What am I supposed to do with this...

[Chris C]

So my aunt told me she had a metal lathe that belonged to my uncle sitting in a barn. Mine if I wanted it. She said it was small and hadn't been used in a while.

All I know is it's a Sheldon. 3 phase motor but it has a converter installed.

Luckily I carried my trailer with me and there was a loader there to load it. Not what I was expecting.

I wanted to turn small parts like ferrules and such..... But this thing is a beast.

Anybody shed any light on this thing?

 

[Michael Mathews]

Reminds me of my old Southbend metal lathe! Looks like there's a restoration in your future!

Looks like it also has a threading box on it. That's a plus! You can cut OD and ID threads with it!

 

[zdorsch]

Some encouragement:

Sheldon 11" Lathe Restoration - Old Woodworking Machines

 

[ScottM]

I think scrap is only going for 25 cents a pound so best to restore it and use it.

 

[gamiller3rd]

Blast of compressed air, little duct tape, little WD40; you’re making metal parts!

 

[Graywolf]

With a little elbow grease and some hard work you’d have yourself a really nice lathe for what you’re wanting to do. I hope it restores well, it’s a cool piece

 

[LastChanceWoodshop]

With a little elbow grease and some hard work you’d have yourself a really nice lathe for what you’re wanting to do. I hope it restores well, it’s a cool piece

Don't Scrap it! Let me know if you need someone to take it off your hands

 

[Jeff]

I wanted to turn small parts like ferrules and such..... But this thing is a beast.

So why would you restore the beast? Surely a smaller metal lathe will be your best bet instead of the beast! BTW. it's supposed to look like this....

 

[Chris C]

I was under the assumption that it was a small lathe. But it wasn't... but my aunt wanted me to have it.... and it was free....and it's cool.... and I like to restore things.

 

[Chris C]

All of the moving parts are free.... Carriage, tailstock, etc. The paint is all but gone but there isn't much serious rust. I was told I'd was working... Just hasn't been used in years. I have hope that it won't be too difficult to restore.

 

[Jeff]

All of the moving parts are free.... Carriage, tailstock, etc. The paint is all but gone but there isn't much serious rust. I was told I'd was working... Just hasn't been used in years. I have hope that it won't be too difficult to restore.

That's fine, enjoy the restoration and send us pics during the WIP.

 

[Oka]

Wow cool project. If you are going to restore it (I hope you do) I would do it in an area where you can work 360deg and outside under a carport or something. Use rust remover on unit, preferably non acidic type, and what does not come free you you would have to manually do that carefully. The stand you could bead or walnut shell blast it. Be careful od the travel areas (carriage and ways). It will be a nice unit when it is done.

 

[Skymaster]

AWESOMNESS. long time ago in a galaxy far far away, i was a machinist

 

[Chris C]

The chuck is free and the jaws move very smoothly. ...

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

Take some pictures along the way if you decide to restore it. I'd love to see the process.

 

[woodworker2000]

I think your aunt may have misled you about it being small. If that is small, what does she consider large?

 

[Skymaster]

that is a small lathe, probably used for prototyping, one offs. To answer your "large" question; I ran a lathe that had a 80 foot long bed, swung up to 20 ft diameter welded tanks. the operator RODE ON IT WITH SPARE CUTTERS, you could stop it mid turning to change the tool bit. The toolbit weighed about 5 lbs, carbide tipped and the steel bar for it was 2 " square steel. The purpose was to clean off all the welds to produce a smooth sided tank.

 

[junquecol]

Did you get the collets that go with it? The rack on the right side is for the collets, if memory serves me correct.

 

[Chris C]

Yes.... and then some other parts. I was just cleaning the Jacobs ball bearing chuck...

 

[mdbuntyn]

One of these might help:

Evapo-Rust 55 gal. Safe Rust Remover-ER014 - The Home Depot

Evapo-Rust gal Safe Rust Remover features a non-toxic, environmentally safe, water-based formula that removes rust in just minutes.

www.homedepot.com