For local pick up at £100 who could resist. in the car boot (seats down) and home.

A pleasure of a project so far, so im catologging it here incase anyone else has a similar machine because i found this quite unique. I wonder if it was a test model due to some added parts. . dual tapered timken head bearings,, , pin roller and ball race rear. widened cross slide ! extra parts are fitted to the outside sides of the cross slide. and a plate underneath. all will be revealed. I would love to know if anyone has seen similar I can't find another .

Brass changeplate has no manufacturere marks I can find.

Headstock removed 4 bolts, gap bed. rear leadscrew gears in place crosshatched bed

Headstock siezed, both gear changers pins siezed, the right one came free , the left i had to hacksaw through after three weeks of occasionaly brutal encouragment to leave the hole. I tried punching out from the inside . no. hacksaw, lever came off ok, then drilled the pin out, came away in the end.

First gear came off theh end of the leadscrew ok, with a bit of woodruff key, alarm bell should have started.

Who did this. and didn't tell. . To get the second gear off I had to needle file the offset lip down. Yes I also cracked the cast iron gear holding pick up arm TIG back with nickle . Everything was rust siezed. . days .

the upper ring is threaded on the shaft and holds the Timken bearings together , it needs to be gentely released and the shaft tapped out forward as there is very little slack in the mid stage assembly. Pig of a job, my hope of saving the upper bearing was futile. I did terrible things to many parts befre I understood the mechanism of harmless seperation.. 

Going through the photos I have now spotted the three grub screws I have left in a tray . they are from the lower wheel set not part of this image. Dohh. It was running rough through the head gears.(direct its smooth and quiet)

So I bought a crappy old machine that turned out to have serious bearings in it.

Edited By Bob McDougall on 15/12/2022 00:24:56

Edited By Bob McDougall on 15/12/2022 00:31:04

Ive not spoken to Tony but I would happily take some picks for his very informative site. I will ask,

The "B.E.C.11470/15." stamped in the bed end ,I found only a few days ago and spurred me on to post the work. It was a pure joy when the seriel number caught my eye , completely hidden by the origional corrosion. B.Elliott & Co , doesn't look like any of their machines (cross bracing is similar) but works in Cardiff and I bought at Wooton Basset, not far.

Thicker sides added onto the cross slide

How did this coroded metal look so good in the sellers photos. I'm still glad I bought it.

Stuck a bit now on alignment , need to align the headstock and the tailstock .The headstock has four capstan ? bolts which allow head alignment. Also image searching brought up an ME posting on what is suggested to be an IXL lathe and mine is similar but with changes. I wonder if BEC bought machined castings from IXL as there is no branding on the castings or screwthread plaque suggesting IXL. Mystery. Anyway it has a 1HP 180V DC treadmill motor on it now and a new chuck on a 1 1/12 " x 8tpi backplate. So its running just completely unaligned.