help identifying old turret lathe

hi

new to forum and to general machining as well
just a little intro

based in south africa, running a trailer spares business, last year acquired a cnc plasma table and have been fabricating some parts myself,bug has bitten and now want to do more and more manufacturing by myself, i have very limited knowledge on general machining and manufacturing, basically self thought, but learning more and more as we go along, running for business for about 4 years now.

2 weeks ago i picked up an old lathe that has been standing at an engineering shop around the corner, this machine seems very old, the guy sold to me as is paid R8000 which is around 610usd.
so to me was a bargain. machine powers on but could see from go everything was 'stuck' or gummed up from standing so long.

first problem is i just cannot identify this lathe, there is no name plate, only a logo PR. searched all over the net but just cannot seem to find it. would like to find some sort of manual.

maybe someone on here can point me in the right direction.

second issue is the half nut, i have checked most lathes or all that i have come accross online have a traditional half nut to engage the lead screw. this one has like a different type which i cannot find any info if it works the same.

any help would be appreciated

You might find it on Tony's sight.

http://www.lathes.co.uk/page21.html

Posicion manillas is Spanish for lever position. South Africa is not a place where Spanish is common, so I will guess the machine was made in a Spanish-speaking country, rather than for a customer that uses the Spanish language. But, with a machine that old, there is a chance it has passed through another country before getting to its current location.

Larry

I can't identify the machine but it's obviously an obscure Spanish maker.

Regarding the " half nut " most capstan or turret lathes use similar devices for screwcutting. They are interchangeable and most lathes come with several of those to cover the range of pitches you need. There would also have been a box full of short lengths of interchangeable lead screws that would marry up with the half nuts.

Regards Tyrone.

It looks like PR is Spanish http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/pro-turret-lathe-information-314186/ I don't know if they're still going, but in the 50's 60's & 70's there were a lot of m/c tools coming out of northern Spain, including capstans and turrets under all sorts of names.

IMO that's still a handy looking tool

That nut is known as a follower, a similar system is used on the Brit Wards for screw cutting, you nut may be all the same pitch or may be different pitches

On the Ward, which was a production machine, the leadscrew was driven through a 3 speed reduction gearbox (1-1, 2-1 & 3-1) and the leadscrews and follower nuts were changed to get the required pitch were changed over, ....... so for eg a 6TPI Leadscrew would give you 6, 12 & 18 TPI ...........etc etc etc

I can't see from your photos if you have screw cutting on your machine, but the Ward works by the lever pushing the follower ''nut'' in to the leadscrew.

Tyrone beat me to it

Limy Sami said:

It looks like PR is Spanish http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/pro-turret-lathe-information-314186/ I don't know if they're still going, but in the 50's 60's & 70's there were a lot of m/c tools coming out of northern Spain, including capstans and turrets under all sorts of names.

IMO that's still a handy looking tool

That nut is known as a follower, a similar system is used on the Brit Wards for screw cutting, you nut may be all the same pitch or may be different pitches

On the Ward, which was a production machine, the leadscrew was driven through a 3 speed reduction gearbox (1-1, 2-1 & 3-1) and the leadscrews and follower nuts were changed to get the required pitch were changed over, ....... so for eg a 6TPI Leadscrew would give you 6, 12 & 18 TPI ...........etc etc etc

I can't see from your photos if you have screw cutting on your machine, but the Ward works by the lever pushing the follower ''nut'' in to the leadscrew.

Tyrone beat me to it

Click to expand...

" Herbert" had a similar system Sami. The " Ward " screw-cutting device worked well but you had to look out for the lever flying out and cracking you on the knee.

Regards Tyrone.

Tyrone Shoelaces said:

" Herbert" had a similar system Sami. The " Ward " screw-cutting device worked well but you had to look out for the lever flying out and cracking you on the knee.

Regards Tyrone.

Click to expand...

YUP, BTDT .especially on the auto kick outs, ....and on those lathes fitted with tool kick out as well, if you were really unlucky the cross slide etc etc would catch you.

thanks for the responses

there is 3 markings on it

on the legs says "PR-50-R"
on the electronic control box "goimendi"
on the back on motor "lancoi" and some sort of logo HT or TH

i more need the threading guide plate which was removed by someone over the years probably.
otherwise im assuming i would have to do a trial and error with different rpm and gear changes