Can anyone identify this lathe?

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Georgineer on 03/12/2016 23:17:18:

Out of curiosity I took a photo of my ML4 from the back – a view I very seldom have seen as it usually has its back to the wall. I used a fairly low viewpoint like the original (though I haven't got a cast iron tray under mine). Unfortunately David McCallum wasn't available, so I photographed the lathe on its own.

The backgear lever can point downward if you take the guard off. I still think the one in the film is an ML4.

George

Edited By Georgineer on 03/12/2016 23:18:55

That's a very convincing photo George. I'd bet money on the McCallum lathe being a ML4. I suppose there's even a remote chance it might be the same one!

The downside is I won't be able to watch NCIS without shouting "Where's your Myford Duckie" in every McCallum scene.

Many thanks for taking the trouble to set up a rear view shot of your lathe: pictures of machine backsides are rarer than Rocking-Horse Droppings!

Cheers,

Dave

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

A slight digression … for Sunday morning's amusement:

Having studied George's photo; I am inclined to think that this might be 'the lathe bed of choice' for many small workshops. … and the substitution of a Super7 headstock and tailstock would make a rather fine bitza.

MichaelG.

[Tim StevensParticipant @timstevens64731]

Silly old Duffer starts by asking – And, as I've never seen a lathe in a garage, when did they stop using them for motor repairs?

You are welcome to look in my garage, and the motorcars being repaired using lathe, mill, etc.

But if you mean commercial motor-repair place, I will take you half a mile up the road and show you one with lathe, mill, surface grinder, etc, too.

This is on the border between England and Wales, too.

Cheers, Tim

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi SillyOldDuffer, just for you, but of course anyone who wants to view them, here is a **LINK** to an old Britannia lathe that I extensively photographed with my first digital camera that I bought. It contains views of just about every inch of it. You may notice an important bit missing from it

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 04/12/2016 16:40:22

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Tim Stevens on 04/12/2016 15:20:21:

Silly old Duffer starts by asking – And, as I've never seen a lathe in a garage, when did they stop using them for motor repairs?

You are welcome to look in my garage, and the motorcars being repaired using lathe, mill, etc.

But if you mean commercial motor-repair place, I will take you half a mile up the road and show you one with lathe, mill, surface grinder, etc, too.

This is on the border between England and Wales, too.

Cheers, Tim

That's interesting Tim, glad to hear someone is still using them apart from chaps like us.

But I must have used 6 or 7 different local commercial motor repairers in the last 20 years and none of them have had a lathe. They've all been small car menders though – no commercial vehicles in sight. I wonder if machine tools are more likely in garages doing agricultural repair and similar?

Cheers

Dave

[GeorgineerParticipant @georgineer]

I wonder what David McCallum would make of all this…

George

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Nicholas Farr on 04/12/2016 16:37:51:

Hi SillyOldDuffer, just for you, but of course anyone who wants to view them, here is a **LINK** to an old Britannia lathe that I extensively photographed with my first digital camera that I bought. It contains views of just about every inch of it. You may notice an important bit missing from it

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 04/12/2016 16:40:22

Thanks Nick – good sharp pics of a handsome Britannia.

You'll have to put me out of my misery. The only thing I notice missing is the background, but I think you did that deliberately (and very well too). I hope it's not too obvious what it is – I looked at the photos twice.

Dave

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Georgineer on 05/12/2016 10:46:47:

I wonder what David McCallum would make of all this…

George

I thought David would have posted by now. If he's anything like me, he's probably trying to 'Open Channel D' on his smart phone.

Heard yesterday on Radio4Extra's repeat of a 1958 episode of 'Take it From Here'. Scene: whilst making tea lazy and incompetent British workers have just spilled 250 tons of molten steel on the workshop carpet. Warned that the new boss is coming, foreman Professor Jimmy Edwards orders the men to look busy at their machines. Enter new boss. 'What are you doing my man?' 'I'm Lathing'. 'Well stop lazing and do some work then' .

Classic…

Dave

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Despite statements of it being a real garage it is way too clean and tidy. Note the neat line of things on the shelf and token oil barrel, painted and polished, the smooth wall is just shouting 'painted wooden set'. Back then shooting outside the studio was difficult and expensive with problems of space for camera angles and lighting. The big film companies had massive prop stores and that is still available through specialist companies who will have things like lathes, bench with vice, 'part of car engine' etc as background for garage shots.

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 04/12/2016 11:17:49:

A slight digression … for Sunday morning's amusement:

Having studied George's photo; I am inclined to think that this might be 'the lathe bed of choice' for many small workshops. … and the substitution of a Super7 headstock and tailstock would make a rather fine bitza.

MichaelG.

I looked around for the shorter version of the ML's on a similar basis and finished up with the Crosthwathe. It's an interesting lathe. 15" centres which is just enough for the sort of thing I would use it for and the bed is narrower than some so more of a narrow guide than Myfords of this style. No intention of changing from anything other than plain parallel bearings though. Main aspect was that the lathe was fitted with them and not running in cast iron.

There looks to be plenty of life left in the bearings but if that needs attention I'll use an old idea. Some how rebore them by hand with a jig that fits onto the bed. The jig could turn out to be the tailstock less quill. Sort of mechanical scraping as only a few thou should need removing. I suspect it might be nice to switch to sintered phos bronze and a hard chromed spindle.

John

–

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Bazyle on 05/12/2016 12:12:55:

Despite statements of it being a real garage it is way too clean and tidy.

…

Can't disagree that it might not be a real garage Bazyle – it's hard to tell. I took a few more screenshots but being blurred, grainy and black and white doesn't help.

This is the exterior of the alleged garage. The lack of forecourt is worrying, but I can remember places like this when I was a lad. The smog is probably real.

Inside, there's a vice on one side.

A shelf in the middle

And a battery and fire extinguisher on the other

It certainly is suspiciously tidy!

Who can tell though? A friend lived in a photogenic village where they filmed some Hercule Poirot scenes for TV. Vans, lorries, buses, cameras on cherry pickers, scaffolding, lights, microphones, a mobile canteen, toilets and about 30 people were there two days filming. Apparently, when the episode was shown, the only recognisable shot of the village was 10 seconds of telegraph pole with a drystone wall behind. It could easily have been done in a studio.

Dave

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi SillyOldDuffer, take a look at this photo, **LINK** the piece of the headstock casting that sticks out between the mandrel and the back-gear shaft, should extend a little further and curve round behind and on centre of the mandrel and would have had an adjustment screw to take the backward thrust of the mandrel. I hasten to say that I did not cut this off, this was done by a previous owner for some reason known to whoever it was.

As far as the background is concerned, it is still in the photos. They were all taken outside on a nice sunny day in front of a totally matt white background and base.

Regards Nick.

P.S. I took photos of this one http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/albums/member_photo.asp?a=12754&p=509767 in the same way, on the same day.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 05/12/2016 21:56:35

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

The garages I have been in even 1 man businesses tend to be extremely tidy for some time now. In fact as far back as I can remember. That way they know where the tools they need are, Wish I could work like that. Wouldn't mind better a few people on here wish they could work like that too.

John

–

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Thanks Nick. I would never have spotted that!

Really good result you got with the background, I assumed you edited it out. I've often used a similar background technique and have never got it to work that well. Mind you, old sheets and indifferent indoor lighting aren't ideal!

Cheers,

Dave

[MWParticipant @mw27036]

Posted by Ajohnw on 05/12/2016 23:22:00:

The garages I have been in even 1 man businesses tend to be extremely tidy for some time now. In fact as far back as I can remember. That way they know where the tools they need are, Wish I could work like that. Wouldn't mind better a few people on here wish they could work like that too.

John

–

I regard myself as a bit of a clean freak, everything in my room is placed accordingly. If something is where it shouldn't be, or rubbish lying around, it bothers me even on a subconscious level.

and yet I still manage to make more mess than i'm happy with in the workshop, everyone notes how tidy it is but yet I still find it wanting.

Essentially I want machines that contain the mess to within themselves but trying to do that is harder than you think, especially with the mill, as how can I put guards up everywhere without impeding on vital machining space? I must therefore make guards that only use the room necessary to avoid collisions, yet also have removeable ones.

Michael W

 

Edited By Michael Walters on 06/12/2016 10:44:09

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Michael Walters on 06/12/2016 10:41:01:

Posted by Ajohnw on 05/12/2016 23:22:00:

The garages I have been in even 1 man businesses tend to be extremely tidy for some time now. In fact as far back as I can remember. That way they know where the tools they need are, Wish I could work like that. Wouldn't mind better a few people on here wish they could work like that too.

John

–

I regard myself as a bit of a clean freak, everything in my room is placed accordingly.

…

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 06/12/2016 10:44:09

I'm tidy in theory and shambolic in practice. The odd thing is that every time I tidy up, things go missing. There must be something about my brain that's adapted to chaos.

My real downfall is using the same space for several purposes. My garage contains a workshop, boxes, paint and ladders etc, not a happy combination. It's a jumble and probably explains why I take so long to do stuff.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi SillyOldDuffer, with regards to editing the background in my lathe photos, it was very minimal really, just brushing out the odd shadow at the edges on some of them and nothing at all on others. I do appreciate comments on them though.

Regards Nick.

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

That half round beading round the gap seems to be characteristic of the ML4, as in this ebay offering.

 or this one

Rod

Edited By Roderick Jenkins on 06/12/2016 23:18:53

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

My problem is where to put the models (not just engineering, plastic kits, R/C boats & aeroplanes, a few mamods). They take up so much space

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 07/12/2016 09:09:24:

My problem is where to put the models (not just engineering, plastic kits, R/C boats & aeroplanes, a few mamods). They take up so much space

This Tesla Coil has become a 'feature' in the Dining Room at Duffer Towers. There's no room in the garage for it and moving it upstairs is just too much trouble. Being an exciting bit of kit, the coil can't be switched on inside, so now it's an ornament. You can imagine what casual visitors make of it. The man who fixed my gas boiler asked if I lived with a dwarf called Igor.

I would welcome an evil assistant but there's no room for one, even if he is of restricted growth.

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 07/12/2016 09:59:35

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Yesterday I collected my daughter's car from my local garage and was able to have a good look round before paying the bill. The only metal working tools (apart from welding gear, hammers and a hacksaw) were a hefty vice and a pillar drill. Lots of other equipment but all car related. I guess they specialise in replacing parts rather than fixing things.

Dave

[Author]

Posts