carldu

I just bought an old wood lathe. The only identification is the number 273 that appears on most of the cast iron pieces. It has two chromed tubular rails for the bed. The live center in the tail piece seems not to be original and I would prefer a dead center. The driven center seems not to be replaceable with a face plate for turning bowls. If anyone knows the MANUFACTURER of this tool, I would appreciate knowing.

Ken Johnson

carldu,

This sounds like an old Craftsman lathe that I have. I'm not sure about the #273 on it but the rest sounds very similar. Does it have a three speed v-belt pulley at the headstock covered with a rectangular sheetmetal box? If you can post a picture that would be a big help.

__________________
Ken

"What we hope ever to do with ease, we must first learn to do with diligence".
- Samuel Johnson

john lucas

Record lathes have 2 round rails I don't know if there are others. I prefer live centers but if it is a record lathe it probably has a #1 morse taper so the tail center can be knocked out from the back or if it's self ejecting just crank the tailstock back until it pops out. It neither of these methods work put a wrench or anything solid between the tail center and the quill and pry it out.
The drive center on these lathes often needed a nut to be behind the center so you could back off the nut which prys the drive center out of the morse taper.
I'm purely guessing on all of this because I don't know what lathe it actually is. If you could post a photo we might be able to help better.

Handyman

Carldu Go to www.owwm.com and ask the same question. They know about old machines than the guys that built them. They are my second favorite web site.

__________________
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carldu

I have posted two images of the old wood lathe I recently purchased. Ken, FYI, the headstock is NOT covered, so it may not be the one you were thinking of. John, the tail stock stationary shaft is threaded, and the tapered live center that came with the lathe was attached to the tail stock shaft using what appear to be copper tubing fittings; this is inefficient, unstable and very likely non-original. In the images, you can see these pieces lying in front of the lathe bed. The headstock has a non-removable center that is integral with the pulley shaft, so major modifications would be required to make possible any bowl turning. If anyone can tell me how to contact the manufacturer, I would greatly appreciate it. The castings have the number 273 followed by a hyphen and another number (273-1, 273-4, etc.), which may indicate that the lathe was put together from a kit. No lettering appears anywhere.

Handyman

I looked up all the lathe manufactures from A to Z and I found that your lathe was made by American Machine & Tool Co, Inc in Royersford, PA. As for the year or model number, I didn't find one for you. The brand is unique in the fact the frame work of the lathe is a one of a kind. No other lathe manufactures molds their cast iron bodies like they do. And the tale adjustment handle is located inside the frame and not on the back like the other manufactures. It was the best I could do. Being an Expert is hard work.

__________________
Collector of Old Tools
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Expert = Drip under pressure

power256

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Ken Johnson

Carldu,

I checked out your pics and that is exactly like the old Craftsman lathe I have. Yours is just missing the headstock pulley cover.

__________________
Ken

"What we hope ever to do with ease, we must first learn to do with diligence".
- Samuel Johnson

larrycole

where do you get part for that lathe,thanks