Looking for info on a 12x36

[D.sebens]

I don’t need a new lathe but there’s a MSC one thats got my interest. My sheldon works fine but has issues. Does anybody know what the weight of these lathes are? How well do they run? Do they do metric and imperial threads as they stand? My current lathe is 11x60 but that’s the whole bed length not working area. Is the 12x36 the work envelope? What chuck mounting option do these have? Any idea of a value of one in todays market, I am currently unsure of condition but pictures look okay.

This lathe is up for auction, I plan on calling the place(owner, not the auction company) and asking about the condition of it.

I really don’t need a new lathe but the wanter is wanting.

 

[Harry Knutz]

There are quite a few different MSC 12x36 lathes, As many different companies made them for MSC, There are Chinese and Taiwan models, Belt Head and gear head configurations. The Taiwanese models are higher quality.

Attach a pic.

 

[D.sebens]

It appears to be taiwanese. I don’t know how long this person has owned it. He ran a starter and alternator repair shop for a bunch of years.

 

[Harry Knutz]

Ok, Yes that is a Belt Head lathe, Meaning you lift the cover, Release the lever for the belt tension and move the belt to change speeds, There is also a twin pulley on the motor and the headstock to double your speed selection. These lathes were made by many companies in Taiwan with many, Many different brands and labels. They all look very similar, But there can be subtle differences. Dar Sin is one company that comes to mind, Dai Fong is another and Tida as well.

Enco is another brand that is the same as MSC, Some of the Enco 12x36 lathes are identical to yours and the Jet 12x36 is very close too.

They are pretty darn good lathes a lot of them were made from the 70's on and are still running.

 

[Harry Knutz]

 

[D.sebens]

Can they do metric and imperial threads? Do you have to run change gears for metric and qcgb for imperial?

 

[Harry Knutz]

Can they do metric and imperial threads? Do you have to run change gears for metric and qcgb for imperial?

Yes, They can do both types of threads. You will need the change gears that came with it, If the guy has lost them you can order them from Grizzly for their belt head model. You will need these gears:

40T
32T
30T
The lathe should be setup right now with two 40 Tooth gears for SAE threads. If he was doing SAE threads. There was also a 46 Tooth gear included with some of these 12x36 lathes, But most of them did not have it, But you will know by studying the chart on your machine.

To do metric threads you have to leave the half nut engaged for the entire job, Reason being is the lathe has an inch leadscrew. If you study the threading charts on the lathe you will see the gear orientations for each thread. For SAE threads the gears are in line with each other. For metric threading the bottom gear is flipped around so it engages the outer of the two large gears which should be 120 tooth and the larger gear 127 tooth.

It's really not that hard once you study the charts it will be like a light bulb switching on and you will all of sudden grasp it.

 

[Harry Knutz]

So to do a 1.5mm thread pitch according to this chart I put up, You would have the 40T at the top meshing with the 127T and the bottom 32T gear gets flipped around so it meshes with the 120T gear. Then one lever gets set on "C" and the other lever gets set on position "4". So in essence you are turning two separate ratios for the metric threads.

 

[D.sebens]

How do the chucks mount? Do they come with 5c collet closers?

 

[Harry Knutz]

How do the chucks mount? Do they come with 5c collet closers?

They have a threaded spindle 2 1/4x8 TPI on most of them, There are a few rare birds with a 60mmx8 spindle thread which is close to 2 3/8 inch. If it has the 60mm spindle they are extremely hard to find chucks, Backing plates, Face plates etc. They will have to be made by yourself or a machinist if you don't have the ability.

So make sure he at least has the four jaw and the 3 jaw chucks. Chances are you will have the 2 1/4x8 spindle but there are quite a few 60mmx8 spindles out there, They were from the late 70's to early 80's. But the 2 1/4x8 is the most common.

Collet closers were an option and they do pop up once in a while on Ebay and such.