Learning about my new Lipe- Rollway Carbo-Lathe

[jhuston]

Hi folks, it's been some time since I've stopped by , but I'm in need of some advice. I recently added another machine to the toolroom. It's a Lipe-Rollway Carbo-Lathe, built sometime after 1937 ( when the patents for the design were sold to them by Porter-Cable, who originally built the lathe ). I wanted it for two reasons; one, so my Mulliner Enlund 14 "engine lathe could be kept free for repair work, and two, so it didn't get scrapped.
The lathe is essentially a second operation lathe on steroids- no threading capacity, feed speed changed by pick off gears,etc. However, it has speed ( twice the spindle speed of the older Mulliner) and strength- this lathe is less than six feet long and weighs 3,400lbs.

Currently, it's awaiting a complete restoration, but I've started hunting for tooling. The only thing it has is a Rohm 6" 3 jaw chuck with shopmade jaw extensions. I'm debating getting an Aloris CXA tool post, as the BXA doesn't seem to offer holders for tooling big enough to suit what this tank can do.
My question for the floor is this- what chucks would you folks recommend for a lathe of this type? I'm assuming that a good three jaw and four jaw would be a good start. I mainly make relatively small parts for older Porter-Cable power tools, so I imagine a collet set would also be useful? Those of you that run production manual lathes, what do you find yourself using the most?

 

[Eddyde]

I would first look into getting replacement jaws for that Rohm chuck. Bison is a good quality, mid priced brand, if you want to go new.

 

[jhuston]

Yeah, I kinda thought that the chuck might be a write-off.
I'll start looking, thanks!
- James Huston

 

[matthewsx]

I saw this one on OWWM, glad you asked over here.

It’s one beast of a machine in a relatively small package, will be watching your progress.

John

 

[gentle_1ben]

James,
Fancy meeting you over here!
I use a four jaw chuck all the time, I rarely ever use a 3 jaw, even though I have one for each of my lathes. Once you learn how to center in the four jaw it doesn't long to set up.
I have BXA on a 15" Leblond, I have thought about putting a CXA on it. If you go the BXA route, buy the XL holders as they allow you to use 3/4" tooling. On the CXA's I still buy the XL's to allow for 1" tooling. I have mixture of Yausa, Enco, Phase II, and imported. For the work I do I can't tell any difference between them, there are some good imported toolposts. I can tell difference between the piston type and wedge type. I would go with the wedge type, holds much better.
As for a collet set, I have an ER-40 straight shank holder I mount in my four jaw chuck when I need a collet to hold something. I'm too lazy to take that big heavy chuck off the lathe, for the few times I have used it. You can also use the ER collets in the mill. One set does it.
Ben

 

[jhuston]

Thanks for the information on toolrests; I've never used an Aloris style toolpost, so I'm trying to learn as I go. My main lathe was built 106 years ago, and hates carbide tooling.
I may take your suggestion on collets , too. The Lipe- Rollway has an MT#5 spindle, so I'll need to take that into consideration if I don't go the straight shank in the chuck route.

- James Huston

 

[gentle_1ben]

James,
You might want to look at the thread by David P. Best in the sponsored forums on ER40 vs 5C collets. Very interesting and a bunch I didn't know. That might help you decide on the collet system to use.
I use carbide tooling in all my old lathes, which have a top speed of less than 500 rpm and get decent results. I have the better Shars brand with the clamp holder for the carbide. I had some from India that only had the screw in the middle of the insert and never got good results. You can still use HHS in quick change, you just need to grind them a little differently to get the angles right.
Ben

 

[jhuston]

Ben, I've heard that from other people, too; my Mulliner Enlund's top speed is right around 850rpm, but whenever I've tried carbide tooling, it look like the surface of a cheap t-shirt after a couple washes. If I use HSS , the cut is so much better it's astonishing. I've never figured out why the old lathe won't tolerate carbide, but as the old girl has a lot more machining experience than me, who am I to argue?
- James Huston

 

[jhuston]

Well, after it sat in the garage for a year, I finally got around to dragging the lathe out, stripping it down, removing the swarf and paint, and giving it three coats of New Ford gray paint. Reassembly has gone well, with only motor rebuilds and electrical service rewiring to go.


-James Huston