My mystery Putnam

Hello everyone. I've been in the forum for some time lurking and researching. But after owning and using my lathe for 5 years I've finally made a second effort to get to the bottom of the mysteries of my machine. #1 I didn't know what brand it was #2 I had no clue how to make the lead gear engage.

So about 5 years ago we drug a old lathe and a full set of gears a box of tools out of a shop in a nearby town. It was in rough shape and hadn't been used much but the gear set looked pretty complete and it worked for the most part. After taking it home and cleaning it up unused this forum to get me headed in the right direction using the lamp post tool holder. And for the last 5 years I used it quite a bit making bungs, making spacers etc....
Well I've reconnected with an old friend and we were having adult drinks in the shop when he started asking about the lathe. Hours later it was 2 a.m and we had taken all the hears off the headstock side of the lathe and cleaned and re fitted them. In the process we finally found the gear that was to be an idler between the lead and the spindle gears. And sure enough we finally made the lead screw work .
In the process of all this we found the main mystery was that at some point some did a very poor job fixing a v pulley to what should have been a threading gear and putting it in place of the idler to drive the carriage feed.
So we are now getting bushings and making a new spacer for the idler gear, and also going to make a pulley to drive off the spindle gear for the carriage feed belt.
Okay enough back story, while we were nerding out on this I happended upon a post in here and seen a lathe very very like mine. After looking up more I've determined it has to be a Putnam lathe. Looks like they have a bit of a following but not a huge source of info on them. Either way, have a look and let me know what you think. I truly enjoy bringing this thing back to life and making parts on something that has to be somewhere near 150 years old.

Ive tried 3 different image host and I can't get any of them to work on this forum *

I can't get any of them to work

Click to expand...

Works for me on the old desk top

Open new post window
Hit Advanced
Scroll down to Manage Attachments
Follow thru on uploading jpgs from wherever they are
Results in "Thumbnails" you click on to make sizeable - like so

johnoder said:

Works for me on the old desk top

Open new post window
Hit Advanced
Scroll down to Manage Attachments
Follow thru on uploading jpgs from wherever they are
Results in "Thumbnails" you click on to make sizeable - like so

Click to expand...

I don't see an attachment option. Probably because I'm on Mobile. I don't have a PC I use for browsing the internet.

Matt seems to do a great job with Tap A talk

Pole Barn Machine Shop

I'll look into it

Here it is - preserved for posterity.



Appears to be the 14" with a 5' or possibly 6.5' bed. Very standard lathe - has the rise & fall rest with cross-slide - meaning no hanging weight but instead a raising handle with a ball & socket joint - and hinges at the operator edge of the T cross slide. You may have a "hinge" at the lead screw to connect same to the carriage, or it may have a "dog leg" (less common), or it may have actual half nuts actuated by a lever on back side of the carriage for the operator to reach for.

The pattern of the legs would put it post "new shop" or 1866. The pattern of the tailstock clamp would put it post 1870 or so. If you have no cast in name on the headstock, then the lathe is pre 1876 Centennial Exhibition.

You have a piece broken out of the headstock - I expect for the drive adaptation - but this could be mended with auto body compound and no one would ever know. Or maybe you like it as it is because it works?

I would guess this a little later but very similar to the incomplete 6.5' lathe I brought home.

If you need it I can give you a read on the thread chart for this lathe - showing all the original gear combinations which will give you different TPI.


Joe in NH

The best way now to have pix is to have them on your computer. Then "upload" doing the forum software which you get to by pushing the button "Go Advanced." A screen should open up which has its own button below the alpha entry box called "manage attachments."

Pushing this button brings up yet another screen: In the upper RH corner you'll see a button "Add Files."

Pushing "Add Files" you get a THIRD small pop-up screen which includes a "browse" button.

Pushing "browse" causes the forum software to look into your computer, create another pop-up and from which you can select the pix you want uploaded. Push the "Open" button here to bring your computer pix up into the forum software.

You will then see next to the "browse" button the name of your computer pix. Push "Upload" button now to bring it into the previously opened window. You'll see your computer pix in the lower pane of the window.

Then press "Done."

You will see your computer pix as a thumbnail attachment to your post. You can stop here if you want.

If you bring up the thumbnail by clicking on it the pix will open and be "large."

If you right click the large pix as it's opened you can see and click "view image info."

A blow-up will open where you can see the pix and the image URL.

If you "copy" the image URL you can enter this into the URL box and see your pix "large" like before but on a web browser.

If you put the image URL into your post in the form the image will appear large in your posting for optimal viewing. This is why I have both attachment (which technically I can remove since the pix and its URL exists in the forum software) AND a large pix.

All part of the magic of HTML.

Joe in NH

Joe in NH said:

The best way now to have pix is to have them on your computer. Then "upload" doing the forum software which you get to by pushing the button "Go Advanced." A screen should open up which has its own button below the alpha entry box called "manage attachments."

Pushing this button brings up yet another screen: In the upper RH corner you'll see a button "Add Files."

Pushing "Add Files" you get a THIRD small pop-up screen which includes a "browse" button.

Pushing "browse" causes the forum software to look into your computer, create another pop-up and from which you can select the pix you want uploaded. Push the "Open" button here to bring your computer pix up into the forum software.

You will then see next to the "browse" button the name of your computer pix. Push "Upload" button now to bring it into the previously opened window. You'll see your computer pix in the lower pane of the window.

Then press "Done."

You will see your computer pix as a thumbnail attachment to your post. You can stop here if you want.

If you bring up the thumbnail by clicking on it the pix will open and be "large."

If you right click the large pix as it's opened you can see and click "view image info."

A blow-up will open where you can see the pix and the image URL.

If you "copy" the image URL you can enter this into the URL box and see your pix "large" like before but on a web browser.

If you put the image URL into your post in the form

the image will appear large in your posting for optimal viewing. This is why I have both attachment (which technically I can remove since the pix and its URL exists in the forum software) AND a large pix.

All part of the magic of HTML.

Joe in NH

Click to expand...

I have a thread plate on the machine that shows the TPI combos. I would love to read anything though. I do use it quite a bit and I'm not much interested in restoring it rather than using it.
Also like I had said I don't have a computer that I use to brose the web. I use it primarily for editing media so if I have time I can get some more pics up from there.

Ive tried 3 different image host and I can't get any of them to work on this forum ��*

Click to expand...

I had a similar issue. I could only get images to show if I locally hosted them (I mean on this website) for some reason foreign image links stopped working. It used to work. I suspect it was purposely disabled but could be a bug I guess.