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Porter-Cable

Tony,

There was a thread on here somewhere about an unknown lathe that, from memory looked, like that first (flat bed) PorterCable machine.

It had the rear mounted tail-stock and right-angle drive etc. (I'll see if I can find it)

Bill

[edit]

one thread (no pictures):

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/antique-machinery-history/old-porter-cable-lathe-114975/

I think this was the thread (images now missing :( ):
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/antique-machinery-history/identify-lathe-111752/
 
That does sound like one - we live in hope.
I hope to add something about a Porter-cable toolroom lathe within the next few days.
 
I went to Jackson, Tenn. to the Porter*Cable factory years ago and in their lobby, there were showcases of their first tools. I don't recall a lathe, but they may have one or at least some info on them. Their # is 901/660/9616
 
That does sound like one - we live in hope.
I hope to add something about a Porter-cable toolroom lathe within the next few days.

Tony, looking forward to that, I have an old 12" Porter Cable toolroom lathe. It is pretty much an orphan on all the forums I have searched over the yrs. What little I have been able to dig up is the fact that it looks like they bought out Mulliner Enlund (not sure of sp) and maybe made a few changes. I need to join the digital age and try to get some pics of it.
James
 
Hello James,
Thanks for that. I'd be very interested indeed to have some high-resolution pictures of your 12-inch Porter-cable. Your surmise about Mulliner Enlund is most interesting.
I bought the W.C.Lipe catalog on eBay (what a coincidence that was, turning up at this point) so will have some additional data to work on about the production lathes' later years. Tony
 
Tony ,
It is nice to know that you got the Lipe catalogue on e-Bay and it is now in good hands.
I had sent PM s to the original posters of the other threads when I first posted about the catalogue incase they were interested and had a reply from one of them.
I was surprised that it was still available.
I didn't take the time to review all the links in the other thread before I posted here earlier but I see that Allan was right about Lipe being the successor to Porter Cable as posted by Robert Lang in post # 7 of this thread
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/antique-machinery-history/w-c-lipe-army-lathe-240749/

"A little bit of info.
William C. Lipe was the brother of Charles E. Lipe(milling machine of Brown & Sharpe fame).
Brown & Lipe was Alexander Brown & Charles Lipe.
W.C. Lipe was into quite a few companies. Broom sewing machines, foundry etc.
From 1929; W.C. Lipe Inc., Syracuse, NY. Production Tools, Special Machines.
From 1937; WC Lipe, Inc., Buys Lathe Division of Porter-Cable The purchase of the lathe division of Porter-Cable Machine Company ... consisting of the 9" Production lathe, the Mechanical Carbo lathe and the Hydraulic Carbo.
From 1940; W.C. Lipe, Inc., Syracuse, NY, announces that construction is under way for an addition to the company's plant in Syracuse to provide for the expansion of the Machine Tool Division, which manufactures the Lipe mechanical Carbo-Lathe. The improved Carbo-Lathe is designed for high production turning with modern alloy tools."

Thanks for the good work you are doing to make your information available to us on your site.
Regards,
Jim.
 
all these companies were within a half mile of each other. Lipe also evolved into Fisher Guide, ie GM, also Franklin Automobiles, later Franklin aircraft engines. Sundstand, Engelberg, John Deere, New Process Gear, etc, all within in walking distance. Edlund was in there somewhere, which became part of Monarch. When I was a kid, my grandparents rented a camp in Henderson Harbor on Lake Ontario for 30 years from Alex Brown. The building I do allot of work in [ Oneida Air Systems] was Fisher Guide, [GM] then Porter Cable, then Rockwell. and was the site of Precision Die casting, which bought Bridgeport SN 1 in 1938 or so. etc etc etc etc. LC Smith shot guns was a spin off of Lipe, connected with Hunter Fans in Fulton, where my Grandfather worked in the 30s.
 
I forgot to add, Carrier Air Conditioners got started in that same block! In the old Franklin Plant. I have heard various versions of this, but Franklin pretty much invented die casting and of course many of the products we are talking about in that era were die cast. The Porter Cable tools were probably die cast aluminum, and not sand cast, the parts I have seen certainly were. Syracuse Industrial Sales on the north side sells mostly woodworking tools, The owner, Ron, has a nice collection of old Porter Cable tools.
 
I have a tool website where people often ask some odd questions via email. A recent one was a guy whose father died and lathe needs a home. According to him it is an "old Porter Cable full-size metal lathe", in the basement and "(B/1 6/5) on the tag." The guy's area code is 417 (Southwestern Missouri). It sounds like it could be a good deal to someone here.

If interested, please send an email via my website form, Contact | JUNKYARD TOOLS

There are currently two other guys looking into this but after reading about the old PC lathes here, it might be too big weight-wise. Just guessing. I'll try to keep everyone up to date, if possible. Like I said, it isn't my deal.

Thanks for looking, just tryin' to help a guy out,
Steve
 
This is a little of the main topic of the Lathes and I’m not sue if Lipe also made drill presses or if the drill press shown in the link was just a drill press in a Lipe Factory like the other photo of the differential cases being drilled.
Machinery
At any rate a little more to add to the story .
Regards,
Jim
 








 
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