Opinions please....

Hi all,

Got to check it out this morning. It was a little annoying to show up and the seller drops the bomb on me that somebody else was ahead of me to look at the Sheldon, rather than what I was told over the phone. Regardless, I'll keep my fingers crossed that the other buyer passes it up.

Staying positive I'll share what I saw.
It has the 1 3/8" spindle bore, 56" bed, everything turns free, it has one broken tooth on the small gear of the spindle(Not the bull gear). It was really dark in the warehouse but from what I could see the ways looked good. That doesn't really mean much, but there were no real signs of any crashes or dropped parts onto the ways. It had some tags as property of a Pennsylvania school district. To me, that is promising because the amount of time in use is probably much lower than a business that would put alot more mileage on it. Ok, enough rambling take a look at the pics.
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it looks like a great buy, even at a higher price.
 
The gearing in the first picture, and the thread cutting gearing are identical to my MW-56-P. M is the type of lathe, W is the type of drive (Worthington), 56 is the bed length, and P indicates it has a pedestal base. The drive in the cabinet is a bit different. The good news is all the gears for the top end are likely still available from Bourn & Koch. I hope you'll get it. They are nice machines.

As for whether or not the ways are hardened, according to John Knox Sheldon didn't start "intentionally" hardening them until the 1960's. Before that it was a hit or miss situation. They were all heat treated to some extent then hardness tested. Those that were above a certain Rockwell number (can't remember the number) were sold as machines with hardened ways. The only way you would know they were hardened is from the original inspection sheet and bill of sale.

The ways on my machine are hardened, but I only found that out because the previous owner sent the bed out to be reground. There were no identifying marks from the factory to indicate whether or not they were hardened.

You can get more information from John on the Sheldon Lathe Website.
 
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My serial number book says it was born around 1954-1955. For S/N 16433. Looks to be in very nice condition. Very good chance it has harden & ground ways. Personally, I prefer this motor headstock arrangement, where you change speeds by moving the belt over to the next step on the sheave instead of the old Worthington drive. My 15" lathe was that way. It now has only one sheave, no steps and is run by a VFD. Nice!! Hope you get it. Ken
 
ThunderDog said:
Santa called me and said I can pick up my new lathe this coming weekend!!
If you can't tell I'm having a hard time trying NOT to smile.:grin::grin::grin:
My dad is going to help me get this one, so wish us luck.
Click to expand...

Bring an engine crane, and some wood. and don't strap the lead screw.
Great news.
 
I have a little different Worthington drive than the earlier style. rather than using the walking stick mine has a gear motor to change the sheave configuration. It also came with a mechanical tachometer to allow precise speed settings. The mechanical tach is long gone and has been replaced by a digital one. Personally I prefer the push button speed change to belt or gear changes. It can be done on the fly similar to using a VFD.

Here are a few pictures of the machine and drive. Note the drive chain is loose. I was in the process of properly positioning the sprockets. In the second picture on the control station the buttons from left to right on the top row are: Reverse, Forward, Stop. The two on the bottom row from left to right are: Slow, and Fast. To change speeds you hold either the fast or slow button until the desired speed is reached, then release.

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Great news. We moved my machine to the drop deck trailer on a pair of furniture dollies. The published weight is 1650 lbs. Once on the trailer we blocked it and tied it down with 2" cargo straps. I unloaded it myself at home by slightly raising it and rolling it on a series of round stock rods.

Just a note, I did not pull the trailer with the Jeep. The trailer and lathe weigh about 3,800 lbs. I only used the Jeep to position the trailer in the garage door opening. Being the Jeep is much shorter than the truck I could make the right angle into the garage without driving over the lawn.

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What a find! Congratulations!
 
Thunderdog - congrats!

Projectnut - I have never seen a drop deck trailer! That is so cool! Is it a commercial shop made trailer or a home brew?
 
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