Got My First Lathe... Logan 1875 - With Restoration.

Mr Mike said:
Is there any reason " Or is it blasphemy " If I paint this Logan Lathe Other then the factory Blue color..?
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Your Logan is a fairly common lathe, not some rare and historically important artifact, at least so far. It is also yours. Paint it in any color scheme you want, pink would be fine... ;)

Soapbox/ON
I have a friend who once chopped and channeled an intact Cord, and also cut the roof off of a running Pierce Arrow, making it into a fair weather convertible. That was when those old cars were more common, but he really wishes now he was able to go back and change his choices on those cars... Old things do not become more common with time, they become more rare, especially in our disposable mindset society. We machinists are often 'restorers' of old machines just so we can have something to work with in our shops. Still, I think many rare and/or ground breaking machines should be looked at as more than metal to be shaped to our whims. Some are also cultural treasures, and tangible history. I am not at all saying we should think of every old machine as a cultural treasure, but I believe we should think carefully about whether the machine needs to be curated BEFORE bending it to the needs and wants of the moment. Sometimes just changing the paint on an rare old machine can be a big mistake, and sometimes it might be better to carefully do just enough to get it running again so it can remain a working view into the past.
Soapbox/OFF
 
Bob Korves said:
Your Logan is a fairly common lathe, not some rare and historically important artifact, at least so far. It is also yours. Paint it in any color scheme you want, pink would be fine... ;)
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Bob.. Your right this Logan Lathe is not rare..! Which is why I was originally after a Logan Or South Bend lathe from the get go.. but you know how this works right..? The first rule of Murphy's law states if Mike doesn't ask, then Mike gets in hot water. I'm still new to the forums and there could be some Un-Written rule I'm not aware of. Or maybe there is an advantage to keeping it all original - Like a letter from Logan saying thanks for keeping our heritage strong and growing... In which case I would keep it 100% original.

Just like your soapbox story.. I've looked back in life and said I probably should have left it as is, And you know what - I'm with you.. if this was a rare lathe you can bet I would keep It 100% stock - because it would be an artifact of humanity.
But now that I know there is no issue of customizing it, I intend to improve it somewhat..

Thanks for all your help with Info Bob, I appreciate it.
 
Well, I'm sort of a Sailors belong on Ships and Ships belong at Sea type. I'm happy with any color so long as it's machinery gray. But it's your machine. Paint it whatever color makes you happy. One nice thing about paint, unlike a cutting torch, is that you can always change the color. ;)
 
True. But very few of the machines that most of us prefer have decent or even any factory paint left. ;)
 
Ok Boys and Girls, The lathe bed is going in for its 2nd and hopefully final bath. Just the bed - I'd like to get all remaining paint and rust off.
I learned allot my first run through and expect this run to go much smother.

I used a level spoon full of Sodium Carbonate this time and, all is well with just over 3 amps of current flowing.
Now that the amps are in check I'll test it with my volt meter in shunt mode to see just how accurate the clamp ons are.

LatheBedBath2.jpg
 
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mikey said:
If they bug you, try some WD-40 and Scotchbrite and they will usually shine up. Not much metal is removed with this so it won't affect the function of the lathe.
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Thanks for the tip... Mike.
I had amazing results using Ultra Fine Scotchbright pads and cutting oil "windex gets to messy"..!
Took about an hour of scrubbing per side to get them all shinny - only thing left was minor rust pits.
Hopefully I did Little to No damage to the accuracy of the ways with all the scrubbing.

ScotchbrightWays.jpg
 
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Wow, that looks really, really good, Mike! Your lathe is going to be beautiful when you're done and you'll know every single nut and bolt of it. By the way, I like white, too, but my own lathe has a black bed and red carriage - this makes it go faster, you know. :)
 
I have had excellent results using Evaporust followed by ultra fine (light gray) Scotchbrite. Not a great recipe for doing a lathe bed, though...
 
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Bob Korves said:
I have had excellent results using Evaporust followed by ultra fine (light gray) Scotchbrite. Not a great recipe for doing a lathe bed, though...
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What do you mean "" Not a great recipe for doing a lathe bed, though... "" Did I do something that I should not have done...??
 
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