My new 8,000 lb 14x30

[A_Pmech]

Well, after two weeks of getting the runaround from my trucking company, it finally showed up last Tuesday. My new(to me) American "Zip Shift" Pacemaker. It is a style B, 14" catalog swing, 30" between centers. It weighs a portly 8,000 lbs scale weight, with most of it in the headstock. All 27 speeds are, I believe, hydraulically shifted, with the preselect control mounted on the carriage. A 1/2HP lube oil/hydraulic pump supplies the pressure to operate the servo valves. The electrical cabinet contains approximately 20 relays which control the solenoids which shift the machine. I hope I never get to fix it.

Rigging wasn't too difficult, I rented an 11,000 lb forklift as my 8,000lb machine would be at the very edge of it's capacity. Because the machine is so short, and therefore very headstock heavy, I decided the best way to rig it would be overhead, per American's instructions.

To do this, I used two 1.5" x 36" pieces of 4130 barstock and two 7' continuous rigging straps, used basket style over the forks and looped around the barstock. This was a stable configuration after adding a 4x4 under the headstock fork to bring the machine to level. Several moves were required to get it under the door, as the electrical cabinet is 1" shorter than my 7' tall door. I ended up putting the machine on the concrete and pushing it though the opening with the forklift. This was easy and safe. The floor coating was only damaged slightly.

My initial test is very promising. The outer hard ways still show the original grinding marks, although the inner soft tailstock ways are worn into the scraping. This I expected, the tailstock must weigh about as much as a Jet 14x40. On a 1" round of 4130 I got a taper of .0005" in 5", 10" from the chuck jaws using an improvised lantern toolpost. I'm hoping for better once I get the machine leveled up and adjusted with a 2-collar test. I currently don't have any toolholders heavy enough for this machine, so that will have to wait. The cross slide hard ways are perfect, as are the compound soft ways and scraping.

I noticed that the threading gearbox was very noisy, something that wasn't apparant when I tested it in a noisy shop. Turns out it was a mal-adjusted banjo gear in the transfer gearcase. With the clearance correctly set, the machine whirrs just as quiet as can be. What a beautiful sound!

Oh... Forgot to mention. The DRO appears to have never been used. There isn't a dirty fingerprint anywhere on it! The taper attachment is also complete, showing no sign of use.

Edit: I should also add that the trucker, despite being "supervised" by a shop foreman, managed to chain the machine down over the headstock end of the ways. Upon untarping the machine, I was absolutely pissed. Then, I noticed that the ways had eaten up his Chinese grade 70 binder chains. The V ways themselves were entirly undamaged. American iron:1 Chinese chain: 0.

 

[Greg Menke]

Congratulations! And please show us some chips..

I'm convinced theres something wrong with many truckers- had one nearly dump my horizontal mill over backwards into my dad's pickup- I had to tell him to stop, and he got all fussy- but a grumpy towtruck operator is better than a milling machine flipping base first into the back of the cab.... Then, the car wrecker guy who hauled my 3000lb American (not a zipshift- 40's High Duty) from Philly to Baltimore used a grand total of 3 ratty ratchet straps (doing so after I asked him twice to stop at a Home Despot so I could buy a few and install them).

At least your guy has a couple torn up binders to remember you by- but don't worry, he'll keep loading them at 2* their rated capacity when new no matter how worn out they are...

Regards,

Greg

 

[johnoder]

Looks good! Thanks for sharing. These zip shifts are a lot heavier than the mechanical Pacemakers. 5,000 for a 14 X 30 in Bulletin 16.

John Oder

 

[Mike C.]

Heheheh, now that's what I call a good medium sized gunsmith lathe! That is indeed a real beast. What's the gearbox on the tailstock that the stop rod runs through?

 

[A_Pmech]

Heheheh, now that's what I call a good medium sized gunsmith lathe! That is indeed a real beast. What's the gearbox on the tailstock that the stop rod runs through?

Mike, that's the tailstock crank. The tailstock is too heavy to move by hand, I estimate it at somewhere around 700-800 lbs. The tailstock quill alone probably accounts for a hundred pounds or so, as it is around 4" in diameter and close to 2' long. It has around 10" travel.

John, Yeah! When I went to look at the machine, the owner kept saying "Oh, it can't be over 5,500lbs" One look at that massive tailstock and I was figuring 7k to 8k. I had them weigh it with their crane scale and it turned out right at 8,000. I was actually hunting for an older mechanical Pacemaker, because I love the curves of that machine. However, the condition of this hard way machine, combined with it's completeness down to the original wrenches just made the deal.

At the moment, it shifts fine. However, I think a couple of the speeds may be transposed. (870 RPM sounds slower than 750 RPM, same for 1680 RPM and 1500 RPM) If my ears aren't playing tricks on me, I suspect dirty contacts in the speed preselect, which is the large dial switch to the right on the apron.

Greg, oh, no doubt. He was trying to be careful, but had never moved a machine before and I don't think he was sure where was a "safe" place and what was off limits. I can't blame him as much as the place that loaded it and was supposed to supervise him. I had a friendly discussion with him about how to strap a machine down, or chain it if he has no choice. We discussed wood blocking under the chains, nylon straps, what is a precision surface and what isn't, and I think he came away with some new knowledge.

You'll have to wait a while for chips, I don't have any tooling heavy enough to trust on this machine. I'm afraid I'd rip it off the compound. However, I did find a few TPG inserts about the size of a Nickel in the chip pan. Could get expensive feeding this little monster. :mrgreen:

 

[Finegrain]

OK, what the hey do you do with a lathe this stout? I mean, it looks a bit muscle-bound . Is all that mass for precision, or for high metal removal rates, or just to be the toughest, baddest 14" lathe on the planet .

Have fun.

Finegrain

 

[A_Pmech]

Finegrain,

I really don't have any jobs at the moment specific to that machine. The main reason for buying it was that I've always had a great admiration for the American brand. This machine was my opportunity to buy a good one. While it's relatively short bed is a hinderance to many, I hardly ever do shaft work more than 36" or so, making it a perfect addition.

As far as I'm concerned, American lathes were some of the best heavy manual lathes ever built, if not the best. They're like a Bently, no expense spared, options out the kazoo, power everything, and a fit an finish second to none. For example, the 27-speed spindle provides a geared speed range from 15 RPM to 1,700 RPM! That's a pretty big work envelope for a manual machine, even with carbide.

I think a Pacemaker is the perfect lathe, assuming you can find an unworn example. It is just so smooth, a real joy to operate. I contemplated at least a dozen over the past two years before this one popped up. As long as I can keep the hydro-shifting working correctly, it will be in the shop when I pass the torch to the next poor SOB. :mrgreen:

 

[Mike C.]

"Mike, that's the tailstock crank."

Weird. The big Pacemaker at work is missing the crank, but it was just a spur gear on a bracket hung over the side of the bed. Must be the stop rod in the way required some creative work to get around it. I was wondering if there was a power feed to the tailstock or something. That way the stop rod could be used passing through there.

I know what you mean about the mass of these machines. I have calculated the tailstock assembly on the one at work to be about the same weight as my Geo Tracker.... nearly a ton.

 

[Chris Figgatt]

What a great find!!! Your story about the binder chain is hilarious!!!!

 

[quasi]

that has to be the most heavy duty, rigid 14-30 ever made!

 

[A_Pmech]

"Mike, that's the tailstock crank."

Weird. The big Pacemaker at work is missing the crank, but it was just a spur gear on a bracket hung over the side of the bed.

Yep! With a handle about 16" long as I recall! I'm guessing this was a "new idea" when they came out with the square head Pacemakers. The gearcase has a built in reduction, so the removable crank handle on this machine is only about 4" throw. After pumping the oiling plunger a couple of times, it glides nicely.

One thing I forgot to mention... I rig overhead from forklifts fairly often, although usually not this heavy! One thing to be aware of is that the forks will not tolerate a large spreading force before ripping off the carriage. On this rig, I could get the forks wide enough to be nearly over the rig holes. On a longer machine, I would chain the forks fore and aft of the straps for security.

 

[davohouston]

Congrats on your new addition! Thanks for the PM regarding aviation and stuff.

 

[rovinton]

I picked up a mill surplus zip [14x30] about 10 yrs. ago when I had an eight man machine shop. After looking the machine over [has 129 hrs. on meter] I decided this was going to be my retirement present to myself. I sold my shop and have built my home shop [to small allready ] and hope to find some room and get the zip out of storage and hooked up. I have an elec. diagram and the manual a copy of which is available for the Kinko charge. I have been told to be sure to check for proper rotation ASAP when hooking up lathe. I too am an A & P [parks 65]. I have an aloris C tool post for sale or trade if your interested. This is the kind of machine that made America great, tobad we are on such a steep slide going down the tubes. I wiil be in Chi. area over Turkey Time, might have to look you up as I will be at my mother in laws [not much to do other than visit the J&l store.

 

[johnoder]

Check your private messages rovinton.

John Oder

On edit: Never mind, I see you have only the post.

JO

 

[First Linley]

That machine looks like my definition of a lathe.

When it comes to cars, I have only bought older Mercedes, because of the quality and rebuildability.

That lathe seems like the Mercedes of machine tools. I may just have to sell my car now...

 

[kpotter]

We have a Leblond NK 13x30 at work it has a 25 horse motor and 27 speeds as well, but it is not nearly as cool as that American I have seen another in person when I was in Chicago and man is that a killer, if I could get the electricity to my house I would have one of those.

 

[collector]

Looking for an American

Great looking machine I have always collected monarch lathes .And know I want toget an American say a 16 x 30 zip shift. Do these machines have the D1 6 cam lock spindle . Does any one have a good lead I have seen a lot on ebay .

 

[ions82]

Pacemaker muscle.

The Pacemakers are awesome lathes. I've yet to hear one negative thing about them. I've always liked the quad v-ways. Seems like supporting the carriage on both sides would provide a lot more rigidity during heavy cuts. I'm guessing that the quad v-ways are a big part of the reason these monsters are so accurate. Didn't L&S have a few machines with the same setup?

Anyway, I once came across a 14x30 with 27-speeds. However, it looks like it's done some hard time out in the elements. If it's still available, it might be a diamond in the rough. I wouldn't mind owning it, but it's just a little too much iron for me.

http://www.equipmentresale.com/product.html?id=86261

 

[mbraddock]

Any update on the Zip Shift now that you've had it in service for a few years ? Feel free to post some larger photos of it in its new home as well .

 

[Cole2534]

Wow, that's a heavy beast.