# Old Sebastian Lathe



## thayne_1 (Feb 18, 2013)

A friend Of mine called me about an old Sebastian lathe that he got with the farm yard he just bought. He thinks its from the 40's. Anybody know any thing about them. I haven't seen it yet. More details to come.

Thayne


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## psychodelicdan (Feb 23, 2013)

About ten years ago we bought this Sebastian lathe a estate sale for..... Wait for it....$250  it's old and dirty but cleaned up ok didn't come with much extras. A bunch of wore out drill chucks and such and a chuck that all we could do was roll it on to the trailer. No picking that one up by hand. My bro In law has it set up at his shop. He still has some space for more cool stuff. I'll try and find the link to it. 

Sorry it's not a definitive answer by any means, but they have some connection to [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]Sheldon[/FONT][/FONT] lathes. I think Sheldon may have bought the Sebastian line or built subcontracted Sebastian models? In any case, Sheldon's are generally considered good quality machines. At one time I was a member on the [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]Yahoo[/FONT][FONT=inherit !important]Group[/FONT][/FONT] for Sheldon lathes... they had a fair amount of info on the Sebastian line in the archives and files section. You might want to have a look there?http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sheldonlathe/



Master of unfinished projects


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## Powderhorn01 (Feb 23, 2013)

Thayne:  Tell your friend, Welcome to the world of Sebastian Lathes.  They are a very good low speed lathe.  Has thread feeds, more than you will ever need.  
A lot of them were made for WW2.  If there is a tag on the headstock for the war production board, or there 2 rivet holes on the right side of the upper headstock, then the lathe was made between 1940-44 time frame.  
If you check the right front side of the ways, you should find a serial number, it may be followed by a Navy anchor, or Army flaming bomb, meaning it was inspected and approved for service use.
You will find some quirks for these lathes;
Spindle thread  2-1/8-8 thread
Spindle adapter sleeve is a #4-1/2 mt
Spindle bore is 1-3/8"
Sebastian was bought by Sheldon in 1955, so that they could have a gearhead lathe line.  The original MFG was the D. C. Morrison Co., who is still in business in Covington, KY.  They still have the parts manual for these beasts, also they still have some original replacement parts.
If you need a Backplate for a chuck, you will have to take a stock one and bore and rethread to fit.  I suggest Shars, for stock 1-1/2"-8 thread blanks.


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## johnas (Mar 3, 2013)

I had an old one; converted from treadle power. From the makers plate, and calling around in the 1990s, it appeared that the original Sebastian Lathe Company was sold in 1897; mine was from this period.

Somewhere I have photos of it; sold it circa 1997 because, well, my hobby was *not* restoring old machinery.

Newer Sebastian lathes were well regarded, from what I remember.

John A. Stewart.


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## Powderhorn01 (Mar 5, 2013)

Johnas:
You lathe was a Sebastian/May lathe.  Here is a little history.

Sebastian/May formed in Cincinnati, OH in 1882
Moved to Sidney, OH in 1890
Sebastian formed 1891
Sebastian sells out interest in Sebastian/May in 1892
May sells out to A.P. Wagner 1894  (mainly produced wood & pattern lathes) 
Sebastian moves to Covington, KY 1896
Sebastian sells out to Sheldon 1955

Sebastian produced lots of lathes up until they were bought by Sheldon, so that Sheldon could have a gearhead lathe line.  A lot of the old Sebastians were produced for WW2, they will have an old flaming ordinance bomb, or a Navy anchor after the serial number, signifying they were accepted for government service.


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## cajun lathe (Mar 21, 2013)

WOW, thanks for the information on the Sebastian lathe, I have on will find the serial number and see if there is a stamp behind the serial #, I bought it from an old ship yard, it was said to have come out the Higgings place in New Orleans La. that built the light draft boats for WW-2, if does have the tag "Meets Wars Standard Production", it had a 20 Inch chuck and has 13' between centers, I gave $300.00 and it was under power when I bought it, Cajun Lathe


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## psychodelicdan (Mar 23, 2013)

Cool Sebastian you got there. How's it run? You got a great deal if is in any kind of condition. If not there so darn heavy u could get it back in scrap. But I think it would better if you let me "store" it for u. Where would I have to pick it up at. Lol
Dan


Master of unfinished projects


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## cajun lathe (Mar 25, 2013)

psychodelicdan, It does work find and was in use till a few months before I bought it, it was well taken care of for its age, I guess real machinist needed it to make a living and knew this was to way to have a pay check, thanks for the offer, when it does leave me I do hope that someone gets it and it does not end up in the scrap yard, , happy chipping, Cajun Lathe.


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## psychodelicdan (Mar 28, 2013)

Well Cajun lathe 
  You just put that  ol' girl on a truck and send it out here to Washington State.  Ill put your mind at ease about it staying out of the scrap yard. Your peace of mind should make it worth that much. 

Dan


Master of unfinished projects


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## Dunsmuir Red (Jan 7, 2022)

Powderhorn01 said:


> Johnas:
> You lathe was a Sebastian/May lathe.  Here is a little history.
> 
> Sebastian/May formed in Cincinnati, OH in 1882
> ...


Isir. I have looked all around my Sebastian12X36 lathe and can not find a serial number. Am I missing something hear?


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