Dalton 6

westsailpat

westsailpat

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Ever since Glenn B. mentioned Dalton some time ago I have been interested the Co. , there is a good read on lathes UK about the name . Plus the fact that Glenn mentioned the Wright Bros. may have owned one was pretty cool . Well this Dalton popped up on the Bay and a nice story goes with it (machinist went to the shop in the sky) anyhow I think this is a good project and given the history of Dalton and the condition of the machine I think the price is good . Only bummer is the original stand is not there .
http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-Dalton-la...284059?hash=item489b305fdb:g:~K8AAOSwU0RXHR6j
 
Holly smokes! If I didn't already have four lathes, I'd jump on this now! Always hard to know condition without inspecting it first hand, but if the story is true, e.g., his dad purchased this new, then this lathe might be one of the finest Daltons in existence. Amazing that it still has the original back gear belt assembly. For a collector, this is a real plus.

If you are interested, go get it! Don't worry about the original electric motor. Maybe its OK, maybe not. It can be replaced by any decent modern 1/2 hp motor with very little modification. As far as belts go, the synthetic 5 grove serpentine belts work very well on the Dalton cone pulley system. Didn't see a steady rest - very handy for turning shafts on the long bed - it would be nice to have. Be sure and ask about it if you decided to move forward. Might be there and they don't know what it is...

Great find! Don't think you can go wrong on this one. Just act soon, as the Dalton gang bunch will be knocking on their door soon as the word spreads...

Good luck, and thanks for posting!
 
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Thanks WestsailPat, indeed, two very nice Daltons. And Dennis Turk, who moderates the 'Dalton Gang' lathe forum on Yahoo groups is sort of the world master Dalton Guru on these old machines. I think he once said he has rebuild and reconditioned more than 6 of these machines, and owns a dozen or 15 Daltons covering the range of their manufacturing years. He's very accommodating when people make inquiries on the Dalton yahoo group site.

I enjoy turning small stuff on my Dalton, particularily 6" and smaller diameter things that require some degree of precision, as the lathe is quite rigid. And 1/4" tool bits allow me to get up tight into radiused corners and small spaces. Great fun making chips with these lathes.

Glenn
 
I recently got a milling machine from an estate. The selling agent showed me a Dalton 6" lathe with 3 and 4 jaw chucks, steady rest, bunch of change gears. Seems in good shape. Not advertised yet. Send message for info on it. Not mine. Not interested myself in it. Its in Michigan.
 
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