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Catholic University Of America Metal Lathe

Hit Miss Engine

Cast Iron
Joined
Dec 4, 2008
Location
PA. USA
Here is a local listing for what is described as a Reed lathe. However, the legs and the tag read Catholic University Of America? I was just curious if anyone has ever seen this before? Could this possibly have been a project at that school? I am not the owner nor do I have any affiliation. I have attached a link below... my picture loading skills are not great so Maybe someone will step up to post a pic or two for future reference when the ad disappears. Thanks George







F E Reed Lathe Antique Catholic University of America - tools - by owner - sale
 
The school is in Washington, DC and still has a mechanical engineering department. The thread chart on the lathe is marked, "M.E.D. C.U.A." The Reed case with change gears is apparently not attached to the lathe and is not repainted to match the lathe, so it is unclear how it relates to the lathe. The markings on the lathe indicate it was actually a student project made entirely at the school. Was it a copy of a Reed?

Catholic University School of Engineering - Wikipedia

Catholic University of America - Wikipedia

The engineering school I attended was founded in Michigan in 1817, so it had a long history of practical education. I was there from 1958 to 1963. The educational steam engines were gone, though the power plant did have steam turbine generators. I had to buy a book of steam tables for use in my thermodynamics classes. There was a very large machine shop and a real foundry that cast iron, aluminum and bronze. It would have been very possible to build a complete lathe there, even in 1963, if someone thought it a good idea.

Larry
 
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Kind of unique... maybe one of a kind. I would imagine there is a graduate of that school somewhere that would like to possibly have it? Maybe even the school? Probably not! For some reason I want it but I hope the hell I don’t buy it.
 
The remaining pictures and the description...
CUA Lathe 6.jpg CUA Lathe 7.jpg CUA Lathe 8.jpg CUA Lathe 9.jpg CUA Lathe 10.jpg

[h=2]F E Reed Lathe Antique Catholic University of America - $650 (Westminster, MD)[/h]
[FONT=&quot]"I have a very nice F E Reed metal lathe. It is flat belt driven and in great condition. The lathe is from about 1910. It is complete with wrenches, 4 tool holders, 4 jaw chuck, complete gear change set in the original cast iron tomb stone case. All the ways are clean and tight and not worn. This lathe, although old, hasn't seen alot of use. The lathe will swing a 12" piece, and has 36" between centers.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]This lathe was way ahead of its time. It has a gear drive thread cutting lead screw, and a auto stop power feed, and has a power cross feed. It also has a beautiful little screwdriver built into the tailstock to be used to adjust the ways.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The cast iron legs are awesome... Each leg has has cast into it the following:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]"Built by M. E. Dept. Catholic University of America"[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Check out the pics...[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If you know a Mechanical Engineer, this would be the perfect gift. No one else will have one.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I can deliver in a 50 mile radius if you have a way to get it off a trailer. It is very heavy.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Come see it, and make me an offer."

Note that the owner mistook the white lead spreader for a screwdriver.

Larry


[/FONT]
 
That lathe generally looks like my 12" F.E. Reed lathe, except for the legs of course. Mine have the Reed name cast into them. It's a newer version than my lathe since the belts that drive the feeds are located outboard of the gears on the left side. If it's a copy of a Reed lathe they went to a LOT of trouble to duplicate everything. I'll post some photos of my lathe for comparison as soon as I can get to where it is.

The "tombstone" gear box is a little different than mine in the number of gears in it, but looks to be a genuine Reed. Here's what mine looks like.

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Irby
 

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Here is a rather sad example. You can see the school lads did a nice job of either fixing or recreating one
 

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John, where did you get those photos? That is a real F.E. Reed lathe. It looks like my 12" Reed. Here are the only photos I have of it right now. Mine has the taper attachment so the bottom of the cross slide is different than most of them. It also has the swivel compound.

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Irby
 

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About 14 years ago - saw it listed in paper and drove over and photographed it - sitting out in drive way, no one at home - place looked abandoned

John, where did you get those photos?

(Info on photos in Properties says March 2006)
 








 
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