Early Watertown NY Lathe

[sandiapaul]

Great addition to R&T. Do the center punch marks surrounding the stamped letters say something? Maybe take a paper and do a rubbing? Looks like it might be letters/numbers.

 

[enginebill]

Great addition to R&T. Do the center punch marks surrounding the stamped letters say something? Maybe take a paper and do a rubbing? Looks like it might be letters/numbers.

I could not make any sense of the punch marks.

 

[rustyironism]

a bit off topic, but, i went to look at the old lathe here and it appears that the hole in the tailstock quill is square, too.
I thought if I could back off the quill perhaps it may eject the center for a better look, but it did not easily pop so it will be for a less busy time to play with.

But, when I turned the handwheel COUNTER clockwise to draw the quill back into the tailstock, it fed outward.
Turning the hand wheel clockwise retracts the quill, unlike any lathe I have used.

Is this a common thing from that era, or could it help to narrow an identification of this lathe?

I should open a new thread so not to hijack this one.....

Thanks

Mike

 

[L Vanice]

I have collected a few old handmade metal-cutting drill bits with various size tapered square shanks. Perhaps the early lathes used such drills.

Larry

 

[Joe in NH]

a bit off topic, but, i went to look at the old lathe here and it appears that the hole in the tailstock quill is square, too.
I thought if I could back off the quill perhaps it may eject the center for a better look, but it did not easily pop so it will be for a less busy time to play with.

But, when I turned the handwheel COUNTER clockwise to draw the quill back into the tailstock, it fed outward.
Turning the hand wheel clockwise retracts the quill, unlike any lathe I have used.

Is this a common thing from that era, or could it help to narrow an identification of this lathe?

I should open a new thread so not to hijack this one.....

Thanks

Mike

We have gone through the variations of handwheel/ball-handle turning on the forum before.

My earliest tailstock (only) probably from a Putnam before 1863, is "turn counterclockwise to advance the quill." (i.e. "backwards.")

The later post 1863 Putnam is "turn clockwise to advance the quill."

The Ames/Chicopee Toolmaker lathes (1855 thru 1870ish) are both "clockwise."

The 1864 Shepard, Lathe & Co and the two slightly later Lathe & Morse are "clockwise."

The 1872 Flather No. 1 is "clockwise."

Both the No. 5 and the No. 4-1/2 Barnes are "counter-clockwise."

So best you can say is "it varies."

The advantage to the maker in making the quill "backwards" is that it uses a "right hand" thread for the handwheel shaft. Conversely the more common (and usual) clockwise is typically a left-hand thread. Details of the tailstock may vary this.

Joe in NH