Ever seen a lathe with chucks on both ends of the spindle?

[strantor]

I spotted this weird lathe at a place I've been commissioning other equipment. I've never heard of such a thing, but I bet some of you have. How common is this?



Oh, and apparently this is how you mount a lathe: #1 you measure the distance between all the holes and translate those dimensions onto the ground. #2 you then drill holes in the concrete and set your anchor bolts. #3 get a fork lift and try to set the lathe down perfectly over the bolts with less than 1/8" of play in any direction. #4 when none of the bolts line up with the holes and your forklift doesn't gracefully move in all the right directions, you crawl around under the suspended load with a hammer, smacking the bolts into position. #5 when that doesn't work, you give up and call it a day.

 

[Tony Wells]

Actually, pretty common in oilfield country. We regularly cut tool joints (API tapered threads) on collars that could be 30 feet long. In shops that do that sort of thing on a daily basis have a long rack outboard the headstock that has crude rollers....even casters will work, that elevate to support the long end, which still whips a little when spinning very fast, but the second chuck stabilizes it enough to do the work. Even shorter work is often done on a dual chuck machine, since not all have steady rest capability. Big-bore lathes about where the hole may be 10-12" or more in diameter. All manner of oilfield tool joint work in collars, adapter subs and the like are done with these lathes.

I suspect we aren't the only industry that uses them, but I do know that we do, and they are pretty common in this part of the country, and certain parts of Louisiana and Canada, and Alaska.....anywhere long work is done. It's cheaper than a lathe with a bed long enough to accomplish the same work.

Since you're from Katy, I'm surprised you haven't seen a number of these. I know of quite a few in the Houston area.

 

[strantor]

Since you're from Katy, I'm surprised you haven't seen a number of these. I know of quite a few in the Houston area.

I may have, but didn't know what I was looking at. I have worked for 2 of the largest oil field service companies in the world. I toured a machine shop of the first company, but at that time I didn't even know what a lathe was; the tour was done by some girl from the front office, and went like so: "And if you look over here at this giant spinny thingamajig, you'll see how we resurface BOP flanges" - turns out I was looking at VTL but "spinny thingamajig" was all I needed to know at the time. It wasn't until I was with the second company that I started taking an interest in machining, but with that company I was working in a plant that made down-hole cable and umbilicals, so there was no pipe threading or anything of the sort going on there.

Now I'm working as a Field Service Technician for a Controls & Automation company, so I'm being sent into manufacturing environments of all types and seeing all kinds of new stuff.

 

[4GSR]

I drool over Lehmann Lathes!!!

BTW- that one is missing the lead screw!!!

There's probably over 200 of them just in the Houston area alone!

I've seen these with smaller 6" holes in the spindles to a couple of them that have 24" hole through the spindle, with chucks on both ends of the spindle!

My dad worked for what used to be Drilco later Smith, now Slumberger (sp), They bought out Lehmann when it was in St. Louis, Missouri. Move it to Houston. This is where I spent time making some of the smaller repair parts for these lathes while in HS. Smith later moved it to California, later in years sold it off to the people who currently run it.

Nice piece of equipment. Cost about the same as a nice CNC lathe, around $275K from what I've heard.

BTW- whose shop is that going up there? If you don't mind saying.

Ken

 

[strantor]

BTW- that one is missing the lead screw!!!

It's on the back side, oddly enough; a ball-screw-type, directly powered by what appears to be a single phase induction gearmotor. I don't get it.

My dad worked for what used to be Drilco later Smith, now Slumberger (sp), They bought out Lehmann ...

BTW- whose shop is that going up there? If you don't mind saying.

The irony has reached epic levels. When I said "I have worked for 2 of the largest oil field service companies in the world," one of those was Schlumberger. I worked directly for them, their name on my uniform badge. However, they own several other companies who retain their names. This pic is from a brand new Dyna-Dril plant going up in Katy, TX. Dyna-dril is owned by Schlumberger, and I see those blue lab-coat clad dudes wandering all over - brings back memories. So I guess having had previous relations with Lehmann led to this, or maybe they're still one in the same... BTW I was with SLB when they acquired Smith. That was a bit awkward.

 

[Tony Wells]

I figured Ken would come along and pick up on this thread! I've done a lot of work for various Smith divisions over the years, but my favorite had to me the Data Drill company back when they had a office/shop on Vantage Pkwy (1980's). All MWD work. Mud pulsers etc. Good work, all of it. Done some for Drilling and Completions, and DynaDrill too. This was before and up to about the time they bought Houston Engineers. Now, with them a Schlumberger company, a small company like mine can hardly get work from them, and I don't even try.

However, there's a few field offices in my area that do a but of repair work, and they bend the rules a bit about using only ISO shops. Maybe I should don my hand-me-down SLB coveralls and wander in and see what I can pick up and repair.

 

[strantor]

-sent in PM-

 

[4GSR]

It's on the back side, oddly enough; a ball-screw-type, directly powered by what appears to be a single phase induction gearmotor. I don't get it.



The irony has reached epic levels. When I said "I have worked for 2 of the largest oil field service companies in the world," one of those was Schlumberger. ...This pic is from a brand new Dyna-Dril plant going up in Katy, TX. Dyna-dril is owned by Schlumberger, and I see those blue lab-coat clad dudes wandering all over - brings back memories. So I guess having had previous relations with Lehmann led to this, or maybe they're still one in the same... BTW I was with SLB when they acquired Smith. That was a bit awkward.

Strantor,

That ball screw on back of the machine was the second generation "powered rapid traverse". They very well could have set it up for cutting threads. But if they have done so, they don't need the feed rod as shown on the front of the lathe. Lehmann did build lathes without lead screws. I know where there are a couple of them there on the northwest side of Houston.

I myself worked at Drilco back in 1980, left, and came back and worked in the Smith Services group in 2003, brought back too many memories of what it look like in the 1970's when dad worked there, decided to leave for greener pastures. My dad with many others built the original facility up there by Houston Intercontinental Airport started in 1972.

Ken

- - - Updated - - -

I figured Ken would come along and pick up on this thread! I've done a lot of work for various Smith divisions over the years, .

Tony,

You and I may have crossed paths over the years. Did you do any work for Milcor (run by John and Rusty Milner out of Tyler before Smith bought them out?

Ken

 

[strantor]

My dad with many others built the original facility up there by Houston Intercontinental Airport started in 1972.

I believe that's where they're moving out of right now. I haven't been to the old location but my boss said it was by the airport. I will be going out there next week though, to "unplug" some of their machines in preparation of moving to the new location and then "plug them back in." Maybe I'll snap some pics to bring back some old memories (or nightmares) for you .

 

[Tony Wells]

You must be talking about the facility on Hardy near Rankin. Pretty good sized piece of real estate. And they're moving? All of it?


Yes, I have done a little for Milcor. Seems like their product like was Arrow Oil Tools, or something like that. We did some of the work they didn't have the capacity for, nor a way to inspect. We had a CMM and they didn't. I'd have to dig out the old RoloDex to remember the names involved back then. It's been a while. I may have met John and Rusty. Can't remember.