Deal or No Deal: late 1930's Rockford Economy Lathe w/ 12" swing

[Robrods]

thank you for everyone’s input - I spent most of last night following a few threads (I posted in multiple places). A vintage lathe forum - I learned this was indeed a mid 30’s to late 30’s unit determined by the bearing cap style which also meant this is a Babbitt-type bearing and very difficult to deal with once worn. That same unit virtually identical to this one was made thru the 40’s but with modern bearings which is identified by a different cap style. It is the much more desirable machine. I love and fascinated by old machinery and this would be a great project, but unfortunately I need the lathe for a couple of classic car restoration projects to finish first, so I decided against a this project lathe. If it had the more modern bearings style (therefore more serviceable to my skill set), I probably would have pulled the trigger and sat in the corner but just too much to deal with. I have enough projects.

Again l, thanks to everyone who contributed!! PS: I am second guessing the new chinesium one and as suggested here and other forums, I’m going to start looking for an older American machine, just a little more modern.

 

[projectnut]

Babbitt style bearings don't necessarily spell the death knell for a machine. Before totally giving up on it carefully remove the headstock bearing caps. If there are a stack of shims under each retaining bolt the play can still be eliminated by removing 1 or more. These machines usually had a gap of .001" to .0015" between the cap and the spindle for bearing lubrication. You can purchase Plastigauge at almost any auto parts store to check the tolerance. There are several YouTube videos on how to use it.

As an FYI I have a 1916 Seneca Falls Star #20 lathe with the same type bearings. At 104 years old the gap between the bearing caps and the spindle is still .0015", and there are still several shims in the pack under each retaining bolt. Here are a couple pictures of my machine:

 

[mattthemuppet2]

if you need a lathe to finish a bunch of other projects you'd be better off paying more for a lathe in good working condition with a thorough collection of tooling. Last thing you'd want is another project to complete before you can complete other projects!

 

[boneyard51]

Babbitt style bearings don't necessarily spell the death knell for a machine. Before totally giving up on it carefully remove the headstock bearing caps. If there are a stack of shims under each retaining bolt the play can still be eliminated by removing 1 or more. These machines usually had a gap of .001" to .0015" between the cap and the spindle for bearing lubrication. You can purchase Plastigauge at almost any auto parts store to check the tolerance. There are several YouTube videos on how to use it.

As an FYI I have a 1916 Seneca Falls Star #20 lathe with the same type bearings. At 104 years old the gap between the bearing caps and the spindle is still .0015", and there are still several shims in the pack under each retaining bolt. Here are a couple pictures of my machine:

I am looking a a machine that has those type of bearing. Could you expand a little on how good they work? Your experiences with them. We are thinking of putting this lathe in our shop for making suspension bushings and the like. + or - .005 would be OK, most of the time. Thanks.





Bones

 

[benmychree]

If there are no shims left, the bearing caps may be (carefully) filed off to achieve the proper clearance.

 

[Al 1]

I purchased my 3rd lathe about 8 years ago. It is a south bend heavy 10 with a three phase motor. It was in a basement in Philly.
Asking price was 2500. I paid 500.00 and put over 1700.00 into it including hauling. A rotary phase converter was obtained at a very good price. The lathe was completely dismantled by me and parts were installed as necessary. A few parts grizzly had and others were purchased on E / B. I probably spent over 150 hours on that project. Parts were available because so many of these common lathes were produced. That is a factor.
It may be a good idea to find someone that knows lathes to help you check this out. Al.