Thread: Sebastian metal lather but could use more info, parts and options.

I got a lathe this weekend and hoped i'm in the right spot for some help. It seems old enough to start here. I did get this to make some parts that I would like to produce , and hoped it would do some work. I will need some parts and would like to know as much as needed for finding parts on this machine. I have some pictures to show. A lable that has sebastian on it and is the only hint I have.

Looks like you acquired a decent lathe. Someone has OSHA shielded it.

If you are needing parts for the lathe itself you will be producing them.

If you need change gears, chucks or other tooling, these items can "usually" be obtained from other sources and modified to function.

What parts do you need?

Have you seen this site for history of Sebastian lathes?

Page Title

Ray

I would agree that parts for a machine this old will be hard to find.
The lathe appears to be an old line shaft drive machine from the first quarter of the 1900's that has had a lot of guards added to it along with a fresh paint job. Not all that uncommon and this one looks better than most machines in this class.

The chip pan is a big plus, and will keep oil off the floor of the shop.

Tooling and tool holders should not be too bad.
You seem to have a tool post and some tool holders.
You have a 3 jaw chuck.
You have a live center.
That will get you cutting.
Get a jacobs chuck if you dont have one.

Then next step is gears for threading.
Good luck finding the original set if they did not come with the machine.
You could buy a set of gears from a gear supplier that mates with the gears on the machine.
You can wait on that.
The belt for power feeds is present, and you have a second screw for thread feeds so the gears are not needed until you want to chase threads.

This machine is ok for the hobby market.
If its your intent to make production parts, you will find its very hard to compete with modern CNC tools.

Tools for the tool post.
This machine was designed when tool steel was the only option.
Its designed for slow speed and sharp tools. If you use carbide, select inserts with a positive rake and small tip radius.
If you go with tool steel, learn to sharpen it properly.

Also pay attention to lubrication. This machine will need constant attention in that department.

Thanks so much for your replys I do know this will be more for fun then profit. Everything works good and has some extra gears, plus a 4 jaw chuck. There are some chipped gears in the apron that caused it to split the face plate of the apron. But working on repairing face plate now. (Cross my finger) Would hope to find repacement gear on apron later if possible. That is why I'm trying to find out what I have, so finding parts is a possiblity. Any ways of coming closer to a model or year?

If you are needing parts for the lathe itself you will be producing them

Since this is predominately the fact, you don't really need to sweat model or year.

Any ways of coming closer to a model or year?

Ball crank for carriage movement started disappearing a few years after 1900, in favor of an actual hand wheel

That makes a lot of sense, just hoped if I knew more of what I have. The possibity of finding a used part here and there would be more likely. Thanks again so much for your time, maybe this could be a fun tool to play around on.

Nice looking machine, if you need parts or more info on it Google, D.C. Morrison
They have bought out all the companys that used to own Sebastian and still have some
parts and books. great people to deal with an very helpfull. Their number
1-888-246-6365

Originally Posted by johnoder

Ball crank for carriage movement started disappearing a few years after 1900, in favor of an actual hand wheel

JohnO,

Was that true in general, or specific for given vendor? Any significant reason for hand wheel adoption other than the quality of lathes had gotten to the point it made it acceptable to make hand wheels on them? I can see how a ball crank is a PITA on a carriage of the lathe, since the operator stands in from of it. The modern use of ball cranks do seem to be oriented where they don't interfere with the operator, but don't know if that is the reason or not...just curious...your comment did get me to think about it for a bit though...

Was that true in general

Within the limits of my many years of acquiring and looking at machine tool catalogs, I have to say it seems that way to me. Here is a brief illustration - the 1895 and 1905 Lodge & Shipley sales publications - a major and influential builder.

http://pounceatron.dreamhosters.com/...log-R-1905.pdf

1895 LS pictures by johnoder - Photobucket

Originally Posted by johnoder

Within the limits of my many years of acquiring and looking at machine tool catalogs, I have to say it seems that way to me. Here is a brief illustration - the 1895 and 1905 Lodge & Shipley sales publications - a major and influential builder.

http://pounceatron.dreamhosters.com/...log-R-1905.pdf

1895 LS pictures by johnoder - Photobucket

JohnO,

Thanks for those links, the more I read about L&S the more I like their machines. What a fine company.

Interesting to see that in the 1905 you can almost see the evolution between the models with the 42 "Massive" having all hand wheels. I just love the old hand drawn pics in the catalogs and awesome old pictures of the machines, it makes that 42" "Massive" look like it would fit nicely on a workbench...but at 25,000 lbs. I think it will require a "Massive" bench though...lol

It is interesting that this kinda trasition happened, and I don't think it had to do with getting caught on the operator, since the hand wheels have a handle sticking out also...it is fascinating how this transition would happen and/or why.

I noticed some interesting threads on page 27 of the 1905 catalog. What are those threads used for?

Really nice machines, and wonderful catalog with the old ornate borders...I love that stuff...thanks for the links.

Originally Posted by traditional-tools

JohnO,

Thanks for those links, the more I read about L&S the more I like their machines. What a fine company.

Interesting to see that in the 1905 you can almost see the evolution between the models with the 42 "Massive" having all hand wheels. I just love the old hand drawn pics in the catalogs and awesome old pictures of the machines, it makes that 42" "Massive" look like it would fit nicely on a workbench...but at 25,000 lbs. I think it will require a "Massive" bench though...lol

It is interesting that this kinda trasition happened, and I don't think it had to do with getting caught on the operator, since the hand wheels have a handle sticking out also...it is fascinating how this transition would happen and/or why.

I noticed some interesting threads on page 27 of the 1905 catalog. What are those threads used for?

Really nice machines, and wonderful catalog with the old ornate borders...I love that stuff...thanks for the links.

That was some good stuff to read. Sure is clear how much pride there was back then in quality. A shame how hard it is to find this pride now in the everyday of life.

Welcome to the world of Sebastian lathes. Yours is an older model than mine, but if I can help you let me know. If you look very carefully on the front web of the front V way on the tail stock end you should find a ser# stamped there. D.C.Morrison Co. has some parts, and may have a manual for the lathe. As to the missing change gears, you can get them from Boston Gear, or Union Gear co. You might have to bore the hub, or center hole to fit your lathe. Just a normal thing for fixing old lathes. As to the backing plates for chucks, you probably have a 2-1/8, 8 thread.

Originally Posted by powderhorn

Welcome to the world of Sebastian lathes. Yours is an older model than mine, but if I can help you let me know. If you look very carefully on the front web of the front V way on the tail stock end you should find a ser# stamped there. D.C.Morrison Co. has some parts, and may have a manual for the lathe. As to the missing change gears, you can get them from Boston Gear, or Union Gear co. You might have to bore the hub, or center hole to fit your lathe. Just a normal thing for fixing old lathes. As to the backing plates for chucks, you probably have a 2-1/8, 8 thread.

Thanks I looked hard but didn't see anything there. But I may be looking for it in the wrong spot sense I'm not smart at machining tools. Although there is some small pitting on the surface so this could of spent some time in the weather making it impossible to find.

Hello,
There is a Yahoo group for Sheldon lathes, that also covers Sebastians. Lots of good info, charts, manuals and photos.
I have a Sebastian that looks very similar, however mine has levers for change gears, brass plaque "war finish" for WW2.