ID Older Lathe

[Thomas Wentzel]

Greetings, This lathe is in the basement of an old building which houses our church's archives. It works well but I can't seem to ID the maker. It has a Major branded motor rated at 1.2 HP, 1720 rpm. The finish is an attractive blue with gold pin stripes. It seems the swing is about 15" .. and the bed about 50" in length.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Tom

 

[Mark Jundanian]

No idea, but with the tubular ways it reminds me of the 1970's vintage Craftsman lathes.

 

[Karl Loeblein]

Agree with Mark. Looks like a beautifully restored Craftsman tubular wood Lathe. Try googling ‘Sears model 113 vintage wood lathe’. Although old tubular lathes would not be my choice for wood turning because they are known for having vibration issues.

 

[Thomas Wentzel]

Yes it does look a lot like a 113. Upon further reading I’m guessing it is 1/2 hp even though the plate is stamped 1.2.
I also see that the lowest rpm is almost 900. Seems pretty fast.
It’s amazing it was restored to such a high degree. It’s sat in that basement for 25 years or so neglected, but in restored condition. Someone must have really liked it.

I did some turning on it yesterday and it works fine but it appears that the motor would speed up after about 5 minutes of turning. What could cause that?

Thanks for the replies.

 

[Mark Jundanian]

It dates from a time when turning was largely spindle work, but a 900 rpm lathe could be turned into a useful buffing machine or disk sander.

 

[Lou Jacobs]

I like the scale built into the tool rest.

 

[Thomas Wentzel]

That scale is an interesting feature, but I find the 'hump' in the middle of the rest gets in the way of a smooth slide of the tool/hand.
I have a mini-lathe at home, so I think I can use this lathe at the church to rough out larger blanks and get them ready to use at home.
Thanks for all the help .. Tom

 

[Bob Sheppard]

Greetings, This lathe is in the basement of an old building which houses our church's archives. It works well but I can't seem to ID the maker. It has a Major branded motor rated at 1.2 HP, 1720 rpm. The finish is an attractive blue with gold pin stripes. It seems the swing is about 15" .. and the bed about 50" in length.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Tom

I remember reading somewhere that filling those tubes with concrete will help dampen vibration. Since it's not your lathe, that may not be a option.

 

[Bill Boehme]

That scale is an interesting feature, but I find the 'hump' in the middle of the rest gets in the way of a smooth slide of the tool/hand.

I believe that the tool rest needs to be rotated 180°. That might mean you won't be able to drop the tool handle as much as you normally would, but for spindle turning the tool handle wouldn't be dropped as much as it would for bowl turning.

 

[Thomas Wentzel]

Thanks, Bill I'll try that next time I'm in the shop. Tom