Bigger Lathe

[GWR 101]

It's been a very long time since I last used a Harrison lathe probably nearly 60 years. I had a job to do that was beyond my lathe capacity so someone kindly allowed me access to theirs, they seem to have moved on a bit in that time. I don't believe I used it to any where near its potential, for example when I asked why no compound slide the short answer was you don't need one!!!. I suppose I can best sum it up by saying "I have got to get one of these" obviously not this large. Regards Paul 

[nickcurtis]

all I'm thinking is how much beer I would need to move that haha

[GWR 101]

Hi Nick, yes it certainly a decent size, bet it would take a fair few of Jim's soothing ales. That's a smokebox in it, to give you some idea its almost 280mm od. and the hole bored through the side is 85mm dia.  Regards Paul

[dscott]

I have just got a 160 mm chuck for mine and the horrified people at various machine supply stands
couldn't believe it would work?
Honestly, the taper roller bearings on our lathes are the same as on our cars and we all know what
they get up to on a daily basis!!
4 jaw self-centering also acts as a flywheel to smooth out the cuts.
David.

[mrmoo]

Thats a loverly bit of kit. I like the idea of the screen on the saddle

[GWR 101]

Yes I was really impressed and privileged to be given the opportunity to work on it, as the last time I used an industrial machine of this size it was driven by a counter shaft in the roof !. The strange thing was that the long travel hand wheel was so small and also there was no sense of feeling when moving the saddle. This was even more apparent when returning to use my own non cnc machine. There was no way I got to use it to anywhere near it's full potential, but hopefully I will get another opportunity and might even use some of it's other features. Regards Paul

[Jim]

Nov 6, 2017 23:26:07 GMT GWR 101 said:

Hi Nick, yes it certainly a decent size, bet it would take a fair few of Jim's soothing ales. That's a smokebox in it, to give you some idea its almost 280mm od. and the hole bored through the side is 85mm dia.  Regards Paul

Haha! So you're the one Paul who has been at my soothing ales. I wondered why they were evaporating at such a fast rate. On the other hand if you needed them for lathe work all is forgiven.

Speaking of lathes I bought myself this lathe from Hafco, a similar firm to Warco in the UK, sometime back and it is great. Takes up to 1 3/4" through the head stock, swings 18" in the gap and cuts threads and it's belt driven which has saved my bacon on more times than I care to remember.
At the time I bought it it was about the equivalent of 800.00 quid. At the time I had intended getting a much smaller but similarly priced lather that I was going to bring back in the boot of my car. My mate spotted this one and talked me into getting it instead and i must say I've been ever grateful since. As the man says 'You can do little things in big lathes but you can't do big things in little lathes.'



Now where to hide my soothing ales?

Jim

[GWR 101]

Hi Jim, firstly apologies for the delay but I have been away in warmer climes.   That looks a really useful piece of kit and as you rightly point out its possible to undertake a smaller job on a big lathe whereas the reverse is not possible.

I believe that one of the most important parts of any machine is the unit that turns the handles or in modern times that pushes the keys on the keyboard! And surely part of the skill in this hobby of ours is undertaking the various machining procedures in an order that arrives at a successful conclusion. I am also impressed and amazed by the versatility of contributors who adopt ingenious methods and equipment to undertake some tasks, having a fully equipped workshop with all the various types of machines is not a possibility for most of us.

I suppose a lot of the problems can be overcome by the use of a soothing ale at the planning stage, obviously not whilst operating or near machinery. 

Best Regards Paul.