Trying to identify old lathe

Scrolling the net all week trying to match a brand name to this thing. Anyone have an idea what it could be and if it's worth anything. I'm torn between selling it on or modifing it beyond repair.
Want to change to tapered or pillow block bearings on spindle and get rid of flat belt all together, too much vibration.
Thanks for any help.

This my first post, can't figure out how to upload pictures so added links to them.
Screenshot-20210329-124945 — ImgBB
Screenshot-20210329-124939 — ImgBB
Screenshot-20210329-124932 — ImgBB

Hi Nicholas,

Here are your photos again.

I can't see anything on the carriage for power feed, just the leadscrew and lever for the half nuts. I suppose the leadscrew could be used for longitudinal power feed, not something I am familiar with.

too much vibration

Click to expand...

Only if you run it too fast. When new, I doubt the spindle went much past 350. That was the way of the world then.

The photos show the vee belt drive does in fact run the spindle way too fast - assuming the usual 1450 - 1800 rpm motor. The "largest" vee belt pulley needs to be about three times the size shown

Member ''doc" in KY has the right idea

The "typical" lathe includes two "systems" for traversing the carriage. A lead screw for cutting threads, and a keyed "feed rod" to drive automatically the apron traverse gears equivalent of using the hand wheel/ball crank used for ordinary turning.

Typically lathe users are advised to not inadvertently engage both feed systems lest the lathe "bind up" on itself (different or opposed feed rates) and break itself. Its either one or the other in actual lathe practice.

Smaller lathes including the Barnes family of lathes (US) mostly used only the lead screw for advancement of the carriage in BOTH threading and ordinary turning. No feed rod (well, some of the larger Barnes lathes DID use a feed rod.)

For Barnes, in threading one followed the gear chart and set up the gears according to plan: for ordinary feed, one uses a "large" gear on the lead screw and some other possibly random arrangement of smaller gears on the banjo to drive the large gear. For ordinary turning on the Barnes lathe, it almost doesn't matter what these smaller gears are - although some gear charts do include "best mated" small gears.

A later lathe development of the South Bend era (roughly 1918-1940s or beyond) the lead screw was provided with a longitudinally cut "key slot" which provided the physical equivalent of an earlier lathe "feed rod." The lathe was designed internally in the apron such that it was impossible to engage both feed systems simultaneously. So safety and production economy was designed in.

You may check your lathe for a spline/key lead screw - it may be "turned" in the picture so we can't see the key-slot. If not there I guess I would put this lathe to a Barnes sort of "lead screw only" use.

You'll just have to be sure of a "large" gear available for ordinary turning using the lead screw.

Joe in NH

Having the lead screw reverse gears inside the headstock is typical for Seneca Falls lathes made in U.S.A. and Erlich and Fischer and some other lathes made in Europe .
I don't recall seeing one exactly like yours and am fairly sure it isn't a Seneca Falls .
There are several threads on this forum that will turn up in a forum Search for Erlich that show several unknown lathes that may be similar to yours.
Here are links to Erlich and Fischer machines but there may also be models that are not shown there or there may be other less known makes that are similar
Perhaps someone else may have another suggestion .
Oscar Ehrlich Lathes
Fischer Lathes
Jim

Nicholas,
Don't see many American lathes with that type of Apron having the carriage handle on the right and what looks to be the half nut lever on the left. Looks like maybe some parts missing in the empty holes in the apron as well. Putnam used something close. Unique for sure and probably capable of doing some work..
spaeth

Thanks John, that makes more sense then. Since this photo I changed the bigger pulley to one similar size on the actual motor to get more speed. I'm almost as fast as I want to be haha. I guess I'll have to figure out a way to remove flat belt and as bearings. Thanks for your comment.

Should have mentioned before. Near every oil hole it says oel (oil) in German so that narrows it down to not being Amerian.
Your link to Fischer lathes has a "type kbh" which certainly looks like it.
I'm not sure what a power feed is but there are some gears missing from the carriage, some various parts came with it.

So the big question is would this thing be worth anything?. I live in Australia, not too many old lathes getting around. I'd like to modify it to suite more spindle speed etc, but don't want to ruin something that another would appreciate.
Nick

Nick,
Looks like the old girl has a back gear set up which will give you a total of six speeds. Can not tell for sure but the back gears may be engaged now which would put the spindle in the lowest of low. Disengage the back gear with the lever on the left with the big knob and there should be a pin on the face of the big gear behind the front bearing to engage the pulley for direct drive. That should give you a nice range of speeds. As said you can easily swap the motor pulley. Keep her oiled up good. I have a Hendey from 1906 and use it often. The T slots on the carriage will allow you to do some boring mill operations using some of your good down under make-it-do's
spaeth

Ah mate you bloody legend. This changes everything. Thanks so much for your comment on this. I had no idea, those noisy gears were driving me mad.

Whew. Glad that got cleared up. Converting the whole drive system was going to be a ridiculous project.

The controls/principles of most manual lathes don't vary very much. Any old "How To Run a Lathe" book should help you to identify the parts of your lathe and get started making parts.

Nick,
I've not been tagged as a 'bloody legend' before, thanks for the compliment. As was said the German Fischer KB model has a lot of the same features as yours. I'd be sure it has good years left. Long enough for gun, axle or shaft work. Behind the blue door maybe has slots to stow the change gears. A bit of shine and oel will make it happy and ready to do work. Here's some pics of a 1906 Hendey earning its keep for inspiration.
spaeth

And...that is a plain bearing lathe. If you run the spindle faster than was intended the whole machine will be scrap metal in a very short time. I use one every day that is probably 100 years old now, mostly at the lowest speed with the back gears out...and it gets the job done. Use it the way the builders intended and it will last more than our lifetime.