Allanson lathe

[John HickParticipant @johnhick53605]

Good afternoon all.

I am very new to this arena and I am just starting out with a little bit of turning for a motorcycle I am rebuilding.

When I say I am new to this, what I really mean is that although I have been around engineering all my life and am familiar with some of the technologies and processes involved, I have never previously had the time or inclination to develop my limited knowledge into skills.

The first part of this message is looking for any help that is out there from anyone that has an Allanson lathe or can help me track one down please.

I have my late fathers Allanson lathe (built by him) which I have succesfully recommissioned and works well. Trouble is the lead screws on the compound slide are worn and I would like to have a go at remaking them.

This is where the second part of the mesage comes in.I have a couple of blanks that I think will do the job and I think I can identify the threads used. What I don't have is a machine to make them on.

From a nostalgic viewpoint it would be nice to have a Myford Super 7. However I am not sure I can justify the costs at the moment although there have been a couple of bargains online recently.

Can anybody reccomend a good machine to start on that wont break the bank but will allow me to cut left and right hand threads in metric and imperial?

I have seen a Denham DF4 advertised but I am concerned that I can't track down another to compare the price to, or even a source of spares.

I am also considering an ML10, of which there is a reasonable selection for comparison in cost and specification or a much older ML7.

I have found Lathes.co.uk to be highly educational in this quest but I know I need to spread the net wider to locate any remaining Allanson machines. Many thanks in advance to anyone that has the time and knowledge to share. John

[John HickParticipant @johnhick53605]

Information and machines wanted

[JohnFParticipant @johnf59703]

Hello John welcome to the forum, not a bad idea to add your location to your profile — town , county, or ???

As far as a lathe goes almost any screw cutting lathe will do both left and right handed threads as well as imperial and metric. You do however have limitations when cutting metric on an imperial machine and vice versa, either way you need a conversion gear in the gear train 127 or 63 being the norm.

You need to decide what size of machine you have room for and of course your budget, reading what you say I think a Boxford or similar would be a good choice and preferably with a "norton gearbox " for screw cutting if possible. Along with other machines I have a Myford S7 — a brilliant machine but the only problem is the spindle bore size – rather small !

Cheers John

[John HickParticipant @johnhick53605]

Hi John. Thanks for the profile tip.

One of my concerns is weight and moving the thing around. I had to move a Drummond/ML1 a couple of years ago it it wasnt too bad. Can a Boxford be bench mounted?

Cheers JohnH

[JohnFParticipant @johnf59703]

Hi as far as I am aware most are cabinet mounted and larger than a Myford but not much bigger footprint I think plus you will get more machine for your money ! They are however not to big in my opinion and make a great home machine. — have one but industrial size.

John

[Clive Brown 1Participant @clivebrown1]

Posted by John Hick on 15/04/2018 15:21:30:

.

One of my concerns is weight and moving the thing around. I had to move a Drummond/ML1 a couple of years ago it it wasnt too bad. Can a Boxford be bench mounted?

There is a bench mounted version of the Boxford, the ME10, which I have, but less common on the used market than the cabinet mounted version with underdrive.

The bed can be fairly easily separated from the cabinet and further lightened by removing tailstock, carriage and even the headstock with a bit more trouble.

I've moved my Boxford several times, basically by myself, though a cabinet would really need 2 people as it's awkward.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Looking at this (I see you have already)

http://www.lathes.co.uk/allanson/

If it is the screwcutting bench lathe variant, it sounds like it may be rarer than rocking horse droppings…

Do you have any pictures?

Neil

[John HickParticipant @johnhick53605]

Hi Neil,

I suspect you are correct.

Struggling to post pictures at the moment. Probably dont have the priveliges yet.

[John HickParticipant @johnhick53605]

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Well done!

'Do we walk in legends or on the green earth in the daylight?'

Is there any chance you could write the lathe up for Model Engineers' Workshop magazine?

We pay

Neil

[John HickParticipant @johnhick53605]

Hi Neil.

In theory yes I could write something. I haven't written anything for a number of years so could take a while. I may have to borrow heavily from the Lathes.co.uk write up as well so there would have to be an aknowledgement of that.

I will give it some thought and see if there is an angle that works from my point of view..

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

The fact that your father was the maker would make a great angle for a story. Not many lathe owners can say that!

As for "new" lathes, the Super 7 does seem to be developing a cult following which brings cult prices. On the other hand, ML7s seem to be available much more reasonably. I've found mine to be a quite serviceable lathe. Very accurate and a pleasure to use once it was sorted.

If the Boxfords over there are as good as our Aussie South Bend clone, the Hercus, that would be an even better buy. They are a bit larger than a Myford but not much and I have seen them bench mounted. They are more robustly built, sort of a Buick compared with an Austin.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by John Hick on 15/04/2018 14:04:18:

I have my late fathers Allanson lathe …

.

What a delightful looking machine that is, John

Please do write something; with plenty of pictures and dimensions, so that we can all better appreciate it.

MichaelG.

[Author]

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