Bill I bought my first band saw with paper rout money in 1961 and it was a "Delta" so I believe Rockwell had to have bought Delta after that I think in the mid sixties. I have owned lathes similar to yours but they didn't have the little hand wheel on the face of the headstock so I am curious what it it is for.
The "bowl Lathe" is something I have never seen before.
I’m not Bill, however to your thoughts, it was Delta that bought out Rockwell, Rockwell did also buyouts, like Beaver, and then Rockwell got bought out by Delta.
For that handwheel, I’m quite sure that changes the reeves drive pulley width, thereby changing the speed of te spindle.
The hand wheel is the speed. It uses a couple of expanding pullies to change the speed. I changed the belt to a link belt. Easy to change now, but have never broken it since I put it on. I have a 3hp motor on it.Bill I bought my first band saw with paper rout money in 1961 and it was a "Delta" so I believe Rockwell had to have bought Delta after that I think in the mid sixties. I have owned lathes similar to yours but they didn't have the little hand wheel on the face of the headstock so I am curious what it it is for.
The "bowl Lathe" is something I have never seen before.
I still have my PM90 that I use for extra long work. The changes that I have made include a larger 3Ph motor and VFD, junked the variable pitch sheave setup, 3" height blocks, had the spindle thread reduced to 1 1/4" and bed extensions for up to 110" between centers.Well no longer in my service, but I owned and turned on this 1974 PM 90 for two years. Initially a 12” swing, but I raised it to 18” swing. Bought from a school auction for $180. Great lathe, but decided I wanted a modern lathe as so many things different such as a 1-1/2” 8 tip spindle thread. I just about took it totally apart and rebuilt. Surprising I could still buy many OEM parts from Powermatic
View attachment 30844 View attachment 30845
I’m guessing my bearings were original. I bought a cheap HF bearing pulley tool, though there was lots of pounding with wood block to reinstall. But it seems to work well now.Yours looks different than mine, color wise,,,,,and a few parts, but mine is much older. I’ve replaced the bearings twice. Remove that circular plate on the front, and the pulley on the back side, and pound it out with a block of wood and a wooden mallet.....then do the same in reverse to install the new.
And I am sure someone is going to come on and say it’s all wrong to do it my way. But each time the bearings lasted over 20 years.
I've never even HEARD of one of those before. As someone who has been thinking about building a dedicated bowl lathe, this is really cool to see. Plus - the clever name is a bonus.I'm turning 62 this year and do think both of the lathes I use are older then me. But maybe someone can confirm. Bowlathe and Rockwell/Delta. View attachment 32116
Thanks for posting that, Brent....View attachment 54395
This old girl is available for FREE at my shop in Barneveld Wisconsin !
I would think it would be a safer bet that it was powered by a line shaft.Thanks for posting that, Brent....
Here's some information on J.A. Fay & Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio:
I'd be willing to bet that lathe was originally foot powered.
The belt pulleys are obviously added sometime afterwards.
-o-
I would think it would be a safer bet that it was powered by a line shaft.
Hard to be sure, but I would bet that the motor brackets were added much later. Early electric motors were rather large for their output compared to more modern motors and those brackets are spaced pretty close together. I would lean toward power by a line shaft.That could very well be, Don.....
Given the late 1800's look of this lathe, I'd guess it's likely that the lathe was offered both ways. Obviously this one has gone through some modifications over the years, and it would be difficult to pin it down to one or the other without more information.
-o-
Good joke. Made me laugh!When I first got interested in turning my Mom found this at a junk sale. Around 1984. A standing joke in my shop for many years. She always made me laugh.