Chopped lathe bed

I want to buy a used engine lathe maybe a 12x36 or 14x40 which will probably be too long for my workspace.So I want chop the lathe bed down to at least 16 between centers and of course deal with all the other work like shortening down the lead screw, power feed bar, and clutch bar.however my knowledge about metallergy is mediocre and I would like to know if there are stresses retained in cast iron from the casting process that may be released upon cutting the bed in half and possibly twisting the lathe bed????

12x20 shouls be available out there. A Harrison 5LA will give you a good 11" x 20 all depends just what space your trying to fit it into, post up your space and we can probably advise better. A smaller VTL might also be a option.

All you need is a demo saw,chop the end off......one issue might be the mounting at the end of the bed...As mentioned there are plenty of short lathes with 20-24" between centres.....Its probably more important to get a short headstock machine.....If you want to turn a lathe into scrap,take it down the scrapyard,and they will do it for you,and pay you as well.

Bad idea. If it had any precision at all you will lose it.

Once you butcher it how do you attach the legs after cutting off the mounting pad when you cut the bed off. Does resale matter? It will have no resale value when you are done.

moonlight machine said:

Once you butcher it how do you attach the legs after cutting off the mounting pad when you cut the bed off. Does resale matter? It will have no resale value when you are done.

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In some cases the resale value could go even up if you chop old 8 feet lathe to garage hobbyist size. Assuming you can do decent work without huge kludges. Some lathe beds look easier than others for remounting the legs and leadscrew than others. I have seen one shortened Harrison?? and you couldn't tell it from original unless you knew that it has been 6 feet longer.

And like said headstock size matters a lot in the older machines

This question would be better answered over at:
hobby-machinist.com

Less arguments will ensue for shure.

I once bought an ancient SB 16" which saw new life by cutting off maybe 20" or so from the headstock end of the bed. Holes were drilled and tapped for legs and mountings for the banjo and leadscrew. I believe all this was done to remove the worn out portion of the bed as an exercise in mechanical skill and economy.

barely sentient reply

moonlight machine said:

Once you butcher it how do you attach the legs after cutting off the mounting pad when you cut the bed off. Does resale matter? It will have no resale value when you are done.

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I would drill one hole on each side of the bed on the bottom at tl stk end. then tap each hole to accept a large adjustable screw jack with the base of the jack bieng able to be clamped to the stand after leveling the lathe.

Buy a crap Harbor Freight or Grizzly lathe and fix it up. I would hate seeing a South Bend or other American treasure butchered up. This forum used to ban talking about Asian crap and it's a shame they allow dirty words like that now.

How about this? Ready to roll to suit your needs.

EISEN 1224GH bench lathe 1.5HP single-phase 22V with floor stand and – Eisen Machinery Inc

"In some cases the resale value could go even up if you chop old 8 feet lathe to garage hobbyist size. "

Not from anybody with any sense. Hacking up any piece of machinery in that way will never enhance its value any more than refinishing a piece of antique furniture or refinishing an antique gun.

Ahhh, just take a Sawzall to it and use a piece of 2x4 for the new leg, it'll be fine.

BAD IDEA.
Just dont.

First: MONARCH 10EE.... an awesome lathe available in 12x20

Second: For the amount of effort required, you would be better off just building a small addition to your shop. Or getting one of those prefabbed sheds to house your lathe.

Third: When everything you turn has a taper to it and you cant figure why, you will always wonder if it was because of your hack job on the lathe bed.

Fourth: You will end up with a hacked up POS that will only be worth scrap value when it comes time move.

Fifth: If you already had a FREE lathe that was too big, it might be worth considering (not really though, better off selling it and putting the money toward a complete lathe)

Sixth: there are other cheap ass china hobby lathes in 12x20 that would probably be as good as your hack job.

Seventh: Get a MONARCH 10EE, in 10 or 15 years it will likely still have some value

Eighth: Just dont

Mike C. said:

"In some cases the resale value could go even up if you chop old 8 feet lathe to garage hobbyist size. "

Not from anybody with any sense. Hacking up any piece of machinery in that way will never enhance its value any more than refinishing a piece of antique furniture or refinishing an antique gun.

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Not everyone in here is old fart collecting and polishing lathes

AFAIK this Elliot was shortened by 3 feet with large angle grinder.. looks like a really stout and relatively compact lathe with big bore



Kinda ideal candidate as some of the Elliot models look like they beg to be shortened

I thought the OP's post was a joke, until I saw Mattij's pic of that Elliott.

daryl bane said:

I thought the OP's post was a joke, until I saw Mattij's pic of that Elliott.

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I think this is similar model to what was the starting point of the shortened Elliot shown in first pic: (again kind of ideal model for shortening)


For these bigger lathes their destiny is usually to end up being melted when they are old and ugly so I see no loss there.
And short, stout big-bore(3.5") lathes are about rare as hen's teeth around here so you can just dream about buying one or chop-chop old Elliot.
For OP's case there is probably better alternatives but...

I used to do work for a company who's MD wasn't dealing with a full deck. He came in one morning and said the the foreman welder " Either the last 6ft of that lathe goes through the door by tonight or you do !"

This was a big " Craven " centre lathe with a bed length of about 26 ft. I was brought in to remove the leadscrew and shafts etc then the foreman got to work with gouging rods. By mid afternoon the welders had gouged the bed in half at the next pedestal near the tailstock end and the grinders were angle grinding the casting smooth.
The next day I refitted the hanger brackets onto the casting and by that time the leadscrew and shafts had all been shortened and I fitted them. The lathe itself worked perfectly but about 2 to 3 weeks after this a job came along that would have fitted into the old lathe but was too big for the newly shortened lathe !

PS, I've worked on both of those " Elliot " lathes in the past. I don't recall the little green " Omni-Speed " lathe having an overhang at the tailstock end so that may be a special version. I'm pretty sure you could buy the other lathe, the " Concord " , with a bed the length that's shown in the photo.

Regards Tyrone.

south bend 13 would be an excellent choice- no clutch bar , no power feed bar .....
the lead screw has a keyway that drives the carriage...only one connection to refit.

just make sure to get a good modern >1955 one ...not some old turkey.

you will know it- D1-4 spindle , large feed dials , lever clutch, thread dial,
under drive.... i believe the newer >1966 ones had a honeycomb bracing between
the ways.

Curious how you hope to turn the bearing ends of the lead screw, feed shaft, etc. without a proper lathe to begin with? And to answer the original question -- it's quite possible the bed will move -- and be harder to level -- after you chop the rear end off. The typical 14x40" lathe available used doesn't have a lot of cast iron between the headstock and foot. You should expect to lose accuracy -- and also room to park your carriage and tailstock.

The size lathe you're hoping to shorten (12x36 to 14x40) is probably the most desired and thus expensive size commonly available used. Seems false economy to turn one into a Frankenlathe unless you already have a candidate. And even then, I'd be trying to find an extra foot of space, rather than end up with a 12x16 to 14x24 lathe.

However, you could buy a nice 13x25 Harrison 300 (about 6' long) or even one of the better small imports (with a cross feed etc.).

Also seems that hobby shop work ends up in three main categories. First, tiny stuff you could buy something like an Emco 7 x 20"+ or any number of other small lathes to handle. Second, longer shaft stuff you apparently will never do. Third, larger diameter (say, 6" to 14") but shorter length stuff you could likely strap to a faceplate or chuck without a tailstock.

So, you might consider getting something like a Hardinge TM horizontal mill and putting a faceplace on it. That would probably swing 14" or so by some few inches long -- and have maybe a 30" x 40" footprint. You wouldn't be hogging on this, but could accurately nibble away at some pretty large diameters. Then, buy something like an Emco Maximat (which one can easily enough lift) and store it on the table. Voila, it all fits in a broom closet.

If you have or plan to get a mill, you can also do some occasional larger diameter stuff on a rotary table.

I'm still not sure if "barely sentient" is trolling for the amusement of viewing various responses for a "barely suitable" conversion. Might also add that if space is really tight, you could just build a shelves and cabinets over and under the last foot of whatever lathe you end up with.

Few of us have original equipment so large, it really wants fore shortening.