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Old lathe in attic

The other pictures for the blacksmith shop are interesting. The artist's drawing of the lathe and saw would make a great wall decoration, along with the photos.

https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/habshaer/nj/nj0300/nj0347/sheet/00008v.jpg

List of all the images for the shop: Search Results: "Reuben Matlack" -
Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (Library of Congress)

Poking about on Google, I see you can order a print in several sizes through Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Historic-Pic...-MAPSH,1A&qid=1606832408&s=home-garden&sr=1-4

Larry

service-pnp-habshaer-nj-nj0300-nj0347-sheet-00008v.jpg
 
I didn't read all the text but I wonder if that could have been part of the WPA Federal Art Project?
 
maynah said:
I didn't read all the text but I wonder if that could have been part of the WPA Federal Art Project?
Click to expand...

The text in the lower left corner of the lathe drawing says it is a WPA official project. The lower right corner says Historic American Buildings Survey. The quality of the photography and drawings says "Art" to me.

Larry
 
Interesting in that the lathe is termed a "Woodworking Lathe" - and appears as such as it has only a "T-style" tool rest of "banjo" style.

And yet it has a back-gear.

Some metalworking WAS done on woodworking lathes using woodworking type tools. You need a very SECURE tool rest to gain any margin.

Joe in NH
 
Joe in NH said:
Interesting in that the lathe is termed a "Woodworking Lathe" - and appears as such as it has only a "T-style" tool rest of "banjo" style.

And yet it has a back-gear.

Some metalworking WAS done on woodworking lathes using woodworking type tools. You need a very SECURE tool rest to gain any margin.

Joe in NH
Click to expand...

I got my first wood lathe in 1953 and soon discovered that I could turn brass as well as wood. I still use a T-rest that I made myself on one of my Hardinge lathes to turn metal using standard wood-turning chisels made of HSS and carbide. Hardinge was still selling a T-rest for the DV-59 in the 1960's. It is a very efficient tool for turning curved shapes.

The back gear on that old treadle lathe suggests that it was used to turn wrought iron as well as brass and wood.

Larry
 
Joe in NH said:
Somewhat akin to the Ursula LeGuin "The Lathe of Heaven" which sadly does not even have a thread gear chart.

The Lathe of Heaven - Wikipedia

Joe in NH
Click to expand...

I may have read that book when it came out, but it did not leave an impression. The title is the memorable part, but the Wiki article says the title was based upon a mistaken translation of circa 325 BC Chinese.

When the world's best living author (Sir Terry Pratchett) died in 2015, Neal Stephenson became the world's best living author. His novel Anathem contains a description of a machine shop that is beautiful beyond words. He makes a point of knowing what he is writing about, so there is real science in his fiction, along with an amazing imagination.

Larry
 
Lots of good blacksmithing content there. I should probably download the drawings of the doors for my place.

I can see the lathe being handy for a wheelwright. There wouldn't be a lot of call for metal turning, but I know that they did eventually start putting metal sleeves in wheel hubs and on the ends of axles, so it might have been handy to be able to clean up or fit those parts.
 
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