Lorch lathe

[PeteParticipant @pete41194]

Thanks for those additional details from NAWCC Peter. Given Lorch’s status as a lathe manufacturer, that’s something I hadn’t even considered that the buyer might well have been able to order what they’ve grown used to or wanted. You just might have come up with the real reason about why some are opposite handed. But like yourself, it still seems a bit strange and even illogical to me. I also wonder if there’s any number or letter designations within there lathes serial numbers that might indicate conventional or opposite handed feed screws and nuts.

This isn’t said to throw this thread off topic, it’s about the importance of controls on any tool or machine. I’ve spent pretty much my whole career using hydraulic controls of one type or another over more than 50 years. With very good design, those controls just feel and work with the operator, you almost don’t notice when it’s done correctly. I’ve also operated some earlier in my career where the designers did a poor job. They were either placed slightly incorrectly or were too sensitive to movement. With those you very much noticed it. To obtain that hand controlled variable opening and flow rate with hydraulics, even the joy stick control length is extremely important. To use excavators as an example, and afaik, there’s only two control “pattern” lay outs that are used world wide. CAT and John Deere. And very few operators can switch between the two without thinking. I know a few who can, but I can’t. Any excavator with that John Deere control pattern I operate takes me multiple hrs before it’s ingrained enough to just barely start to become automatic. You have to think before making any control movement instead of just doing so automatically. It’s much like driving a car once you’ve got passed the learning to drive stage. While I learned to first operate these machines on CAT controls, that makes me a bit biased. But that control lay out has always seemed much more logical for the hand movements required verses what the machine actually does. I’m no musician and have never played one, but I’d bet a lot that every piano in the world has a standardized lay out for all of there keys.

For myself and how any control is designed and laid out has carried over to my own machine tools. Without question I would have real problems operating anything to a fairly high level of precision that required an opposite rotation to what most others do.

[Nick Wheeler]

On Nick Wheeler Said:

On SillyOldDuffer Said:

On Kiwi Bloke Said:

Always glad to learn… So, likely to be original. Strange – I wonder why?

…

Before WW2 equipment designers didn’t have much guidance and sometimes made poor choices, …

 

 

They still make poor choices; just look at any electronic gadget that uses four buttons to control multiple functions. …

Tell me about it – I hate nested menus!  Always done for cheapness.

My poor old mum struggles with her phone because it’s nested menu officiously times-out whilst she struggles to find the right combination of buttons, and then press them quickly enough.   Though she has poor eyesight and slow fingers, the phone has no mercy on anyone on the slow side, including me!

Reminds me, must get her a better phone.   Unfortunately, easy to operate phones cost a fortune,

Dave

[Author]

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