# Troubleshooting my ancient lathe



## Mallardman (May 21, 2016)

I'm anxious to try my hand at some wood turning, I was given a lathe that is a little on the older side but it was free so I won't complain. Anyways it has a faceplate but no spur drive and the center of the threaded shaft is far too small to fit a spur drive in. Are their attachments I can buy or maybe something else i haven't thought of yet? Any help is much appreciated


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## Mallardman (May 21, 2016)




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## Tony (May 21, 2016)

Is there any branding on it at all?


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## barry richardson (May 21, 2016)

No tricks that I know of. I had an old lathe similar to that and gave up on getting it running properly. If you know the manufacturer, you might be able to find original parts on ebay, or you can have one machined, but that would cost more than the lathe is worth. You could try and find some nuts with the proper threads and fabricate spurs on them by grinding or welding on....

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## DKMD (May 21, 2016)

If you know the spindle size and thread pitch, you can buy lots of adaptors and doodads for the spindle. Packard, Craft Supplies, and Penn State would all be reasonable places to shop that kind of stuff...

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Mallardman (May 21, 2016)

This is as specific as it gets tony, I suspect it was a made in China special.


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## Tony (May 21, 2016)

Jay, I would say take the faceplate to a Woodcraft or Rockler store, see if you can match up the threads with any accessories they have there. That'll give you some information to go on. If not, maybe a home depot or Lowe's then you could look online for things you need.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Mallardman (May 21, 2016)

Ok then here is another question, when you turn between centers does the spindle just sit in the drive shaft loose and the tension from the tail stock keep it from flying out? Because this dinosaur has noting to tighten it down with.


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## Kevin (May 21, 2016)

No, the tailstock needs to be able to keep pressure against the work piece. When I part things I back the pressure off to just touching, but 99% of the time the tailstock needs to be locked down so you can screw your live center into the piece and apply mild, to moderate, to a lot of pressure depending on the situation.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Tim Carter (May 21, 2016)

The 1st thing I'd do is figure out the size of the headstock spindle. If it's a common size like 3/4" x 16 TPI, there are old lathes like the ones made by AMT that had spur drives on large nuts that screwed onto the spindle. If Penn State, Craft Supplies or Packard don't have any accessories to fit it, the next best place to try and find one is eBay. I'd also keep an eye on Craigslist for old lathes/parts. You also could have one fabricated at a machine shop. They may be able to take a modern 2MT spur drive, cut the shaft off and drill and tap the spur head to fit your spindle at a reasonable cost.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1


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## Kevin (May 21, 2016)

Tim Carter said:


> You also could have one fabricated at a machine shop. They may be able to take a modern 2MT spur drive, cut the shaft off and drill and tap the spur head to fit your spindle at a reasonable cost.



That's a great idea.


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## Sprung (May 21, 2016)

My first lathe was one of the AMT ones that Tim mentioned. I searched for a replacement screw on spur center, but never was able to find one after extensive searching. The one I had was worn down and unusable. I like Tim's idea of getting one made for it.

What I did for a spur center was I got this chuck. PSI also had a spur center that was mounted in the chuck, but I cannot find it on the PSI site. (I can take a picture of mine, if you'd like. I'd even be willing to sell the spur center cheap - I only used it a few times.)

Otherwise I just came across this at PSI - I hadn't seen this product before on their site and I'd guess that it's new sometime in the last 3 years since I was searching for something. It looks like it would cover all of your drive center needs as it threads directly on to the headstock. It does have 1"-8tpi threads, so if your lathe has 3/4"-16tpi threads you would need something like this.


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## duncsuss (May 21, 2016)

I have one of these -- same concept as the "spur center mounted in the chuck" that Matt mentioned.

Something to consider: the lathe minimum speed listed is 1100 rpm. This is way too fast to start an out-of-balance bowl blank (and in my experience they are all out-of-balance at the start -- even the round ones that Rockler sells). I think you'll be limited to small bowls (maybe you could get up to 6" diameter x 4" deep, but I think even that is pushing it) and spindle work -- but for that you do need a tailstock that locks down (and preferably has a quill you can crank into the end of the workpiece after the tailstock is clamped.)

I don't want to put you off trying it -- but I'd advise you to make sure any accessories you buy for this are transferable to the lathe you upgrade to when you feel it's time to get a better one.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Mallardman (May 21, 2016)

Thanks a lot everyone, I am definantly on the right track now I think.


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## Mallardman (May 21, 2016)

Sprung said:


> My first lathe was one of the AMT ones that Tim mentioned. I searched for a replacement screw on spur center, but never was able to find one after extensive searching. The one I had was worn down and unusable. I like Tim's idea of getting one made for it.
> 
> What I did for a spur center was I got this chuck. PSI also had a spur center that was mounted in the chuck, but I cannot find it on the PSI site. (I can take a picture of mine, if you'd like. I'd even be willing to sell the spur center cheap - I only used it a few times.)
> 
> Otherwise I just came across this at PSI - I hadn't seen this product before on their site and I'd guess that it's new sometime in the last 3 years since I was searching for something. It looks like it would cover all of your drive center needs as it threads directly on to the headstock. It does have 1"-8tpi threads, so if your lathe has 3/4"-16tpi threads you would need something like this.


Yeah send me a pic of u don't mind


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