on mine and it works fine. I also do some free-hand turning in brass and it's nice for that too.
 








 
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