Got My First Lathe... Logan 1875 - With Restoration.

Mr Mike

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I found this Logan model 1875 - 10" x 24" on Craigslist when I first started looking for a lathe... It fit the criteria of what I was looking for - Its the same lathe I posted about in my Introduction post. Original listing was $1500.00 but after a few weeks he agreed to sell it to me for $850.00 - I made the 12 hour round trip to LA and back the same day to pick it up, On the worst holiday weekend one could pick, Labor Day..

I was excited but so tired out from all the traffic when I got there that I just checked for missing gear teeth, Carriage and Cross feed travel and the bed ways for obvious damage. he had additional tooling that he wanted to sell - Like quick change tool holders but no matching tool post - and other odds and ends that I took a pass on.

The lathe has an interesting past, It was an LA city school lathe, from what appears to be 1979 and has been in storage since 2008. You can see etching in the cabinet sides from students, as well as student abuse in the form of nicks and dings in the bed ways under the chuck that the tail stock rides along. It looks as if it was mostly a static piece in the class. The seller claimed it was the teachers machine and that student didn't run it.

There is plenty of paint missing and, a thin layer of surface rust covering the entire machine from sitting in storage. One cabinet door is bent but no other visible damage to the cabinet or chip tray.

After a great nights sleep.. I started to disassemble my awesome new machine down to its major components to look for latent damage, and so far Ive found none - most likely because I don't know what to look for yet - My ( the hard way ) lessens begin now... No matter what, so long as the bed ways are in good shape ill be restoring it from the ground up, Parts availability seems to be plentiful so a replacement bed is not out of the question either.

GotLathe.jpg

I washed the Bed with Engine Degreaser ( pun intended ), scrubbed, rinsed and towel dried it, low and behold its blue.. the whole time I thought the lathe was machine Grey. Nope, that was just all the crud that came off from the photo above.. After I find out the bed ways are good I'll remove the paint and build a sealed box of the exact bed size to dip the whole unit in Evapo Rust...

LatheBed.jpg

You can see the small nicks and dings. They're only in the first few inches past where the head stock sits. The rest of the bed ways looks to be in great shape. I'll need to find a book on lathe restoration so I know what if anything to do about them, I'd also like to know if the ways are hardened, because hardened ways from what I've read was an option on this lathe.

BedMarks.jpg

This is going to be so much fun, can't wait to get started, This will be the perfect starter lathe for me.

Should I do a complete write up on this restoration or do you guys just want the before and afters cause there is probably tonnes on here..?

Time to go research stuff, happy lathing people...

Mike.
 
Congrats on your new lathe, Mike! Happy for you.

If you plan to soak that whole bed in Evaporust then its going to get pretty costly. Why not consider using an electrolytic bath instead? It would cost you a few dollars for the washing soda at the market and it will take off all the rust and paint without damaging the parent metal and with zero physical effort. You can build a plywood box and line it with plastic sheet and I bet it would come out really nice. Just a thought.
 
Good luck! I also started with a school machine exept it definitely wasn't the teachers machine..! Still painting and fixing odds and ends but coming to the end I must update my thread actually, I've learned a ton and so will you! +1 on the electrollisys bath works real good, I've also used drain cleaner in hot water... like a hot dip (caustic) not the best idea but works well.

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Should I do a complete write up on this restoration or do you guys just want the before and afters cause there is probably tonnes on here..?

Mike.

We definitely want all the details. And don't leave anything out.

What a great project.
 
im going thru the same process at the moment so I want all the details so maybe I can get an idea or two off you.... parts are available from logan but be prepared to say ouch!! ebay might be a better option depending on what you may need...Ive had great results with a big bucket and a gallon of super clean by Castrol (degreaser) I put my small parts in there and leave them for a day and all grease and paint is virtually gone.... pretty much just hose off the paint reside, dry and re paint....
 
You can see the small nicks and dings. They're only in the first few inches past where the head stock sits. The rest of the bed ways looks to be in great shape. I'll need to find a book on lathe restoration so I know what if anything to do about them, I'd also like to know if the ways are hardened, because hardened ways from what I've read was an option on this lathe.
Remember that low spots from damage cause no issues with the geometry of the lathe, only the high spots do that, so only the high spots need to be repaired. Unsightly dings are really only an issue in the mind of the proud owner, so try to get over it and fix the things that really matter with making it a good lathe. Dings on hardened beds do not so much have the crater divot with raised outer diameter look of softer metal. Hardened way dings often look more like chips out of the metal, low spots only. Note that hardened ways are usually not really that hard, so it is a matter of degree. The high spots also may have already been addressed. If there is a high spot around a bed ding or a hidden corner of the bed, carefully test it with a small file. If the file wants to skate, then the bed is hard. It is possible to hide dings fairly well using an epoxy with metal in it. Some search and study time will show you which ones others have had good experience with and hide the dings by matching the color well and sticking well to the bed.
 
One suggestion, buy or BUILD a parts washer I made one last weekend from an old sink, 20L oil drum a battery charger a car fuel pump and some plywood .

Works perfect and I couldn't be without it anymore.! So much time on the floor with a bucket and brush

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
 
Congrats on the new lathe Mike, and welcome to the forum. Be sure and write up your work as you go, and don't hesitate to ask questions. We like lots of pictures!
 
Welcome! Having just finished getting my Logan 820 back together, there is so much information and great advice on here.
I'm learning new stuff everyday and feel like I'm back in school again.

You will have a blast getting into it and find all kinds of stuff to try and projects to make.
 
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