First lathe!! clausing 1500

R

rpmMan

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Been poring over craigslist , ebay etc for months.. looking to get my first lathe.. I was hoping to get something local to me but no joy. Saw this clausing 1500 on clist and while it looked promising it was an approx. 7 hour trip one way and was not sure I had time to take off work and get it done..

I almost ordered a pm machine as I have been following the posts of the guys on that forum.. zmotorsports had me sold.. but i kept going back to that clist add as i really wanted something with some tooling ..
I had a short 1 day break form work .. rented a uhaul made the 7 hourt trip and bought me a machine. I almost backed out since the condition was not as advertised.. it had been sitting in a covered loading dock area and had lots of surface rust , dirt ...
　
I have been spending hours getting it cleaned up (though it may not appear that way), and doing some maintenance. Changed the apron and quick change gear oil), At the same time i have been on somewhat of a buying spree getting things i never new i really needed .. precison level, as well as indicators, mag bases, micrometers , etc..

Ok time for pics .. first up the good...

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Machine has a 7.5 hp 3 phase motor. So included is rpc with a 15 hp leeson 254T frame idler (heavy sucker.. approx. 300 lbs) and an American Rotary Converter Box.. Very nice setup

Here the machine

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Sorry. not sure how to rotate them..

Lathe came with 8 in 3jaw, 10 in 4 jaw , 12 in face plate, 7 in drive plate, 5c collet setup with holder and 19 asstd collets.. telescoping taper attachment. Phase 2 bx size piston tool holder with 5 holders .. drill chuck, 2 live centers.. micrometer stop and carriage autostop ...

Also included was a Kennedy chest with some tooling

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There are 38 brazed carbide tools...only a couple were used.. 3 aloris cutoff / grooving tools.. which I don't have holder for...
way oil, and apron, gearbox , spindle hyd oil..

The bad... metric change gears .. and steady rest.. neither one is for this lathe..

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One FINE piece of old American iron. That lathe will give years of great service.

Karl
 
It looks to me like a diamond in the rough. With all the extras you got with it, I think you did very well. I also like the size. Its big enough to handle some pretty good sized projects but small enough to do a lot of little stuff too. You are going to enjoy it and I think be very glad that you bought it.
 
Thanks for the kudos.. I am liking it so far.. Biggest issue is trying to chase down a steady and follower rest.. One of the first projects I would like to try is to make some metal handles to replace the carriage , cross slide , tailstock plastic handles.. I find it hard to believe they would overbuild (compared to todays hw) what they built and use plastic handles .. I really detest the cross slide handle.. makes me think that it was not any sort of money saving thing but they used them because plastic was the future... though I have to admit they are still in perfect condition.. anyways making metal ones will give me a chance to try the taper attachment etc.. What type of material should I use?.. i would be starting with 1 1/8 or so stock drilled through with a shoulder, then tapered, polished etc.. would drill rod be too hard or plain crs .. ss?

thanks

rich
 
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That's one nice looking machine! With lots of extras to boot.. good luck with it.

Re: the handles, I'd start with some cold roll steel. Should be fine imho.
 
Congrats!! Thats one big machine for home shop for sure. Nice score on the RPC too if that works youll be all set for more 3P machines to come! The taper attachment you got with it is worth $$. Ever see what they go for? The steady is likely a boat anchor unless you can find someone with the lathe its for. The gears are certainly nice too esp in original shape. Maybe FDK will have interest in buying them from you. He may also have a steady for the 1500
 
cheese
tks.. who is fdk?.. a user here?.. I am pretty the metric gear kit is complete.. has instructions, even a new stick on chart .. would love to trade it for a steady and or follower ..

rich
 
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