Brown & Sharpe No 2 screw machine?

Herb W · Feb 28, 2014

I know very little about B&S screw machines, but happened upon this one recently and would like to know more about it. Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera with me so no pics... and google has not turned up any that look just like it.
Definitely older design: substantial cast chip pan with 4 curved legs and matching legs on the lathe itself - open cone pulley headstock B&S, Prov R.I. etc cast into front - mid bed No 2 cast into front right face of bed.

I don't believe it's an automatic as it doesn't have the auto mechanism on the front of the bed that I see in pics of the No 0 & No 1 autos.
From the front, it looked to me, like a basic small turret lathe. Turret tool holes at a guess are 3/4". Has cross slide with front & rear posts. It does however, also have an auto bar feed mechanism - linkage that operates the feeder is on the back side of the bed.
So, what exactly is this? Plain screw machine with optional feeder? Something else?
Anyone have catalog cuts, pics, specs, comments...?

Herb

pmx · Feb 28, 2014

Hi,

B&S were a bit weird in their terminoligy...

Automatic lathe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Brown & Sharpe continued to call some of their hand-operated turret lathe models "screw machines", but most machinists reserved the term for automatics."

The N°2 is very likely a manual turret lathe.

johnoder · Feb 28, 2014

Maybe a wire feed screw machine. Must be earlier than the 1925 and 1917 catalogs because those #2 turret holes are 1.000"

pmx · Feb 28, 2014

Deleted, sent twice :ack2:

pmx · Feb 28, 2014

Hi jonhoder,

english not being my mother tongue...

"wire feed screw machine" is a machine with automatic bar feed (through a collet) ?

I have two TORNOS Screw machines, with automatic bar feeder and amazing special attachments (Swiss made and almost identical to Bechler, Strohm, Peterman... now all merged into the Tornos company).
These machines have a sliding headstock, contrary to the B&S 00, 0, 2G : sliding tailstock with turret.

pmx · Feb 28, 2014

Is it this model ?

Herb W · Feb 28, 2014

Thanks guys,

pmx: no, quite different, the one I looked is older - has 4 individual legs - open cone pulley edit: no sign of it ever having been other than lineshaft driven - no power feed (or at least no externally obvious power feed) to the turret.

Again, to me it is a small turret lathe with what I think is an auto feeder - feeds the bar/wire through the collet assembly. I call it a screw machine in the thread title because B&S seemed to call all of these little guys "screw machines" of one type or another.

john: I could be wrong about the hole size... also, guessing it's older than '17.

Found an ad from 1915 - getting close but not quite there yet... Proportions don't seem quite right, plus it was somewhat longer than these. I don't remember a sump in the pan. Mind you there were obstacles around it and for the most part I was standing on piles of stuff looking down at it. The upper machine in the ad is the most like it - it has rather distinct curved legs. Guessing it's older than '15.

Herb

L Vanice · Feb 28, 2014

Cope's lathe book indicates the No.2 was built at least as early as 1902. He shows pictures of two of the early No.2's with the legs like you described and a round sump in 1902 and a square sump in 1907. My 1929 B&S catalog has the No. 2 wire feed screw machine with the same legs and square sump.

B&S made plain screw machines (hand turrets), wire feed screw machines (hand turrets with bar feeders) and automatic screw machines.

Larry

Herb W · Feb 28, 2014

Thanks Larry,

So, as johnoder suggested, this one must be a "wire feed screw machine". May or may not be as old as I thought since they used the same type legs for quite a few years.

Anyone...what's the max "wire" size / collet capacity for the No 2 ?

Herb

L Vanice · Feb 28, 2014

Max bar size was 7/8 inch and had a max length of 5 inches, per B&S 1929 catalog and Cope.

Larry

F Spicker · Mar 1, 2014

the#2 wire feed screw hand machine with #22C collet adapter will handle 1 1/2 round stock thru the spindle. With the standard #22 collet adapter it should be able to handle 1 1/8 round stock

L Vanice · Mar 1, 2014

F Spicker said:
the#2 wire feed screw hand machine with #22C collet adapter will handle 1 1/2 round stock thru the spindle. With the standard #22 collet adapter it should be able to handle 1 1/8 round stock

Per B&S 1929 catalog, the No. 4 wire feed screw machine has a 1.5 x 8 inch capacity.

Larry

Herb W · Mar 2, 2014

Thanks again Larry,

With a bit more poking around on the net, was able to find a cut from a 1916 catalog - may or may not be identical to the one I looked at but there's no doubt I was looking at a "No 2 wire feed screw machine".
The '16 catalog lists the same 7/8" x 5" spec.

Herb

3v0 · Jul 10, 2020

Herb W said:
Thanks again Larry,

With a bit more poking around on the net, was able to find a cut from a 1916 catalog - may or may not be identical to the one I looked at but there's no doubt I was looking at a "No 2 wire feed screw machine".
The '16 catalog lists the same 7/8" x 5" spec.

Herb

I know thread is old. But wanted to add that I have a No6 Plain screw machine that looks a lot like the ones pictured. I don't know how easy it is to tell them apart without seeing the id.

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