Cadillac lathes

jmkasunich said:
Nice looking lathe. Mine needs a lot more cleaning.

Kinda funny that your work felt the need to write "Lathe" on the floor....:p


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That is 5S. Literally everything has to be identified and outlined for where it belongs. I am working on a cabinet right now. Waiting for several hundred stickers identifying every single cubby’s contents. It is what it is. I just roll with it.


Cutting oil is my blood.
 
jmkasunich said:
I recognize that building! HGR in Cleveland. My favorite stomping grounds.

They got six Cadillac lathes in back in May, all apparently from the same place. Five 14" (three 14x28 and two 14x22) and one 17" x 60" monster.
Two of the 14" models had D1-5 camlock spindles, the others had A1 (bolt-on) spindles. I bought one of the 14x28 D spindle ones, see this thread: https://www.hobby-machinist.com/thr...ing-colchester-vs12.102143/page-2#post-983668

Your photo is the 17", which apparently just sold: https://hgrinc.com/productDetail/Machine-Tools/Used-Cadillac-Cadillac-Lathe/05221450031/

Getting back to the original question: Yes, Cadillac lathes are real. Not made by GM though :rolleyes:. They are a Taiwanese clone of a Mori Seiki design. Stout beasts; my 14x28 weighs about 2300 lbs and has a 5HP motor. I'm very happy with it.

As far as I can tell, it was made in the mid 1970's.
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Whoa cool! It was my first time there it's epic. Watched a worker dump a lathe over...into another one..it was sad...then he just drove off lol .

Why would Cadillac want their name on. Lathe I wonder? Did they have mills too? ...I mean they have bikes.
 
HoboMachinist77 said:
Whoa cool! It was my first time there it's epic. Watched a worker dump a lathe over...into another one..it was sad...then he just drove off lol .
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There is a special place in hell for HGR forklift drivers.
HoboMachinist77 said:
Why would Cadillac want their name on. Lathe I wonder? Did they have mills too? ...I mean they have bikes.
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Good question. I assume that the lathe makers just stole the logo and GM's lawyers didn't go after them. I'm certainly not a trademark lawyer, but I think that a trademark is only protected when misuse could cause consumer confusion. So if someone tried to use the Cadillac logo on an automotive or related product GM could go after them, but lathes and bikes may be sufficiently distinct from cars that copying the logo is legal.

The factory in Taiwan that made these lathes is Yang Machinery; they still exist: https://www.yangmachines.com/ . They sold lathes under multiple names, often depending on the target market and the company doing the importing. Some of the names included Cadillac, Takisawa, Yam, Webb and Hawacheon; the nameplate on the back of headstock column of my lathe says Yam even though it has the Cadillac badge on the front.

The importer Webb Machinery still exists in California, I was able to order a manual from them for $150. Gotta say the manual was a bit of a disappointment. It covers a range of machines, and it can be difficult or impossible to figure out which pages apply to a given machine. For example, seems like every single tailstock in the manual has dual-speeds, but my lathe does not.

They are all copies of Mori Seiki (Japanese) designs. Some of the copies were actually approved by Mori, others were unauthorized clones.

Nice video of a Yam 14x40:
 
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A trademark is always protected, and a failure to enforce that protection can result in loss of the trademark. The latter being the usual reason that companies will go after small players.
Now, a company name is only protected to avoid consumer confusion.
Since many of us have never seen this cool brand of lathe, and we're at least familiar with the industry, I'm sure the only reason that Yang Machinery didn't get their hands smacked is that they didn't make a big enough splash to get noticed by GM's lawyers.
 
Weldingrod1 said:
The Caddy bike is an actual Caddy thing, not a clone or a ripoff...
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Interesting. Google found this: "General Motors Corp. has started licensing its luxury car brand and logo to Kent International Inc., which has created a Cadillac Bicycles unit and is producing a line of mid- to high-end bikes."

I didn't think GM was actually making bikes. It's a licensing deal with someone who actually knows bikes. But a legit deal, not a ripoff or clone.
 
HoboMachinist77 said:
We do 5s too haha..but that extremely.
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Where I worked up until September had 6 S. Previous place had 5s and Six Sigma. When they gave me the label maker to label the lathes and mills I made a decision that I am not putting up with this BS anymore, as its just getting worse and more asinine. If they don't know if its a lathe or mill, well they shouldn't be working there. I found another job that I don't have to put up with it anymore.
 
jmkasunich said:
Interesting. Google found this: "General Motors Corp. has started licensing its luxury car brand and logo to Kent International Inc., which has created a Cadillac Bicycles unit and is producing a line of mid- to high-end bikes."

I didn't think GM was actually making bikes. It's a licensing deal with someone who actually knows bikes. But a legit deal, not a ripoff or clone.
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Haha that's pretty interesting. I did once upon a time buy a GMC Denali 21speed road bike...from Walmart for $200...I promptly returned it after a week. One of the main crank sprockets lost a tooth huffing it up a hill and the chain slipped violently.

Anyhow is weird to think about that Business venture... why??? ..I recently saw a Hummer bike.
 
Firebrick43 said:
Where I worked up until September had 6 S. Previous place had 5s and Six Sigma. When they gave me the label maker to label the lathes and mills I made a decision that I am not putting up with this BS anymore, as its just getting worse and more asinine. If they don't know if its a lathe or mill, well they shouldn't be working there. I found another job that I don't have to put up with it anymore.
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That would have been my normal reaction 10 or even 5 years ago. However being 60 puts a big damper on finding a comparable paying job. So I label everything. Even had to label the vise on the table. Yes there is a label in the floor that says Table and yellow tape showing where the table goes.

Once that is done they come by once a month to point out what needs to change from that. I do now know exactly where my stapler is at all times. I know to look for it when I see the empty taped off section on my desk


Cutting oil is my blood.
 
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