Thread: Lathe Headstock

This weekend I was in Kent, CT for the spring member's event at CAMA. While there I was given an old lathe headstock. It appears to be from a bench precision lathe. It has a drawbar with a through hole, and appears to be able to accept some type of small collet. The underside has sloped edges to fit over the bed ways similar to a Hardinge Cataract. The headstock is held to the bed with two camlock mechanisms. I have not taken the bearings apart and am guessing that they are bronze sleeves. They turn very smoothly and don't have any slop. Somebody put Zerk fittings on where it most likely had oil cups originally.

I'm wondering if anyone can identify this headstock. There are no numbers or other markings besides the numeral 3 stamped in the underside near one of the mounting holes.

It bears a striking resemblance to my Waltham....but no I'm afraid not

http://www.lathes.co.uk/waltham/page2.html

What diameter is the collet/drawbar?

What kind of threads are on the end of the arbor in the photo?
A close up here will help tell the story.

Dave

Sorry, Dave. I meant to take those measurements earlier.

Here's a photo of the spindle nose. The nose measures .7875" actual dia., and is threaded 13tpi.

I poked around and discovered that it DOES have a serial number. On the back end of the body, under the spindle, it reads 1H 363. I started scrubbing the machined surfaces with some fine steel wool, but no other numbers appeared.

There was a mandrel in the spindle. It has a straight shank about 1 15/16" long with a keyway. The end is .351 actual dia., and is threaded 26tpi (I counted). The outer end has a 20 degree bevel and is about .65" dia. at the big end.

What? A MEMBERS ONLY meeting for Cama???

I didn't know about this. AND they're giving away lathe headstocks too!!!

1) I don't think those are zerk fittings. They look *just* like the oil
fittings on my shaublin cross slides....

2) 26 tpi is dern near to 1 mm pitch on threads....

3) it's not pratt and whitney, doesn't look at all like my 7" lathe

4) might be BC Ames?

5) might be sloan and chace?

However the oiler fittings, very very much schaublin. Did somebody actually
pump the bearings full of grease or are they still with oil?

No doubt though, it's an old-timer.

Jim

Shaublin began life in 1915 with a lathe that was EXTREMELY similar to the Waltham.

Waltham stopped making their lathe ( which was for export to the Swiss watchmakers) in 1914 at the outbreak of the war. I don't even want to think what a lathe like that would be used for at a time of war.....

It could be a Shaublin I suppose, but the arbor/collet if not the same as a Waltham

Waltham 20mm Collets which ended up Shaublin W20 have a 1.6667 mm pitch buttress thread...and not a standard angle one either. with a .787 ( 20mm) body

A new W20 collet will drop right in my Waltham.

The reason I say it may be a Shaublin, is because of the headstock pulley being "wrong way around". Walthams are like that and a very few others ( Sloan and Chase, and Ames where all conventional)

Even Shaublin went conventional....but I don't know when they started doing it...but it was early

However the thrust bearing is all differant and there is the spindle diameter differance...Man it's the closet I have seen to a Waltham besides MY Waltham and Tony's site. I've been looking for a while.

Could also be this I suppose:

http://www.lathes.co.uk/breguet/

Tony claims it may have been made by Waltham, but I'm pretty familiar with Waltham and this one's differant....but if you took away the helical back gears.....maybe.
But I'm just speculating.....



Dave

Looking at the serial number ? the script looks very European. ( Swiss or German)
I say this from reading alot of war era signs and drawings from that same time period.

Probably not an American product.....again just speculating.


.....the headstock pictures on Tony's site are of my Waltham....

Originally Posted by jim rozen

What? A MEMBERS ONLY meeting for Cama???

Well, technically, no. It's their "Spring Power Up". The public is invited, but it's not a big weekend thing like the fall event.

I didn't know about this. AND they're giving away lathe headstocks too!!!

1) I don't think those are zerk fittings. They look *just* like the oil
fittings on my shaublin cross slides....

I see what you mean. They aren't Zerks

2) 26 tpi is dern near to 1 mm pitch on threads....

3) it's not pratt and whitney, doesn't look at all like my 7" lathe

4) might be BC Ames?

5) might be sloan and chace?

However the oiler fittings, very very much schaublin. Did somebody actually
pump the bearings full of grease or are they still with oil?

No doubt though, it's an old-timer.

Jim

So I got out my metric calipers and had a check. I wouldn't say that anything jumps out as being close enough to say it is a metric dimension. Everything measures odd numbers and parts of millimeters. I'd say it's just as likely to be American. The swing, BTW, is 6".

Does CAMA have any more parts of this old girl?.......had to ask...

Dave

Originally Posted by Mcandrew1894

Does CAMA have any more parts of this old girl?.......had to ask...

Dave

Dave,
it didn't come specifically from CAMA, but from a neighbor who found it at the Kent dump. It was mounted on a riser made of welded steel strap. Looks like it was set up for some specific use, like a grinder.