# Nasa-turn Lathe



## ddickey (Jul 2, 2016)

Has anyone heard of these lathes?


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## Uglydog (Jul 2, 2016)

Dean,
Do you have a link or any additional information?
Perhaps a context?

Daryl
MN


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## ddickey (Jul 2, 2016)

Saw it on CL.
http://brainerd.craigslist.org/tls/5664543706.html


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## Uglydog (Jul 2, 2016)

I don't know anything about them. Looks much newer than the SB we looked at.
Can you get parts for a Nasa? Might want to check that.
This one seems to make more sense based on the price range I understood you were thinking.
Have you any more clarity on the capacities you are looking to turn?
Dirty does not mean that the ways are worn/abused, or the bearings are bad.
You might ask if they are willing to provide any additional data.

Daryl
MN


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## John Hasler (Jul 2, 2016)

https://www.google.com/search?sclient=psy-ab&site=&source=hp&btnG=Search&q="nasa-turn"+lathe

produces a bit of information.


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## TOOLMASTER (Jul 2, 2016)

12ft swing..wow ;-)


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## BGHansen (Jul 2, 2016)

Yeah, probably being labeled a 1340 lathe I'm guessing it's a 13" swing with 40" between centers.

Bruce


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## John Hasler (Jul 2, 2016)

TOOLMASTER said:


> 12ft swing..wow ;-)


Well, NASA lathe, right?  Must have been use to make Saturn V parts.


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## BGHansen (Jul 3, 2016)

I hope to get the clearance to get photos of it someday.  My wife works at heavy equipment manufacturer/fabricator in Lansing, MI.  They have a "sheet metal" brake purchased from NASA that (as she was told) will bend a 4" thick piece of steel 50 yards long!  Holy crap!  Supposed to stand 30 feet high.  No photos are allowed in the building because of being a government contractor . . .   Might have been used someplace in the Saturn V's.

Bruce


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## TOOLMASTER (Jul 3, 2016)

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstro...ry/experimental_fabrication/ED14-0073-09.html


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## TOOLMASTER (Jul 3, 2016)

i think this one would cover most projects

http://www.ottoklostermann.de/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Gigant.jpg


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## ddickey (Jul 3, 2016)

The owner said it is a mid 90's China made lathe.
Parts if needed are got from Acra in CA.
He says it's tight and accurate.
Bearings are original.
Easily capable of holding .0002 runout.
200 miles from me though.


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## ddickey (Jul 3, 2016)

Embarrassing moment here. I'm also looking at this lathe which is much closer to me.
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/tls/5663906177.html
Everything in the above post pertains to this lathe. I just got off the phone with him and thought I was talking to the Nasa-turn guy the whole time.
Anyways, he used it for gunsmithing and said it has been a very good lathe for him that has seen just light use. At $1500 do you guys think this is still a good deal?


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## TOOLMASTER (Jul 3, 2016)

I saw that one...if only he delivered


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## ddickey (Jul 3, 2016)

Which one, the up north one?


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## TOOLMASTER (Jul 3, 2016)

waconia


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## 4GSR (Jul 3, 2016)

$1500 is not a bad price with all of the tooling shown provided the rest of it is not worn out.  And doesn't look bad neither.
Better jump on it before someone else does.


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## ddickey (Jul 6, 2016)

I bought the lathe. He was unwilling to deal at all. Something I'm not used to but I think it was still a pretty okay deal.
I will pick it up a week from next Monday. There is no owners manual. Does anyone have an idea on getting one?


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## ddickey (Aug 23, 2016)

Looks like there is a carriage oil leak I didn't know about. I have not used the lathe yet. Any suggestions on what I should do? I thought I'd try to drain what might be left in the carriage and try a heavier weight oil. Is there a sealant I could try?


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## 4GSR (Aug 23, 2016)

ddickey said:


> Looks like there is a carriage oil leak I didn't know about. I have not used the lathe yet. Any suggestions on what I should do? I thought I'd try to drain what might be left in the carriage and try a heavier weight oil. Is there a sealant I could try?



Two things could be happening. 1) the apron has been overfilled with oil, 2) you actually have an oil leak.  What ever you do, don't put any stop leak or sealant in the oil.  You pretty much need to remove the apron, tear down and fix the oil leak.  Most lathes I've been around over the years will, do leak oil.  I've tried to fix oil leaks and they keep coming back sometimes.  Iron castings usually have porosity in them that naturally cause leaks.


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## ddickey (Aug 24, 2016)

Discovered the feed gearbox is leaking also.


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## British Steel (Aug 25, 2016)

The leaks are like on Triumph motorcycles - they're there so you know there's oil in it...


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## Tozguy (Aug 26, 2016)

ddickey said:


> Discovered the feed gearbox is leaking also.



My lathe leaks oil also. I just keep an eye on the oil level glass and top up when necessary. My chip pan has a drain that goes into a container.


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