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Unknown Lathe ID help?

madmodifier

Plastic
Joined
Aug 23, 2015
Hi All,

I am looking for help identifying a lathe I picked up this winter. I am thinking it could be a Reed, Prentice or star lathe but I am unsure.

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Thanks,
Ben
 
F.S Perkins of Lowell, MA? P. 116 in Cope's lathe book.

Headstock on these is distinctive - very similar to Flather of the same period - almost as if they were sharing the same foundry or the same patterns.

Check the legs - is the interval above the leg stretcher "roundish?"

One opine - others may differ - and probably will.

More on F.S. Perkins of not nearly so nice condition at https://www.practicalmachinist.com/...the-lowel-mass-335775/?highlight=F.S.+Perkins

Joe in NH
 
That is pretty dang close Joe. "almost as if they were sharing the same foundry or the same patterns" This is exactly what they were doing as far as I have been told. Here are some more pics of the legs.

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An earlier Perkins creation might have more "rounder" holes - but I see from pix online that Perkins was "creative" in his legs and there seems to be variety in the design.

The earlier flather legs had the archtypical "hole" in the stretcher (such as my No. 1) Later flathers were more "pratt & whitney" in their general design and this is much like that. Again a shared foundry?

But this is not a Flather - the tailstock with the included "shelf" proves that. Seemingly Flather never included a shelf - at least not that I've seen. (small hole on top slope more typical.)

Yours is a pretty thing for a pretty plain lathe. Classic in a word. Celebrate standing next to tool tradition.

Joe in NH
 








 
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