Reed lathe -- looking for comments
 

There's a Reed lathe for sale that's tempting me. It's labeled "Reed
18 inch" if I remember right (I only saw it briefly and don't remember
precisely). On the phone with the seller later on I was told it's
thought to be from around 1930, and at a guess around 2000 pounds.
The dimensions were given as either 18 or 20 inches swing, 36 inches
between centers. It looked reasonably clean and is supposedly in
working condition.

I'm going to go back to look at it more closely and see it run, move
the handles, etc. It's a change gear machine. Some tooling, I don't
have the details on how much; a substantial 4-jaw chuck. Asking price
$500, which seems very reasonable. (If anything it seems low -- maybe
machines that large are harder to sell because few hobbyists can find
room for it?) It has a 1 hp single phase motor, that's probably
marginal but it's an external motor so that's fixable.

The owner said he moved it on a trailer, lifting the head and tail
stock with a chain hoist and moving the bed (four-legged) with planks
and rollers. He even offered to help do that again for me. Nice old
gentleman from what I could tell on the phone...

I just returned to this list after several years' absence, and did
some reading. It sounds like a decent engine hoist may be a better
way to move this beast. I can rent that and a trailer.

So... any comments about the machine? Things to watch out for (other
than the obvious "does it really run")? Any other hints about moving
it?

Thanks,
paul

Reed lathe -- looking for comments
 

Old and big and heavy. If the bed is flat, the headstock bearings tight,
it might be ok for a hobbist. More than likely has babbit bearings,
likely on the loose side.

Moving it is a pain but doable. Best to put it on a substantial skid
made from 4x4's and 2x12s

Price is just OK if it seems to be in decent shape, I certainly wouldn't
go any higher for a babbit bearing, change gear machine with just a 4
jaw chuck.

ni1d wrote:
There's a Reed lathe for sale that's tempting me. It's labeled "Reed
18 inch" if I remember right (I only saw it briefly and don't remember
precisely). On the phone with the seller later on I was told it's
thought to be from around 1930, and at a guess around 2000 pounds.
The dimensions were given as either 18 or 20 inches swing, 36 inches
between centers. It looked reasonably clean and is supposedly in
working condition.

I'm going to go back to look at it more closely and see it run, move
the handles, etc. It's a change gear machine. Some tooling, I don't
have the details on how much; a substantial 4-jaw chuck. Asking price
$500, which seems very reasonable. (If anything it seems low -- maybe
machines that large are harder to sell because few hobbyists can find
room for it?) It has a 1 hp single phase motor, that's probably
marginal but it's an external motor so that's fixable.

The owner said he moved it on a trailer, lifting the head and tail
stock with a chain hoist and moving the bed (four-legged) with planks
and rollers. He even offered to help do that again for me. Nice old
gentleman from what I could tell on the phone...

I just returned to this list after several years' absence, and did
some reading. It sounds like a decent engine hoist may be a better
way to move this beast. I can rent that and a trailer.

So... any comments about the machine? Things to watch out for (other
than the obvious "does it really run")? Any other hints about moving
it?

Thanks,
paul

Reed lathe -- looking for comments
 

"ni1d" wrote in message
oups.com...
There's a Reed lathe for sale that's tempting me. It's labeled "Reed
.....snip
So... any comments about the machine? Things to watch out for (other
than the obvious "does it really run")? Any other hints about moving
it?

I have an F.E. Reed 14 x 40. There are a few things to watch for.

1) a lot of Reeds were built specifically for spindle and taper work -- the
thing actually might not have (or have accommodations for) a compound.
Better check that.

2) The bull gear on the spindle has pretty fine pitch, and many of the older
machines have broken teeth.

3) Make sure the cross-feed and longitudinal feed work smoothly. Also check
the auto-disengagement clutch on the feed rod, if it has one. A lot of
those have the teeth rounded off from many, many, many unintentional
disengagements under power.

4) It's almost certainly a flat-belt drive. Hone up on your belt splicing
techniques. McMaster has the belting and the gator-grip lacing in stock.
The feed rod pullies require a sewn or lap splice.

5) a threading dial was optional on the Reeds. If it doesn't have one, it's
not a real big deal to build one... but hey... do you want to do all that
work just to get the lathe to the point where you can use it? (Deft use of
the feed lock will give you a 1 mark-per-revolution index, but it's
confusing to some).

LLoyd