What the heck is this?

A PROJECT
Nice double shaft Sears power tool ball bearing motor with flat pack capacitor.

[This message has been edited by Steve Stube (edited 03-15-2004).]

Look at the bed casting below and to the right of the headstock in the first picture and you can clearly see the letters "CA FALLS" as in SENECA FALLS. A fellow down the street had a somewhat larger very late model (1940's) Seneca Falls that had been professionally rebuilt. He sold it for $500 (I wasn't smart enough to scarf it up at the time.)

The one in question here is more like turn of the last century.

For more info see the Seneca Falls section of Tony's Lathes.co.uk site:

http://www.lathes.co.uk/senecafalls/index.html

[This message has been edited by BillSct (edited 03-15-2004).]

That lathe set up is almost exactly what my 11 inch South Bend looked like when I bought it in 1966.

The machine is very large for a bench lathe.

It seem as though lathe manufacturers offered large lathes like that as an economy measure. Just the lathe - no under works.

The rear mount motor drive on the machine is of South Bend make.

Having seen one or two pre 1920's South Bend lathes, I can readily understand how someone can mistake this lathe for a South Bend at first.

I m not sure why someone putting up an eBay ad would not read the name of the lathe when it is in plain sight.

By he way, Seneca Falls lathes were a much better crafted machine than the South Bend.

The lathe appears to be mechanically complete I think it would be an ezcellant machine for a home shop machinist.