# Logan 200??? Or  ???



## bama7 (Apr 27, 2015)

I need some help from you guys to let me get an idea of what to do. I have an opportunity to purchase what I believe to be a Logan 200.  The man said it has no numbers stamped.  Hopefully he just overlooked them.  My biggest concern is there are no change gears.  Can threads be cut with just the gears that came on the Lathe and if so which tpi can I cut?  I have a video of it running and it doesn't sound bad to me.  Then again my ears ring constantly and I should have my hearing aids in.  I know it needs a belt.  But, it does have some tooling, probably not much and it has those nice old style metal legs.  I appreciate anything you can tell me.  Thanks, Bill


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## CluelessNewB (Apr 27, 2015)

You will want a full set of change gears eventually.    If it only includes what is shown you will be spending a bunch of money on tooling and the price should reflect that.   It does have the cast iron legs (good) but appears to be missing the gear cover and the belt cover.  All the missing parts can typically be found on eBay but they can add up fast.  You can probably cut exactly one thread pitch with the installed gears.   What pitch depends on what gears are installed.


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## eeler1 (Apr 27, 2015)

What he said.  The 200 has a 'peg leg' supporting the motor, nice if it's there but I've seen people just use a length of pipe too.  Sweet machines when set up right, very capable for smaller projects.


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## bama7 (Apr 27, 2015)

CluelessNewB said:


> You will want a full set of change gears eventually.    If it only includes what is shown you will be spending a bunch of money on tooling and the price should reflect that.   It does have the cast iron legs (good) but appears to be missing the gear cover and the belt cover.  All the missing parts can typically be found on eBay but they can add up fast.  You can probably cut exactly one thread pitch with the installed gears.   What pitch depends on what gears are installed.


I was afraid I would not be able to do much with the threading portion.  It does have the door to cover the gears, but there is no cover for the belt going to the motor.  I would have to drive about 3 1/2 hours (one way) to get the lathe and I was going to offer $400.  Is that about right or should I just forget about this one and wait?


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## stupoty (Apr 28, 2015)

It's easier to have a whole lathe to learn on that trying to learn and learn what bits you need.  Does it come with any stuff past the 3 jaw chuck its equipped with?

Stuart


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## bama7 (Apr 28, 2015)

stupoty said:


> It's easier to have a whole lathe to learn on that trying to learn and learn what bits you need.  Does it come with any stuff past the 3 jaw chuck its equipped with?
> 
> Stuart


The things I see in the few pictures I have show "T" handle for the chuck, 2 live centers, 3 wrenches, and 2 tool holders along with the 1 cutting tool in the lamp post.  The owner emailed me last night and said his Dad told him it was a Logan/Wards mid 1940's model.  He found some numbers, which are probably the serial number, of 5876.  I emailed him the quote about being able to cut threads with the gears already installed.  I have thoughts of getting a Grizzly 7x14 or 7x12, but I like the heft and look of this old lathe.  It would be a good project for the right price, what ever that is.


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## CluelessNewB (Apr 28, 2015)

The Wards branded Logans typically don't have a belt cover, so you are not missing anything.  Logan change gears typically run $10-$25 each actual selling price on Ebay.  (Some seller ask more but that's typically what they really sell for.)  Personally I would pick the Logan over one of the 7x lathes.   Check out the Logan FAQ about location of serial number:
 
http://www.lathe.com/faq/index.html


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## bama7 (Apr 28, 2015)

CluelessNewB said:


> The Wards branded Logans typically don't have a belt cover, so you are not missing anything.  Logan change gears typically run $10-$25 each actual selling price on Ebay.  (Some seller ask more but that's typically what they really sell for.)  Personally I would pick the Logan over one of the 7x lathes.



I am with you on which one I would rather have.  Do you know if it should have the "peg leg" for the motor?


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## CluelessNewB (Apr 28, 2015)

I'm not sure if the Wards lathes have a peg leg.  My Logan 820 was missing the peg leg, on the early lathes this was just a piece of pipe anyway so it's no big deal.


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## Redlineman (Apr 28, 2015)

That is indeed a Wards version of the 200. No primary drive covers. Check for countershaft wear. If it has no broken gears or other obvious damage, it is likely worth $400, but get it as cheap as you can. Parts are plentiful, but the cost does add up. If it's in good running condition it is obviously far better than any Chinee stuff. I imagine that stuff is getting better, but the MW will be better for your soul.


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## bama7 (Apr 28, 2015)

Amen Brother!


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## eeler1 (Apr 28, 2015)

These old machines force you to learn about the machine as much as machining, if you enjoy that part of the challenge, it's a no brainer.  Just be aware that while taking it on can be rewarding, it will likely be frustrating at times too.  But lots of resources these days, you are not alone.

My first personal lathe was a basket-case Logan 200, but all the effort to fix and repair, and learning the machine, was well worth it for me.


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## bama7 (Apr 28, 2015)

I got a Craftsman version of the Atlas 618 a couple of years ago.  I stripped it down got new parts, and old parts, removed all the rust, and painted it and put it on a very nice piece of wood attached to the metal frame it came with, a school lathe.   I really enjoyed working on it, but it was a little disappointing when trying to use it.  Not really the lathes problem, but more me.


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## clivel (Apr 28, 2015)

bama7 said:


> I am with you on which one I would rather have.  Do you know if it should have the "peg leg" for the motor?



If the motor is mounted in a similar way to the Logan 200, then it most likely will need a "peg-leg".
However a length of steel pipe works perfectly as illustrated in post #69 of Mbfrontier's "Logan 200 Rehab" http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/mbfrontiers-logan-200-rehab.33219/page-4


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## wa5cab (Apr 29, 2015)

To answer the peg leg question, I have copies of four Wards catalogs between 1941 and 1950.  Peg legs are shown on the Logan branded models if they shipped with drip pan and cast iron legs.  And not shown on the bench models.  The cabinet model is indeterminate as you can't see behind it, and the text no where mentions the peg legs anyway.  The Wards models shown on drip pan and legs do not show a peg leg.  And as previously mentioned, do not show a belt cover.  However, there would be nothing stopping you from adding the Logan peg leg.

Fortunately, the one that you are looking at has ball bearings.  In 1941, Wards offered a sleeve bearing model without power cross feed.  It isn't mentioned in 1943 and later.  So is probably pretty rare.

The Craftsman 101.21400 that you rebuilt looks very nice.  However, the motor is on backwards.  It should be up under the countershaft bracket, a somewhat more stable location.  The left (visible) legs are really too small.  Should probably be about 2 x 3 instead of what looks like 1 x 1.  That would stiffen it up a bit.  Link belts are generally a bad idea except in an emergency (which is what they were made for).  And finally, the lathe will work much better with either a 4-way turret tool holder or a QCTP.  The lantern is just too flexible.


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## bama7 (Apr 29, 2015)

wa5cab said:


> To answer the peg leg question, I have copies of four Wards catalogs between 1941 and 1950.  Peg legs are shown on the Logan branded models if they shipped with drip pan and cast iron legs.  And not shown on the bench models.  The cabinet model is indeterminate as you can't see behind it, and the text no where mentions the peg legs anyway.  The Wards models shown on drip pan and legs do not show a peg leg.  And as previously mentioned, do not show a belt cover.  However, there would be nothing stopping you from adding the Logan peg leg.
> 
> Fortunately, the one that you are looking at has ball bearings.  In 1941, Wards offered a sleeve bearing model without power cross feed.  It isn't mentioned in 1943 and later.  So is probably pretty rare.
> 
> The Craftsman 101.21400 that you rebuilt looks very nice.  However, the motor is on backwards.  It should be up under the countershaft bracket, a somewhat more stable location.  The left (visible) legs are really too small.  Should probably be about 2 x 3 instead of what looks like 1 x 1.  That would stiffen it up a bit.  Link belts are generally a bad idea except in an emergency (which is what they were made for).  And finally, the lathe will work much better with either a 4-way turret tool holder or a QCTP.  The lantern is just too flexible.


Thank you for that info.  If I read the chart correctly the serial number 5876 was a 1943 model.  Good info on the ball bearings!  I enjoyed working on the 214 and making it "pretty" again.  The lathe came from a school in Broward County and was setup on the metal frame as shown, except for the wood base.  Many of these 214's I read about used the link belts claiming they gave better grip and of course easy of changing them.  I knew as I was reworking the 214 I would not keep it for long.  I did get a QCTP for it and it went with the lathe when it was sold.  That was a good project.


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## bama7 (Apr 29, 2015)

I got an email after church tonight.  The man accepted my offer of $300.  Now we have to setup a pickup day and time.  It is a 3 1/2 hour trip one way.  Good time to listen to music.


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## bama7 (May 3, 2015)

Got it home yesterday and I now have it taken apart for cleaning and inspection.  The ways look really good and everything seems to move well.  Once I get all the crud out of the way and everything lubed it should be very smooth, please, please, please.  It took some creativity to get it out of my truck.  I thought for awhile I would need to start a mobile machine shop.


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## Mork (Jun 29, 2015)

I bought my Logan pretty cheap. It had gears for the almost the slowest feed....  Which if I never wanted to threading would be appropriate. I bought a set of gears on ebay for $200 and the Lath cost me $500. I have a lot of elbow grease in the lathe but mot much else past the $700 total. 

I agree with what others have said, the asking price needs to reflect the fact that the gears are missing.


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## eeler1 (Jun 29, 2015)

You did good! I've blown $300 on way worse purchases.  The 200 is a kinda basic lathe, but can be a very sweet little machine when set up right.  Get it set up and cleaned up and you should be good.


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## bama7 (Jun 30, 2015)

eeler1 said:


> You did good! I've blown $300 on way worse purchases.  The 200 is a kinda basic lathe, but can be a very sweet little machine when set up right.  Get it set up and cleaned up and you should be good.


Thanks, I was very happy to get the email.  I have been working really hard getting our house ready to sell.  We finally got most everything finished and we have a contract!  Once everything is finished and with money in hand, I hope to get back too the two projects I have.  The lathe and my motorcycle. I have lots of cleaning and painting to do on the lathe and I still need to locate a set of gears, but there is not much need to look until I have the cash.  I have put the cart before the horse too many times in my life.  I guess my next project should actually be to get my shop setup so I can work!  Way to much stuff in a small area.


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