Who made this Watchmakers Lathe

[WindyParticipant @windy30762]

Who made this Watchmakers Lathe

It looks well made.

At Melbourne York Drag Racing on 15th April this year I was gifted by some very good friends this Watchmakers Lathe.

I was given it to keep my mind active cleaning it etc. after my knee Revision at Clifton Park Hospital the following Monday and was home by Wednesday.

So stripped it down in the house as workshop out of bounds.

There was a small amount of corrosion that's now sorted.

It has no names on it.

The headstock has no obvious lubrication holes.

I will strip that down eventually.

There is a spare plastic? pully that's maybe the original headstock one.

[WindyParticipant @windy30762]

Who made this Watchmakers Lathe

[John McNamaraParticipant @johnmcnamara74883]

The nickel plating is really nice, so are the collets, depthing tool, staking tool and other accessories in nice cases.
Its truly wonderful. Could it be a Lorch?

**LINK**

[WindyParticipant @windy30762]

The brass drive pulley has been made to replace the cracked plastic original. Will have to modify or make another as not right. I found the lubrication holes covered by brass shields. No names on any part apart from 44 on the main assemblies.

[Clive SteerParticipant @clivesteer55943]

In some ways it looks like a J E Kampe from the pictures I've seen on the lathes.co.uk site. If so it should use 9mm collects rather than the common 8mm. There may be some identification on the headstock emend of the bed.

It definitely looks like an American style WW lathe and similar to the American Watch Tool company.

CS

[Rick HannParticipant @rickhann79631]

Looks a lot like my 8mm Boley.

Rick

[Clive SteerParticipant @clivesteer55943]

The way the pusher in the tailstock is tightened doesn't look Boley.

It may be a Marco but according to Tony's site the Marco was a badged lathe the original maker being unknown.

CS

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Clive Steer on 23/04/2023 23:30:29:

The way the pusher in the tailstock is tightened doesn't look Boley.

It may be a Marco but according to Tony's site the Marco was a badged lathe the original maker being unknown.

CS

Having no markings makes it very difficult to identify the maker, especially as lathes.co.uk explains lots of unidentified firms made them. Not unusual, then or now, for engineering firms to manufacture anything they can sell for a profit, legally or not.

It all happens! Top-end tool-makers often sell their machines un-badged to resellers; this is extremely common because it means brand-name fanboys can be charged top dollar whilst quietly profiting from cost-conscious purchasers. Sanction busting is another reason for not marking, as is copying enemy equipment during wartime. Top-end machines are counterfeited by dodgy types, but these usually imitate logos etc. This design is quite old, and after the patent expires anyone can have a go. However, whilst it's legal to copy or imitate the physical item, it's not legal to copy the brand-name or trade-marks.

What matters is how well-made the item is, and it's condition today. The design isn't difficult to replicate. Harder to get them accurately finished, because that required close attention to detail, for which reason I suspect many of the mid 20th century clones were too cheap and haven't survived. But many others were competently made. Windy's example looks good – seems to have been used and cared for, always a good sign.

Dave

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