Square Bed Lathe

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

Thought folk might be interested to see this little square bar bed lathe that popped up on Facebook Marketplace yesterday. Clearly very old and of impressively simple construction. Most likely a watch or clock makers machine.

No visible makers name.

Living in Brighton, Sussex. Price is £70 which seems reasonable as it doesn’t look messed about with.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

An interesting little machine, Clive

… thanks for sharing the picture.

I would think anyone contemplating purchase should have a good look at that tailstock repair though.

MichaelG.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

And also reverse the spindle pulley to put the belt close to the journal.

Looks a nice little machine worth restoring!

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

Headstock looks a bit modified as well I would have thought that headstock bearings were straight into the casting

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

Michael

Certainly the repair plate is in keeping with the original style of the machine but looking at the, rather larger, original picture I’m not sure that the tailstock actually has been repaired. No sign of a crack and there is a transverse cut in the top half of the tailstock barrel separating the clamping part from the main body. Said to be good practice to improve flexibility of the clamping part and reduce the likelihood of cracking. Seems to me that the maker may have done a belt’n braces thing with a plate to spread the loads.

Bernard

The original picture gives a better view of the headstock edges at the side of the bearing which appear to be a very similar colour to the caps. Might well be all bronze.

The pulley is the only seriously wrong thing. I imagine the original drive was round gut rope from a hand driven countershaft. Which has gone missing over the years. Seems too small for a foot motor on a dedicated bench. Possibly an overhead drive tho’.

Clive

 

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