17-01-2014, 03:57 PM
Hi,
I was happily going about my business converting the garage into my workshop when Big Al stepped in sending me an email with an eBay link showing a Lorch metal turning lathe in Huddersfield for sale; many thanks Alan for throwing a spanner into my plans just knowing I would take the bait?
I contacted the seller named Steve requesting a convenient time to Steve for me to visit and inspect this lathe; please note Gary; yes this time I was going to inspect before buying after being caught out so badly whilst buying a Myford MF36 in Wales unseen which turned out to be scrap once on my bench.
This morning accompanied by my own personal black cloud I visited Steve in his workshop the other side of Huddersfield; well it couldn't be this side of Huddersfield could it? Steve was in his office on the phone when I arrived but I spotted the lathe crammed in amongst other machinery and upon first sight I thought no way am I buying this lathe; it looked very rough and must have been stored for years unused?
Steve then greeted me and set about clearing access to the lathe; now I could closely inspect it; I had taken along my rigger gloves and was donned in my tramps kit after all I didn't want to look wealthy? I grasped the chuck and tried my best to detect any play in the head-stock bearings but couldn't; next I tried the tail-stock and again all was well; the carriage ran along the bed with just the right amount of resistance. Steve connected the motor and checking all was free to revolve switched on; the lathe burst immediately into life but with a metal to metal rubbing noise which I could only roughly trace to around the head-stock area? Steve produced an oil can and lubricated the head-stock bearings but without any change to the noise. The two flat belts were flapping around a bit on their respective pulleys and I thought perhaps the noise could be something very simple like a pulley rubbing.
By now I was warming to this Lorch lathe with its quaint drive system of flat belts with fast and loose pulleys this in effect being a clutch. The tail-stock was the usual lever locking cam operation which pleased me no end because I'll never own another lathe with spanner locking. The power feeds worked OK and after my initial doubts I thought apart from the grubby dirty state of this lathe it holds a lot of promise but being a tight Yorkshireman cost had to be considered.
I explained to Steve that I had sold two very rare Myford's on eBay fetching only £227 the pair and a week after mine sold another guy had a similar lathe go on eBay for little over £100; this was my opening round and of course every word was true. I further explained I was concerned about the rubbing noise around the head-stock and also importantly what it would cost me to get the lathe home?
I asked Steve what he thought this lathe to be worth but he countered this very skillfully saying he hadn't a clue but that lathes are so unpredictable being sold through eBay. Steve added that he could deliver free of charge if I made a fair offer? I had taken along a wad of cash having already decided on the highest price I was willing to pay judging by the details advertised; I offered the full price I was willing to pay and after a bit of thought we shook hands on the deal.
The lathe is supplied with lots of change gears and other bits of kit in two large wooden boxes; Steve suggested I bring the loose items home with me in the car so whilst my cloud did it's best to drown the both of us we loaded the boxes into the Aygo. Steve accepted half full payment up front as a deposit and I'll pay the balance when the lathe is delivered tomorrow afternoon. I must say I bought this lathe for a very fair price indeed mutually acceptable to both Steve and I.
Lorch lathes are very desirable indeed and ones in good condition fetch very high prices if ever they come up for sale. David has a splendid watchmakers Lorch and all Lorch lathes are precision lathes.
What brilliant timing for a change and even my cloud couldn't upset me although it tried its best. I was unsure whether to sell my soda blaster but now it will prove highly useful because I have the facility of soda blasting this entire lathe. Soda blasting is absolutely perfect for doing this because soda is not abrasive and I can blast in the knowledge that no harm whatsoever will be caused to this lathe; if the soda gets into bearings or moving parts it is harmless; this is going to be a lovely lathe to spend time playing about on.
After spending considerable money on the Myford's I decided against throwing more money at them and it proved a sound decision in cutting my losses even though I did lose around £1,000 on the both of them; I had come to the conclusion that whatever I spent on these two lathes or however many hours the lathes would ultimately still be worth little. Lorch lathes though are well worth restoring and this particular lathe is in good basic condition; whatever the noise turns out to be I'm sure I can fix it; it's on single phase which I'll be looking at; I could very easily convert to variable speed through a VFD because I have a suitable top quality Brook Motor inverter rated to hand but the fast and loose pulleys take me back fifty years to my apprenticeship days so I'll see how the lathe performs before making any decisions.
I need to complete the Wilmac bandsaw restoration before moving onto this Lorch but what a delightful project to look forward to and this time I have the soda blaster to take a lot of the dirty work out of it.
With both David and me now being owners of Lorch lathes I wonder who will be third on this forum to own one of these lathes?
This lathe is much bigger than David's having its own stand but as yet I'm unable to add any pictures; here are Lorch lathe details for those interested;
http://www.lathes.co.uk/lorchschmidt/
I'm feeling much happier after being in the doldrums these last few months; I'm now up to strength on lathes this being number four so already 2014 is starting off very well indeed.
Many thanks Big Al for tipping me off about this lathe now please behave yourself because I've now got four lathes and don't think I could squeeze another into the garage; you can have a good look at it on your next visit but I'll be checking your Free-Lander before you leave?
Hopefully I'll be able to expand on this story in the near future.
Kind regards, Col.
I was happily going about my business converting the garage into my workshop when Big Al stepped in sending me an email with an eBay link showing a Lorch metal turning lathe in Huddersfield for sale; many thanks Alan for throwing a spanner into my plans just knowing I would take the bait?
I contacted the seller named Steve requesting a convenient time to Steve for me to visit and inspect this lathe; please note Gary; yes this time I was going to inspect before buying after being caught out so badly whilst buying a Myford MF36 in Wales unseen which turned out to be scrap once on my bench.
This morning accompanied by my own personal black cloud I visited Steve in his workshop the other side of Huddersfield; well it couldn't be this side of Huddersfield could it? Steve was in his office on the phone when I arrived but I spotted the lathe crammed in amongst other machinery and upon first sight I thought no way am I buying this lathe; it looked very rough and must have been stored for years unused?
Steve then greeted me and set about clearing access to the lathe; now I could closely inspect it; I had taken along my rigger gloves and was donned in my tramps kit after all I didn't want to look wealthy? I grasped the chuck and tried my best to detect any play in the head-stock bearings but couldn't; next I tried the tail-stock and again all was well; the carriage ran along the bed with just the right amount of resistance. Steve connected the motor and checking all was free to revolve switched on; the lathe burst immediately into life but with a metal to metal rubbing noise which I could only roughly trace to around the head-stock area? Steve produced an oil can and lubricated the head-stock bearings but without any change to the noise. The two flat belts were flapping around a bit on their respective pulleys and I thought perhaps the noise could be something very simple like a pulley rubbing.
By now I was warming to this Lorch lathe with its quaint drive system of flat belts with fast and loose pulleys this in effect being a clutch. The tail-stock was the usual lever locking cam operation which pleased me no end because I'll never own another lathe with spanner locking. The power feeds worked OK and after my initial doubts I thought apart from the grubby dirty state of this lathe it holds a lot of promise but being a tight Yorkshireman cost had to be considered.
I explained to Steve that I had sold two very rare Myford's on eBay fetching only £227 the pair and a week after mine sold another guy had a similar lathe go on eBay for little over £100; this was my opening round and of course every word was true. I further explained I was concerned about the rubbing noise around the head-stock and also importantly what it would cost me to get the lathe home?
I asked Steve what he thought this lathe to be worth but he countered this very skillfully saying he hadn't a clue but that lathes are so unpredictable being sold through eBay. Steve added that he could deliver free of charge if I made a fair offer? I had taken along a wad of cash having already decided on the highest price I was willing to pay judging by the details advertised; I offered the full price I was willing to pay and after a bit of thought we shook hands on the deal.
The lathe is supplied with lots of change gears and other bits of kit in two large wooden boxes; Steve suggested I bring the loose items home with me in the car so whilst my cloud did it's best to drown the both of us we loaded the boxes into the Aygo. Steve accepted half full payment up front as a deposit and I'll pay the balance when the lathe is delivered tomorrow afternoon. I must say I bought this lathe for a very fair price indeed mutually acceptable to both Steve and I.
Lorch lathes are very desirable indeed and ones in good condition fetch very high prices if ever they come up for sale. David has a splendid watchmakers Lorch and all Lorch lathes are precision lathes.
What brilliant timing for a change and even my cloud couldn't upset me although it tried its best. I was unsure whether to sell my soda blaster but now it will prove highly useful because I have the facility of soda blasting this entire lathe. Soda blasting is absolutely perfect for doing this because soda is not abrasive and I can blast in the knowledge that no harm whatsoever will be caused to this lathe; if the soda gets into bearings or moving parts it is harmless; this is going to be a lovely lathe to spend time playing about on.
After spending considerable money on the Myford's I decided against throwing more money at them and it proved a sound decision in cutting my losses even though I did lose around £1,000 on the both of them; I had come to the conclusion that whatever I spent on these two lathes or however many hours the lathes would ultimately still be worth little. Lorch lathes though are well worth restoring and this particular lathe is in good basic condition; whatever the noise turns out to be I'm sure I can fix it; it's on single phase which I'll be looking at; I could very easily convert to variable speed through a VFD because I have a suitable top quality Brook Motor inverter rated to hand but the fast and loose pulleys take me back fifty years to my apprenticeship days so I'll see how the lathe performs before making any decisions.
I need to complete the Wilmac bandsaw restoration before moving onto this Lorch but what a delightful project to look forward to and this time I have the soda blaster to take a lot of the dirty work out of it.
With both David and me now being owners of Lorch lathes I wonder who will be third on this forum to own one of these lathes?
This lathe is much bigger than David's having its own stand but as yet I'm unable to add any pictures; here are Lorch lathe details for those interested;
http://www.lathes.co.uk/lorchschmidt/
I'm feeling much happier after being in the doldrums these last few months; I'm now up to strength on lathes this being number four so already 2014 is starting off very well indeed.
Many thanks Big Al for tipping me off about this lathe now please behave yourself because I've now got four lathes and don't think I could squeeze another into the garage; you can have a good look at it on your next visit but I'll be checking your Free-Lander before you leave?
Hopefully I'll be able to expand on this story in the near future.
Kind regards, Col.
Happiness is a wreck of a cabinet to restore.
