Lathe Identification

Not to the newsgroup, but there are free sites that you could post to and post a link here (do a search and find your favorite)

You can post it to a.b.p.w. That's alt binaries pictures woodworking.

Hello,

First let me thank those who helped me get the pictures on my post. As I expalined in my previous post. My father in law gave me a lathe that belonged to his father. I can't find a serial number on it so I am having a hard time tracking down the origianl specs to see if I can get parts and accessories for it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Here are some pictures of my lathe and that of the 1935-36 Craftsman lathe.

Thanks,

Steve

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Hello,

First let me thank those who helped me get the pictures on my post. As I expalined in my previous post. My father in law gave me a lathe that belonged to his father. I can't find a serial number on it so I am having a hard time tracking down the origianl specs to see if I can get parts and accessories for it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Here are some pictures of my lathe and that of the 1935-36 Craftsman lathe.

Thanks,

Steve

Hello,

First let me thank those who helped me get the pictures on my post. As I expalined in my previous post. My father in law gave me a lathe that belonged to his father. I can't find a serial number on it so I am having a hard time tracking down the origianl specs to see if I can get parts and accessories for it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Here are some pictures of my lathe and that of the 1935-36 Craftsman lathe.

Thanks,

Steve

[top posted for your convenience]

First of all, I have to say that looks more substantial than I would have suspected. Consequently, you should be able to have some fun on that without as much worry over robustness as you might have on a post War Craftsman offering. Although not easy to determine from the pictures, I would guess that the fittings might be consistent with those later lathes.

Traditionally, from that post War period, Craftsman lathes, certainly from the '60s on, used a 3/4-16 thread on the drive shaft with a #1 Morse taper for both drive shaft and tailstock spindles. Most modern threaded accessories (chucks, faceplates, etc.) have a 3/4-16 version available.

Similarly, there are #1 MT accessories in most configurations (most other lathes use a #2 MT--not an important consideration in determining the "value" of your lathe), such as spur centers, cup centers, live centers, collets, etc.

The only serious things to worry about are broken parts, most particularly the headstock casting, the tailstock casting, the banjo, and the toolrest. Bearings are probably off-the-shelf from any good bearing supplier.

The banjo looks suspiciously like the more modern Sears banjo and I suspect you might be able to modify one to work should you break yours. I believe the post in the toolrest is 3/4" and like the spindle parts, should be available from aftermarket vendors (don't take my word on any of this).

However, if you wreck any of the other castings, I would recommend trashing it (unless you want to use it as the foundation of your newly inspired museum) and getting something more modern. I can't imagine you'd ever be able to get replacement parts, particularly without the model number. Sears lives and dies by the three digit manufacturer's code at the beginning of the serial number, and without it they won't even talk to you. In my opinion, those parts aren't going to be available in any event.

Have fun. Find some local turners. They'll be able to get you over a lot of humps.

Even if somebody can pin down exactly what it is, there is no way that Sears or anybody else will have parts for it.

What do you need in the way of parts?

As far as accessories -- if the spindle is a 1 x 8 or any standard thread (as far as wood lathes go), then buy whatever you like.

If the tapers are MT#1 or MT#2, again, there is lots of stuff out there.

Measure the tapers and spindle and report back and we'll see if we can be of more help.

Bill

Steve wrote:

Steve, try posting a few of the pictures on the Old Woodworking Machines website: under the Craftsman section. Then go to the forum and ask your questions letting them know the pics are uploaded to the site.

If these guys don't know what you've got, then I'm not sure anyone will. BTW, I looked at all the craftsman lathes they've got pics of and none have a headstock that looks like yours.

Owen

You might try this link.

I had an old Craftsman lathe, vintage 1949, that was actually a pretty good machine, especially for what I paid for it. Like yours, it was constructed of cast iron, not lesser materials, as newer models sometimes are.

Parts will be extremely hard to find, if at all. Accessories, faceplates, drive centers, etc., are pretty easy. Bearings can usually be found at auto parts or bearing suppliers. Good luck.

Barry

====================

Steve, It appears that you have a Craftsman 9 or12 inch, circa 1933. See

You should see your model there or on one of those pages. They also have some manuals for old lathes.

Ken Moon Webberville, TX.

Close, but the ones on the page you cited are all metal lathes. The actual page, including the very same picture Steve posted is at

Here is the description along with it:

1935 to 1936 Craftsman 9-inch lathe. Unlike the earlier 9-inch lathe, with its ball-bearing headstock, this model made do with "Oilite" porous-bronze bushes - but the spindle was bored hollow, took a number 1 Morse-taper centre and could be fitted with a faceplate on its left-hand end for large-capacity bowl turning.. Unfortunately, the ring of 60 indexing holes on the headstock pulley was missing and the bed had lost its mid way foot. However (and rather surprisingly) the tailstock could be set over for taper turning and a limited range of accessories - a compound slide rest, 3 and 4 jaw chucks and a fixed steady - was available to convert it into a metal-turning lathe.

Sorry about the mix-up. I had looked at all the pictures and then posted the wrong page of the group. And did you see the prices on those lathes?! Wish we could buy any tool today for $4.85!

Ken