Help please

Hello all please could any one help me identify this. Many thanks

Lathe 678910

It appears to be the side wall of a cargo container.

Now why don't you help all of us, by reading the rules about
"Making your titles descriptive"

Fuck you lot

awfully testy huh? welcome to PM

allloutmx said:

Lathe 678910

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I agree! Excellent observation

testyman21 said:

Fuck you lot

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I said "Good Day!" sir! And take your bollocks with you...

Milland said:

I said "Good Day!" sir! And take your bollocks with you...

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And stuff it !

The lathe, back into said cargo container.....along with your attitude.

Yes, lathe- probably intra-war German.

allan

Testy's name fits him... The word "Testy" is taken to mean someone who has a short fuse or bad temper. In this instance, we have someone who wants our help, asks a vague or general question, and blows up when he gets a humorous/general answer. We seem to enjoy poking fun at each other without any bruised feelings or worse.

I think of my early years as an engineer on powerplant construction project sites. For a time, I was assigned to a startup engineering group. Many of the engineers were men who'd started by enlisting in the US Navy, served on diesel, then nuke subs, and retired as Chief Petty Officers. Other engineers had been civilian employees on Admiral Rickover's prototype reactor plants. These guys were very sharp, extremely fast on their feet, and the best teachers. I soon learned that if I asked a question about the powerplant equipment, systems, etc, I could expect to get the standard answer: "You've got eyes in your head, haven't you ?" Meaning: figure it out for yourself and when you hit a real wall, then ask us... or: when you have figured it out, come discuss it with us. Any chance remark or comment could and would be turned around as a friendly jibe. I learned to be sparing in my questions and make damned sure I had studied, traced piping, reviewed drawings, and learned as much as I could before I dared ask the "engineering Gods". At other times, they turned the tables and would ask ME the questions in what amounted to "pop quizzes". Other times, they would take me on walks thru the plant after work, pointing to random things in no apparent sequence, asking what system a pipe was part of, what the cross connects to the line were, isolation valves, temperatures and pressures, and on it went. We'd walk thru endless areas of the plant with this sort of quizzing going on, and then I might be asked: "What's the last book you read ?" or "What books are you reading now ?". Or I might be blindsided with engineering or practical questions. It was a great schooling for not just my engineering career, but life in general. I learned to be judicious in asking questions, seeing how far I could get on my own to figure things out. This was many years before the internet, and if you wanted to research something, it meant going to the library, maybe writing for technical papers or catalogs, or finding some old timer who was thirsty enough to drink beer with you and impart wisdom while sitting or standing at the bar.

Now, we have the internet and the world and all manner of information comes to us if we avail ourselves of it. Instead of hiking to the library and using the card catalog or waiting for the mailman to deliver the mail with (hopefully) a reply to a letter to a company or engineer or perhaps bringing a technical paper or catalog, we can tap the keys at any hour of the day or night and get deluged with information. We can live in the woods or in a city, and as long as we have internet access, the world and more information that we might have found in the local public library comes to us.

A gentleman named Tony Griffiths has performed a wonderful and unbelievable service to our breed by starting and maintaining an on-line machine tool archive. How Mr. Griffiths managed to pull the information together for what must be several hundred manufacturers of machine tools, and then get it organized and put on the internet is something I marvel at, aside from being indebted to Mr. Griffiths.

Testy, the short-fused poster who wanted information about the lathe had only to access Mr. Griffith's 'Machine Tool Archive' and browse through the different manufacturers.

Posting an open-ended question and expecting us all to jump to it and give a dissertation as to the lathe's manufacture, use, restoration, maintenance or whatever it is the OP wanted to know (not that he specified it) evoked a response similar to what those somewhat salty engineers and retired CPO's handed me when I asked the (somewhat) obvious. My advice to the OP: suck it up, avail yourself of the internet (and consider visiting the "Machine Tool Archive" and look up "Oskar Ehrlich" ). When you hit a wall or have more specific questions, c'mon back.

BTW: Working in the powerplant that I did (and retired from), you HAD to have a very thick skin. If we were not greeting each other with friendly curses, we might feel unloved or that something was wrong. Our favorite expressions included: "F-k him if he can't take a joke.." or "F--k 'em all, just save six for pallbearers" (this latter usually used in reference to corporate management and engineering).

I looked at the lathe in the photo and agree with Kitno, it appears to be of German manufacture. Oscar Ehrlich ?

Heh.... That is the oddest setup of leadscrew and feed rod that I have seen, Should be a positive ID if found.

Joe is dead right about Tony's site. It's an invaluable archive that I read on a regular basis. I just wish it would have been accessible to me when I was working. When I read about guys buying a used machine tool for a couple of thousand dollars yet they don't want to pay fifty for a copy of the users manual I shake my head. Written knowledge is priceless, especially with machinery. It allows you to see inside what appears to be an impenetrable object. You can't put a price on how much time and effort and breakages that can be saving by having the handbook.

Well done Tony.

Regards Tyrone.

I've had direct email correspondence with Tony Griffiths. I can say the man is a true gentleman in every sense of the word, and he has created an invaluable resource for the rest of us.

In the USA, we have an old saying: "Penny-wise and dollar foolish". This would describe the persons who, as Tyrone notes, will buy a machine tool for a good sum of money and then bitch about 50 bucks for a manual. Tyrone is a retired machine tool fitter, so he has more than paid his dues when it comes to experience and wisdom in these matters. Admittedly, what one man designed and other built, men at some later time should (underline that word) be able to figure out, take apart, repair, and put right. However, in a working shop, time is money. Diddling around trying to figure out how to get a machine tool apart, or make adjustments to something like a multi-plate clutch/brake or set preload on bearings without a manual is going to burn up a lot of time. Improper adjustments made without a manual giving the setup specs is also a good way to burn up bearings, clutches and brakes or at least result in having a machine tool together and apart a few more times to get a repair and adjustments put to rights.

Knowing where the dowel pins are, or perhaps a hidden set screw (grub screw to our UK brethren)can make the difference between getting something apart easily with no damage or a lot of beating, banging, prying and possible damage.


I can't speak for the English, but I'd recommend Mr. Griffiths for some official recognition such as the late Fred Dibnah received.
Mr. Griffiths has an open invitation to stay in our home and ride my Harley (or one of the old Airhead BMW motorcycles) to tour the area if he is so inclined. It may sound hackneyed (or as we say in New York, "schmaltzy" -Yiddish or German slang for 'dripping with chicken fat'), but it bears repeating here: Mr. Tony Griffiths is a Prince of a fellow.

Again I agree Joe. Lots of times I've had to " follow my nose " as we say over here and I've struggled to dismantle a line in a gearbox because of some quirk of design that I've never come across before. Very occasionally a lack of knowledge has caused me to damage a component. I'm not good with that situation. I say to myself " That machine has sat there quite happily for 50 years and then you come along and damage it !"

Like lots of us I'm my own sternest critic and I really don't like it if I make a mistake. Having the literature that enables you to avoid foul ups is almost priceless to me.

Another big timesaver, especially on large machines, is having the correct foundation plan for your machine.

Regards Tyrone.

Joe Michaels' idea of recognition for Tony Griffiths

Joe Michaels said:

...I can't speak for the English, but I'd recommend Mr. Griffiths for some official recognition such as the late Fred Dibnah received.
Mr. Griffiths has an open invitation to stay in our home and ride my Harley (or one of the old Airhead BMW motorcycles) to tour the area if he is so inclined. It may sound hackneyed (or as we say in New York, "schmaltzy" -Yiddish or German slang for 'dripping with chicken fat'), but it bears repeating here: Mr. Tony Griffiths is a Prince of a fellow.

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I too have had personal dealings with Tony, having bought a lathe from him which he crated up and shipped to me in Maine, followed by a number of contacts and other completely satisfactory transactions, and I share your high opinion of him 100%. I was interested in your coupling his name with Fred Dibnah's, as he is another absolute top of the list guy to me, although I have never had any contact with him.

As to your notion of recognition of some sort for Tony, it would be well deserved, but probably hard to orchestrate without someone stepping forward with a substantial amount of time available to make it happen. I think this was one of the stumbling blocks that stood in the way of us doing something for Conrad at Pratt. Here is something quite a bit more modest, but probably doable, and in keeping with the standing offer you have extended to Tony. We could, through PM, solicit names of members who share an appreciation and a sense of gratitude for Tony's contributions and who would be willing for that reason to host Tony for a few days should Tony wish to come to the States on a visit. Tony's transportation and scheduling would be up to him, but what we could offer him, besides our scintillating company, would be room & board in our homes during his trip plus whatever might also be of interest to him in the way of shop tours.

Of course, this might also be hard to orchestrate, but reactions are solicited.

-Marty-

We old farts just MUST accept we are obsolete, statistically irrelevant, and only know crap nobody needs to know any more cause it's on Google. If we ain't careful our Sr Citizen Discount for the International House of Plasticized Swill, or worse Slopoltne or Spillys will be REVOKED and AARP will dispatch escorts to haul us to a tastefully furnished room identical to the other 50 rooms on the corridor to await our appointment with the Mortician.

The Snowflakes can not be subjected to stress, or heat, and they MUST be obeyed and passified. They're so smart they require self driving cars, preferably electric and non polluting. (Shudup Joe, don't mention the cord is really plugged into a coal fired powerhouse)

The little darlings only need tolerate us until they can figure out how to get our assets and spend them. They already have DEVICES (please sit that hunk of plastic on the welding bench so I can test its resistance to torches) and aps that deliver all required answers. Kindly make a direct deposit to their account so they don't have to take time from their busy day of wine comparison and pill swallowing to actually message you bichin they have a ZERO account balance that matches their brainpower score. Make sure you stay current on emoticons and other corruptions of American Standard English as well because they can't be stressed understanding nouns and verbs. Don't force them to alert BookFace or Instacrap about your failure to cooperate and facilitate!

Lathe, you mean those old hunks of some kind of metal Glipnar and Pontiaca recycle into tasteful bases for glass topped tables in Yuppielofts, what about them? You can 3D print everything now and lathes are obsolete.

testyman21 said:

Fuck you lot

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Damn you guys ROCK!!! Only 2 posts drove this guy to blow a gasket. It's often entertaining to observe the antics of the low tolerance crowd. Sorry we couldn't help him sell off his inherited machinery. Wish him farewell and hope he finds joy somewhere far away.

Best Regards,
Bob

Yeah and he destroyed my carefully cultivated image of the polite, courteous and well mannered Englishman in one post.

Regards Tyrone.

What Ever Happened to Common Sense ?

New poster, who had obviously not read any of the forum rules, spews out a post with a meaningless title. Long-time members poke fun at the vagueness of the inquiry. OP gets mad, picks up his marbles, and goes home.

What ever happened to common sense, like READING for a while before jumping in to a forum? Like reading the RULES set by the forum owner?

Note that at least two members ID'd the lathe as possibly inter-war German origin. That's an example of the impressive depth of knowledge here.

If Mr. Testy had the sense to say "Oops! Didn't realize the thread title must be descriptive! Sorry, I will fix that right away!." we'd be falling all over ourselves offering helpful suggestions.

Most of us would have enjoyed the exchange. I'm already wondering if the missing change gears would be the common Diametral Pitch system or the Module system prevalent in some metric countries.

JRR

All the guy wanted was to find out something about his lathe. Yeah, yeah, yeah he should have had a better title, should have read the posting rules, but it was his first post. Have you ever noticed that very often the nastiest, meanest, most uncivil and opinionated comments on internet forums usually come from users who hide behind nom de plumes and user IDs and don't use their real names? Thats why I always write under my actual name. It keeps me from getting too over the top. Since people know who I really am, I tend to think and rethink things before posting, consequently tempering my comments a little. It makes me cautious of what I am saying because in the back of my mind there is always the possibility I could tick somebody off to the point that they might show up in my driveway with a ball bat.

Hope the guy finds out something about his lathe.

Sam Shublom