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1962 J-170 lathe restoration

Joined
Feb 26, 2021
Messages
8
Likes
20
Location
Richmond, VA
Earlier in the week I posted a question about lathe height and received quite a few helpful responses. I also had several people ask me to post photos of the restoration I've been working on since November so here's the before and after photos.

I have about a hundred images of the process which involved a complete tear down, stripping everything to bare steel and iron, rebuilt the motor, headstock, tailstock, banjo, replaced all the bearings, repaired the extrainous holes that were drilled into the cabinets over the years it was a school wood shop machine, filler for the cast iron to smooth out the roughness of the original casting, primer, paint etc.IMG_1079.jpgIMG_1118.jpg
 
Joined
Feb 26, 2021
Messages
8
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20
Location
Richmond, VA
That looks great. The only thing I see left out is the red sticker under the switch, must be a decal. What is the brand?
I'll be mounting that badge in the morning.
It's a J Line machine manufactured by Yates American and marketed by Brodhead and Garrett. They were sold mainly to institutional users schools, prisons, military etc.
 
Joined
May 31, 2019
Messages
290
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360
Location
Highland, MI
Wow, that's gorgeous! Are you sure it's mounted solidly enough though? ;)

That's a mighty impressive machine and excellent restoration job.
 
Joined
Feb 26, 2021
Messages
8
Likes
20
Location
Richmond, VA
Wow, that's gorgeous! Are you sure it's mounted solidly enough though? ;)

That's a mighty impressive machine and excellent restoration job.
Ric, I haven't bolted it down yet the concrete pads are only a week old so I'll give them another couple of weeks to set before drilling anchors, however at 525 pounds I think gravity alone might win most arguments.

Between purchase price and cost of parts and supplies it's cost me less than $800. (not counting my time of course) so perhaps there might be a set of Carter turning tools in my future.

Thanks for the compliment I've had a lot of fun restoring it, reminded me of building hot rods back in the 60's.
 
Joined
Jul 20, 2020
Messages
19
Likes
21
Location
Babylon, NY
My neighbor has the same lathe. I use it quite often. The 1 1/16" x 8TPI spindle thread is an oddball. I recently pulled the headstock apart and had a machinist turn the spindle down to 1" x 8TPI. I Think he charged $50 and now it's easy to find accessories for it.
 
Joined
May 31, 2019
Messages
290
Likes
360
Location
Highland, MI
Ric, I haven't bolted it down yet the concrete pads are only a week old so I'll give them another couple of weeks to set before drilling anchors, however at 525 pounds I think gravity alone might win most arguments.

Between purchase price and cost of parts and supplies it's cost me less than $800. (not counting my time of course) so perhaps there might be a set of Carter turning tools in my future.

Thanks for the compliment I've had a lot of fun restoring it, reminded me of building hot rods back in the 60's.
You'd surprised how much you can get things shaking with an out of balance blank. My lathe is 700+lbs. and there have been plenty of times that I've had to back things down to keep it from shaking too much. Your concrete pads look as well done as your machine restoration though, so once you can anchor it down, you shouldn't have to worry about much of that. Just have to be careful to not trigger any seismic events. ;)
 
Joined
Feb 26, 2021
Messages
8
Likes
20
Location
Richmond, VA
My neighbor has the same lathe. I use it quite often. The 1 1/16" x 8TPI spindle thread is an oddball. I recently pulled the headstock apart and had a machinist turn the spindle down to 1" x 8TPI. I Think he charged $50 and now it's easy to find accessories for it.
Roger, I had considered doing that also and may in the future. The advertised thread is 1 1/8" x 8 my spindle measures out at 1 3/32".
Previous owner had an adapter 1 1/8-1 1/2 wrapping the spindle threads with teflon tape takes up the slop. If it presents an issue with a chuck on then I'll have it re threaded.
 
Joined
Jul 19, 2018
Messages
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2,077
Location
Ponsford, MN
My neighbor has the same lathe. I use it quite often. The 1 1/16" x 8TPI spindle thread is an oddball. I recently pulled the headstock apart and had a machinist turn the spindle down to 1" x 8TPI. I Think he charged $50 and now it's easy to find accessories for it.
That is interesting I have a Powermatic 90 that came with an 1 1/2"-8 spindle thread and a newer lathe with a 1 1/4-8 spindle so I had a machinist turn the PM spindle down to 1 1/4-8 and now my chucks are interchangeable.
 
Joined
Mar 9, 2024
Messages
15
Likes
8
Location
Ithaca, NY
Website
tamperista.com
Earlier in the week I posted a question about lathe height and received quite a few helpful responses. I also had several people ask me to post photos of the restoration I've been working on since November so here's the before and after photos.

I have about a hundred images of the process which involved a complete tear down, stripping everything to bare steel and iron, rebuilt the motor, headstock, tailstock, banjo, replaced all the bearings, repaired the extrainous holes that were drilled into the cabinets over the years it was a school wood shop machine, filler for the cast iron to smooth out the roughness of the original casting, primer, paint etc.View attachment 38068View attachment 38069
Hi. David. I'm enjoying the photos, and I have a question. Can you recall the order in which you reinstalled the spindle bearings on the shaft and into the headstock casting? Pressing the assembly out was not difficult, but I'm not certain whether to press the right-hand bearing onto the spindle, then to press that much into the housing from the front, then to press the rear bearing onto the shaft and into the housing from the rear. Is that the sequence you followed?

Thanks for any tips you might have to offer, Dana. (I"m from Charlottesville actually Gordonsville, before I came up to Ithaca in 1978)
 
Joined
Mar 9, 2024
Messages
15
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8
Location
Ithaca, NY
Website
tamperista.com
Dana, do you realize that this thread is from 3 years ago and the OP probably won't see your message?
Hi, Dean. I did realize that the thread was not new, but I guess I thought of the passing of 3 years as a blink of an eye! I suppose I should look into the member list and then find out how to DM the OP, if their membership is current.
I'm such a newbie.
 
Joined
Feb 28, 2021
Messages
1,207
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1,047
Location
Roulette, PA
Website
www.reallyruralwoodworks.com
Hi, Dean. I did realize that the thread was not new, but I guess I thought of the passing of 3 years as a blink of an eye! I suppose I should look into the member list and then find out how to DM the OP, if their membership is current.
I'm such a newbie.
Mouseover their name in the left pane of their post and "Start Conversation" which is this forums' Direct Message Also if they have "alerts" and notifications enabled, they might get an alert that you've quoted their post - Other than that, might have to do a google search and see if you can find their contact info online somewhere (or perhaps on Facebook/instagram/linkedin?), or if he and you are both a current AAW member, perhaps in member directory?
 
Joined
Mar 9, 2024
Messages
15
Likes
8
Location
Ithaca, NY
Website
tamperista.com
I like the lines—like a fine old car—and no rough edges or places for dust and shavings to accumulate.

Well there was plenty of dust on 'er, and no shavings! I bought the lathe about 6 years ago at the Madison-Bouckville Flea Market, and I've had it stored in pieces out in the shed. I've been turning coffee scoop handles on a small lathe for a while, and I finally decided that even a little bit of vibration was more than I could accept. I've looked at new lathes, but I thought I'd follow through with this old arn instead of springing for a Robust or Oneway! I'm hoping that a 600 lb. gorilla in the shop will not disappoint with new belts and bearings and lots of TLC.

Thanks for writing, Dana.
 
Joined
May 4, 2010
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Location
Bozeman, MT
According to his profile, the OP has not been heard from here for 24 months. Probably will need to find a different way to reach out.
 
Joined
Mar 9, 2024
Messages
15
Likes
8
Location
Ithaca, NY
Website
tamperista.com
According to his profile, the OP has not been heard from here for 24 months. Probably will need to find a different way to reach out.
I figgered that out, eventually. Sigh, we come and go so quickly. My concern turned out to be inconsequential: pressing the bearings onto the spindle and into the headstock housing turned out to be intuitive, and not once did I have to retrace my steps! I though I'd contact that OP to avoid being the guy who flared the pipe before sliding the nut on first, if you know what I mean.

Thanks for the reply, Dana.
 
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