Vintage Milnes Lathe

[unclegazinbedfordParticipant @unclegazinbedford]

Hi guys,

So I’ve got the opportunity to buy my very first lathe. My colleague is upgrading his lathe and has offered me his vintage Milnes lathe from like 1900 or something (just search “Early Milnes Lathe” into Lathes.com).

I’ve used this machine a half dozen or so times, runs well, nothing seized etc.

I’m not a professional or “proper” hobbyist like you guys probably are – this lathe is probably going to be used a couple of times a month at an absolute maximum and nothing I build needs to have aerospace-grade tolerances so I’m not so worried about that (and have no right to given this machine was old when both world wars were fought!)

The lathe hasn’t got its original stand and is instead bolted to a bench that my friend would like to keep and which I really do not want. I have asked him for a rough weight of the lathe to see how many people I’ll need to  bribe with beer bring along to get it from the shed at the bottom of his garden to the boot of my car and then into my shed. However he apparently inherited the machine from his dad and came on the bench it’s still attached to so he has no idea.

I’ve tried looking on Lathes.com and Google for a weight but I either get nothing or the weights of some of the later Milnes lathes.

I’m hoping perhaps one of you guys have or have had one of these machines and could give me a rough idea?

 

Thanks.

Gaz

 

PS: Before someone replies with a comment saying “just go and spend £700 on a Myford (or whatever they are used)” I’ll be completely honest when I say that I just don’t have that kind of money to spend on something that’ll only see occasional use when the missus is out 🙂 and I doubt she’d be impressed with me spending such a sum without discussing it first!

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi Gaz, I suspect it depends on which model you are getting. Tony @ Lathes.co.uk might be able to help.

Regards Nick.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Ignore them as wanting to spend all your money for you!

Unless the machine is very badly worn it should still give you reasonable results. Maybe not to aeronautical-engineering standards, as you say, but still worthwhile, provided you know its limits and can allow or compensate for them. It may even be relatively straightforwards to restore or at least adjust some worn components.

 

For transport, these early lathes can sometimes be dismantled into a few units to reduce the weight, but don’t try to turn the whole thing into a kit. Be careful to note such details as taper-pins and the orientations of the parts they hold if you do go that far. And remember that if you lose a screw it might not be easy to find the correct replacement even though it was a standard trade item when Milnes made the lathe.

 

You friend keeping the bench might be a blessing in disguise unless it really was built to hold the lathe as it should be. A lathe needs be bolted to a rigid stand made so it does not distort the machine. The original manufacturer’s stand would have had machined surfaces for the lathe’s feet.

That was my experience with the Myford 7 I bought and still use: the seller had bolted the poor thing through a rough old cast-iron plant-pot tray, to a massive timber bench. The bench took all the weight and more but such cavalier mounting (even by ignorance not malice) is very bad for any machine-tool. It now lives on a proper Myford cabinet with raising-blocks.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Milnes have a good reputation.
Once you remove the bolts holding it to the stand it will be top heavy and determined to tip over which often results in the cross slide handle being broken. So first try to remove tailstock, topslide, cross-slide, saddle, motor if possible to reduce weight and vulnerable bits that stick out.
Find scraps of 2×4 about 18in long and bolt/screw one each end under the feet going sideways. This immediately makes it less tippy. You can then slide it down a plank off the bench onto a sack truck.
It does help to have a second person to then slide it up the plank into the estate car you have conned someone into offering you.

It looks lie you are in Bedford so contact the local ME club for suckers generous helpers.

edit – oh if it’s the one Nick linked above then it’s a bit bigger than I was expecting. Engine crane and trailer job.

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

If you think it will go in the back of your car I suppose it’s not a 13″.

Most lathes that fit into a shed are around 300lbs though the Milnes 1920 pattern looks more like 450LBS. The earlier treadle version looks more like 200lb.

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

If it’s a 3 or 4 1/2 one like the ‘Early Milnes’ illustrated on the page you suggest, looks like three people* might be good – remove the tailstock, chuck, gear-quadrant and other ‘easily removed & not critically aligned’ components, then loosen the nuts on the mounting bolts and test whether you can raise it 1/4″ before committing –

*BE AWARE that the weight of the headstock may make the lathe unstable as you loosen / lift, so it’s as important to gauge the centre of gravity as well as the weight, and a third person will mean there will always be at least two pairs of hands on the load as you manipulate it.

EDIT – just realised Bazyle already got there..

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

And one more thing about moving the beast.

If moving by simple manhandling something like lathe that is not only heavy but cumbersome due to its shape its a very good idea to have a designated spotter to make sure everyone is working safely together and moving in the right direction.

Most important when the folk doing the lifting’n shifting are not only inexperienced but also have never worked together as group.

It’s best if the assistant carriers understand that one person is the lead lifter who decides where things are going under the direction of the spotter and the others are there merely to support the weight and stop it getting out of control. Not to force direction. This latter can be very hard to enforce.

If possible it’s a very good idea to have a strong table or similar strategically placed so the beast can be set down safely whilst deciding your next move.

Vastly preferable to have wheels under it and a crane to lift as these don’t get tired.

Clive

[Author]

Posts