Seneca Falls Star #30 lathe Resto-Mod

[middle.road]

I think you missed the fact that this lathe has manual change gears, and not a QCGB. With manual change gears, they have to be manually switched out to change feed rates. For example: if I were turning something to size, I might want .015" per rev to rough out, and .003" per rev to finish. If I were using the gear train, I would have to manually change the gears to accomplish this. By bypassing the gear train and using an electric driven lead screw, I can adjust the feed with a twist of a knob. General turning is about 90% of a lathes use. Besides that, it takes wear and tear off the gear train and is lots quieter. The limit switch is a bonus.
One aspect that probably gets overlooked, is the fact that the half nut can still used to feed, and is 2.77 times faster than the power feed rate. This means that in that mode, the speed of the screw can still be adjusted for a roughing cut, and then be changed over to the power feed for a finer cut. It's like 2 speeds and infinitely adjustable.
Believe me.....if you had a chance to run this machine, you'll wonder why yours is not set up the same way!

Isn't that the truth? Any non-QCGB machine needs this mod. Would be great for my '49 Logan 210...

 

[TerryH]

Amazing body of work. What a beautiful result. The machine will live on for another hundred and more...

 

[Kernbigo]

i did also go to electronic lead screw and another thing is now how quiet the lathe runs

 

[external power]

I'm speechless. That was awesome.

 

[NEL957]

You have my vote on your resto of the Seneca Falls. Beautiful job.
Nelson

 

[matthewsx]

Awesome rebuild project, I will be looking at this a whole bunch as I get my Star lathe up and running again.

Cheers,

John

 

[dan97526]

My goodness. I just purchased a 12x36 Star that seems to be in pretty good condition for its age, but it definitely needs to be gone through. I wish my skills were up to this level. Thanks for sharing this.

 

[Quiet Recluse]

Amazing work...just amazing.
I'm curious about the bed/ways...it looks like it was re-scraped and re-flaked. I'd like more info about that if possible.
Like, who did it?, the cost? etc.
I have a Star lathe of similar vintage, 1903 being the latest patent date cast on the bed, and it's a bit smaller size. I'm confident about most of the rest of the work, but the scraping and flaking I'm thinking might be a bit outside my wheelhouse.

 

[derf]

The bed ways were actually in pretty good shape considering the age of the machine. There were virtually no signs of wear, just a few dings and scratches. I stoned all the surfaces to eliminated high spots a gave it a good scrubbing with a scotch brite pad to remove the dis colorization.
As for scraping and flaking, that was something I wasn't taking on, although I did do some to the cross slide after I repaired a crack. The finish you are seeing is purely cosmetic. It is what I call "fake and flake". It was done with a Dremel and a cratex wheel. With a little practice, I established a pattern that looked like flaking, but is only superficial. Looks good enough to fool most people.

 

[Quiet Recluse]

Looks good! I had a Seneca Falls lathe about 50 years ago? The one thing that stands out and I will tell you is: Check the head stock babbitt bearings. AND check the end shake and then check it again. Mine had some kind of fiber washer on the end of the rear bearing. Maybe try making a Delrin washer? I still have the taper attachment from it somewhere in the shop???...Dave

I realize I am probably person number 317 to ask if you have and would be willing to part with that taper attachment, but, I couldn't forgive myself if I didn't at least ask.
Thank you in advance.