Briggs and Weaver

[HSS]

Anyone ever heard of a Briggs and Weaver lathe or a Rahn Landry or something like that, lathe? I was on my way home today and took a back way home and noticed a Bridgeport mill sitting in a field rusting down. I stopped and was so glued to the mill that I walked right by these two lathes. My wife brought them to my attention. All of this equipment is sitting out in the weather just rusting down. I know the guy that owns the stuff and never figured him to have them. What a shame. The Briggs and Weaver was made in Dallas, don't know about the other one. Long bed on both and big swing too.

Patrick

 

[Tony Wells]

I didn't know they marketed lathes, but for many years, there was an industrial distributor here called Briggs-Weaver. Their big account was Tyler Pipe and Foundry. I suspect that when the big importers started selling cheap, they began losing business. They sold top quality stuff and top prices. I bought almost exclusively from them at one shop back in the early 80's.

I'd definitely take a look at the lathe. I have no leads on parts or original maker, but it's probably something you could find out through research.

 

[12bolts]

Hi ya Patrick,
Nothing on a Briggs lathe. Mill, yes
Rahn-Larmon? maybe, for the other one.
They may be rusting away but I am sure they are recoverable if you have the room. Maybe make room? I would! Heck you ship it here and I will get it running for you and send it back. Maybe just take a loooong while though
Man I cant believe the stuff I read sometimes about people driving past farmer Johns and there was this big ole machine just sittin there gathrin oxide. Makes me sick

Cheers Phil

 

[Redirish]

Plus 1 on the rusty machines, Phil. We travel to Phoenix AZ to the doctor fairly often, and near Pima there is an old horizontal mill sitting out in the weather, rusting away. Every time I drive by there, my truck tries to turn in and stop there. Good truck, well trained. Maybe next trip, ( next month ), I can stop there and ask about it. Don't know what I would do with it, but hate to see it out in the weather.:thinking:

 

[HSS]

Tony, the Briggs-Weaver is cast into the ci, along with Dallas. Was there a foundry in Dallas? Phil, you are right about the name, it was Rahn-Larmon and it looks like it might have been run on a line shaft or an overhead motor. A lot of that one is missing. Like I said, I know the owner and he has some strange ways. He would never part with any of his junk. It will be up to his daughter to clear it out when the time comes. I don't have the time or the inclination to restore that thing. Besides it would probably cost me my marriage if I brought home any more stuff to work on before I got the Gorton running. She says I'm cluttering up her shop. She had to move her mower over to the other shed, tonite. LOL

Patrick

 

[Tony Wells]

There still are a few, I believe. I wonder which one cast that. It would be interesting to research.

 

[4GSR]

Briggs Weaver was a machine tool distrubuitor and industrial supplier from the 1950's thru to now, I'm sure they are still in business. They had warehouses in both Dallas and Houston and several outpost all over Texas, Okla, Lousiana.

They marketed machinery "badged" with their name on it back in the late 1970's -80's, maybe later. Most of this machinery came from Tiawain. Other than that, that's all I know about them.

B-W did not build machinery!

 

[Tony Wells]

B-W was headquartered in Coppell, and I read that it was bought by CamBar/Hegemeyer back in 2001. I used to buy a ton of Carbaloy from them. hey left Tyler several years ago. What I read stated that they maintained 18 Texas locations. I always thought they were pretty high priced.

 

[4GSR]

I always thought they were pretty high priced.

Dad would not buy from them for the same thing, they were high!

Place my Dad was working for back in the early 70's, he sent a couple of guys to the big bosses house to move in and hook up a washer and dryer. The guys came back, questioned dad about the W/D had Briggs Weaver stickers on them. They didn't sell W/D, didn't they? Rumor had it, the big boss received them as a gift from "you know who" Briggs Weaver for purchasing $$$$$ of carbide tooling from them!

 

[HSS]

Ken, I went back by there this afternoon after it quit raining and took another look at those lathes. You were right, that lathe is just badged B-W but is actually an L&S lathe. The Briggs and Weaver was not cast into the cast iron like I said at first. It is a tag on the gearbox. Sorry about that. But I brung pictures to the party this time.
Like I said, this guy is just letting it go to ruin.