New (used) lathe ...

[precisionworks]

Going to look at one this afternoon ... photos to follow. If it looks as good as the seller says, it may follow me home - pending loan approval at the bank :D

 

[65535]

So that's how you get all these cool tools, you spend the banks money. :p

We demand pics. :D

 

[wquiles]

We demand pics. :D

+1

 

[darkzero]

pending loan approval

Holy crap! Sounds big or tool room quality! Can you at least give us a hint on the size? :twothumbs:popcorn:

 

[precisionworks]

I came, I saw, I bought :crackup:

Can you at least give us a hint on the size?

This particular machine is no longer imported by U.S. Machine Tools, but is just a little lighter than their current 14x40. It is the same machine I posted in the "good deals" sticky in September of last year. This one is pretty close:

http://www.usindustrial.com/pdffiles/lathes/US1440.pdf

The current 14x40 has a 5.3hp motor & weighs 4100#. Mine has a 3.0hp motor & weighs about 3000#. Bed width is 9" from the top of the V to the back of the flat.

The foot brake is awesome ... when first depressed a click is heard as power is removed from all three phases. Then the friction brake stops the spindle in an instant.

Every US & Metric thread pitch I'll ever need, plus a lot of feed options.

At 40 rpm she'll allow running a big spade drill - 2" should be easy. At the highest speeds, the 5C collet will feel just right.

Needs a good clean up, but does have steady, follower, and taper attachment.

The taper attach.

If the hole looks big, it's only 1.750" :D

5" of ram travel, #4MT, weighs a few hundred pounds. Notice the big knockout slot used to disengage tooling or live centers. I just happen to have a #4MT Royal Heavy Duty live center ... which weighs over 20#.

Showing Sargon Gold DRO and 5C collet chuck.

Not a bad deal for $4k:D

 

[darkzero]

I came, I saw, I bought :crackup:

:laughing:
Cool! :twothumbs:party:
So when's the party (as in when is it expected to come home)?

You must be excited! Oh maybe those who have seen, done, & used it all don't get that excited anymore with "new" purchases like this? :thinking: :p :grin2:

Well I'm excited for you. Just looking at the pics I can see many similarities in design that the 12x36 has with this. Can't wait to see it in your shop!

 

[precisionworks]

when is it expected to come home

Planning on Thursday, pending disbursement of funds. Loan rates are killer low, like 3.5% for a 36 month finance. Work in the shop has picked up & I've worked 6 & 7 days a week for the past couple of months ... so my darling wife had no grounds to deny me this essential toy ... er, tool :rolleyes:

The entire base is cast iron, not a bit of sheet metal except the backsplash. There are pipe lifting holes cast into both ends of the bed, which will make it easy to fork lift onto a trailer (see first photo, just under the threading chart). Then she has to go no more than 20' to her final resting place.

 

[wquiles]

Planning on Thursday, pending disbursement of funds. Loan rates are killer low, like 3.5% for a 36 month finance. Work in the shop has picked up & I've worked 6 & 7 days a week for the past couple of months ... so my darling wife had no grounds to deny me this essential toy ... er, tool :rolleyes:

The entire base is cast iron, not a bit of sheet metal except the backsplash. There are pipe lifting holes cast into both ends of the bed, which will make it easy to fork lift onto a trailer (see first photo, just under the threading chart). Then she has to go no more than 20' to her final resting place.

Very cool. Congratulations :twothumbs

 

[Torque1st]

That taper attachment is nice! I don't have one so I am jealous.

 

[StrikerDown]

That is awesome, congrats Barry!:twothumbs

Looks a lot like my PM 14X40... with fewer oil leaks!

It has a D1-5 too! (I think)

 

[precisionworks]

It has a D1-5 too!

Good eye, Ray :D

I'll have to build a rotary phase converter, probably using a 10hp idler & a 1hp pony to spin the idler up. This lathe has so many electrical interlocks that a VFD is not an option.

That taper attachment is nice!

If you ever turn pipe threads, the TA is the ticket.

The bigger lathe will allow me to do more jobs without having to send them out - which really cuts into profit.

I first saw this machine in 2003 at a friend's shop. He bought it new from Ted the Tool Man & used it primarily for collet jobs. About a year ago he bought a Haas TL-1 & sold the lathe to the current owner who is a retired machinist who tinkers & rebuilds machinery. He replace all of the Asian electrics with GE, Furnas & Siemens parts, reset all the switch engagement positions, aligned the drive gears visible at the back of the headstock, and probably spent two months in the process. In the current economy, the lathe was going nowhere fast - without the 5C collet chuck, he was asking $4500 last September, then recently came down to $4000. He finally threw in the 5C chuck which was all it took for me to say yes.

His newest project is a 15x50 Clausing Colchester, which will be up for sale in a few months :D

 

[precisionworks]

Looks a lot like my PM 14X40..

Specs are very similar to the PM1440HD

http://precisionmatthews.com/PM1440HDlathe.html

 

[Tom Anderson]

Nice score! :twothumbs

 

[precisionworks]

Someone once said to budget half of the equipment cost for tooling ... which I knew before buying this machine :crackup:

The first order of business was a tool post, as the lathe comes with a pretty wimpy import wedge post. The best price I found on the Dorian Super Quick Change CXA First Time Buyer Set was $870 + $50 shipping. When I bought the AXA set last year, Rocky waived the shipping charges, which he did again today. Glad I got the loan for more than the amount needed :D

 

[precisionworks]

FWIW, the importer (Machinery Sales Co. in Memphis, TN) just brought in a used 16x40 from a trade school. About 15 years old & looks decent for $3850. Will post photos if there's any interest. Really similar to the current 14x40 (2" head stock bore, 5.3hp motor, etc.)

 

[brickbat]

I'll have to build a rotary phase converter, probably using a 10hp idler & a 1hp pony to spin the idler up.

Another option would be to use starting capacitors in conjunction with a 'potential relay' or a timer to start the RPC - avoids the need for the pony motor...

 

[darkzero]

threw in the 5C chuck

Are you getting that nice set of collets along with the rack? :naughty:

Looks just like the racks in shop class!

 

[precisionworks]

Are you getting that nice set of collets along with the rack?

I tried, but he really wanted to keep them ... no big loss, as they were a mixed set - some awful & some decent. I'll be looking for a Lyndex or Nikken set on eBay, but Hardinge would be just fine :twothumbs

use starting capacitors in conjunction with a 'potential relay' or a timer

I've built auto-start RPC's as well as pony-start RPC's, and keep going back to the pony-start. The simplicity is so cool.

My plan is to build this one in the vertical plane with the idler low & the pony mounted above the idler on a hinged plate. Pull up on a handle attached to the pony to engage the V-belt, wait a moment until the idler reaches full speed, throw the disconnect, lower the handle & turn off the pony.

My disconnect is a new Cutler-Hammer 60A, 3p, fused unit - $97 delivered (eBay 120518627247). A friend has a 10hp idler that might cost me all of $20, and the 1hp pony was a take off from the Burr King. Wiring is as simple as it gets:

Auto-start RPC's are nice & compact, and pushing one button is all it takes. But potential relays & timer relays all fail at some point, which produces a loud noise as the starting cap explodes ... :oops:

 

[darkzero]

no big loss, as they were a mixed set - some awful & some decent.

I see & understand. Having a mixed set like that would drive me crazy! :candle:

Super Quick Change CXA First Time Buyer Set was $870 + $50 shipping.

Awesome!

If you could, please post a picture of big daddy CXA next to little brother AXA! :D

I see a lot more CXA & DA Dorian holders on ebay more than anything else so that's good. Curious, is CA one step bigger than CXA?

 

[precisionworks]

You're exactly right, Will, the A series is a step larger than the X series. Tool holders that fit a CX (or CXA) will not fit a CA. Photos below from the Aloris catalog

Don't get too excited by those prices ... they haven't been updated in ten years :nana: