Another Very Old Lodge & Shipley Lathe

Last spring, I acquired a Lodge & Shipley 5-step cone with a 16" swing and a total bed length of six feet. I was told it was built around 1908. Many thanks to John Oder and the link that he posted:

http://pounceatron.dreamhosters.com/docs/index.html

I have not yet determined the exact age, but I am getting closer. I now believe the machine was made between 1901 and 1905. In the 1901 catalog, they show a 16" tool room lathe and a 16" engine lathe. The biggest difference being that the legs for the engine lathe are of the more spindly type whereas the tool room lathe is mounted on pedestal bases or cabinets as they call them.

My machine looks like the tool room lathe with the cabinet base. However, there are some subtle differences. The aprons appear identical except for the lower most lever which engages the feed. The tool room lathe has a lever that you would pull out first before turning and release to engage the pin into a hole. It has a spring to keep it engaged. Similar to later South Bend lathes. The engine lathe has a handle that would be squeezed before turning. Again a spring would engage a pin into a hole. This is the type of lever that is on the machines from 1895 and 1901 and it is the same that is on my machine.

The quick-change gearbox is different on my lathe. Mine looks exactly like the gearbox shown in the 1905 catalog. All of the specifications match the 16" Improved Engine Lathe from 1901 except it does not have the threads per inch from 36 to 64.

My lathe has 4 Vee ways and a closed bed by the tail stock. On this closed portion is stamped: Patented April 10, 1894 and a number of 796 which I assume would be a serial number.

I have noticed a small difference in the head stock. In the 1901 catalog, for the smaller machines (14" and 16") There is a diagonal plaque with the numbers 1-10 that correspond to the lever position for the feed rates. On bigger machines this plaque is straight. In the 1905 catalog, this plaque is straight on all the machines.

It seems that my machine has a conglomeration of components from several different years which should not be surprising being over 100 years old.

I have attached some photos. Any insights anyone can provide is greatly appreciated.

Thanks again to John Oder, I have already learned a lot about the machine from the sources you provided.

Thanks very much for sharing! You and Dave K. have the most senior Lodge & Shipleys yet seen.

John Oder

More Pictures on Photo Bucket of the Lodge & Shipley

I was only successful posting two photos of my old Lodge & Shipley in the previous post.

Thanks to Paula's clear instructions in the South Bend forum I think I may have done it correctly this time.

Pictures by oledinosaur - Photobucket

Nice. I restored an 18" X 8' that looked almost exactly like that except for the threading dial, quite a while ago, I didn't realize it was that old. wondered why it didn't look like any of the L&S catalog photos I've seen here. Hopefully I have some old photos I can scan, if I find them I'll post some. It's still here in PA I believe, being used to build mud bog trucks and etc. Mine had a Manley overhead drive conversion on it.

I wouldn't get too hung up over an exact year of manufacture of a machine tool from Cincinnati, Ohio!

The German influence was quite strong in "Zinzinnati" a hundred or so years ago (still is... ) and nothing was discarded!

Machine tools gradually morphed into newer models while all the on-hand parts inventory was consumed and any engineering, pattern and casting changes evolved to meet the sales demand.

Machine tools were not manufactured like modern automobiles, ie: with a yearly retooling and change over so that new models were introduced in September.


Mike

I am not too concerned about the exact year of my Lodge & Shipley. But an interesting facet of old machines is the research of how they evolved over time. It is not realistic to expect everything to be documented precisely and that is also part of the intrigue of old machines.

Hi All, I found a Serial number cross reference for L and S

Hi all, I found this serial number cross reference for L and S Lathes, the link is

LODGE & SHIPLEY LATHES
Hopefully this will help you with an exact age.
Yours
Mike

L and S serial number link

LODGE & SHIPLEY LATHES