Heavy 10 Precision - NASA/Raytheon property

Ironcross44 · Aug 7, 2022

Hey all!

Just wanted to share some pics of my Heavy 10 I recently got. Bought on eBay from a machine resale company in New Jersey, MVI (GREAT company to deal with). Seems it was very well maintained through it’s life. 3ph motor. Lathe made in fall of 1965. NASA owned at some point.

Before anyone asks, yes. I put it in the back of my living room

(being single has benefits). I’ll be putting rubber matting around the base tho to protect the carpet just in case…also, I have a Fuji Electric VFD to run 220 1ph up to 220 3ph. I was going to use an RPC, but this is the only 3ph machine I plan on having inside my house.

texasgeartrain · Aug 8, 2022

Nice machine. You might want more than a rubber mat in the living room. These were made before anyone cared about environment, by its nature it leaks oil from every lube point. Plus on a occasion oil, coolant, fluids, chips will be slung at the wall.

You have the guard over chuck which will help, but depending on a variety of factors, chips can fly in any direction and with some distance.

Greg Menke · Aug 8, 2022

Yeah that lathe guard interrupts segments of the circle of chips and oil whipping off the chuck- will still go a ways upwards onto the wall behind (but now not to the ceiling), and still downwards onto your pants and floor (but now not right into your face). So, helpful

Adjustable leveling feet will be helpful also- if for nothing else than raising the machine up a bit.

As TGT suggests you'll need something more than a simple mat. I like the standing on the carpet idea, being softer than concrete- but it'll turn into a mess.

I'd tear the carpet out to 8' away from the wall and put down something like a rubber horse stall mat, completely covering the exposed cement. The paint on the wall will be ruined, so hanging something from the ceiling, down the wall to direct chips and oil back into the pan would help. Perhaps an office chair floor protector would be easy... doesn't have to cover the whole wall just from headstock to tailstock as high as you can get it while keeping the lower edge tucked inside the lip of the chip tray. Its ugly as all get-out but I've hung lengths of brown masking paper to the wall... but at least easy to replace.

Leave other walls open for girly calendars, maybe a workbench & shelves/trays- the lathe needs a bunch of wrenches and tooling and if you can stash the chucks so you don't have to kneel to move them around thats helpful. The VFD is a great idea

jim rozen · Aug 8, 2022

Cam lock spindle, nice. Wire the motor in high speed when you hook the VFD to it. This is basically the same lathe I own, very nice machine. (your toolpost is on sideways btw....)

dalmatiangirl61 · Aug 8, 2022

I hope you own the home, if rented, probably best to build a tent enclosure around it, between slinging oil and tossing chips, that white carpet is going to get grungy.

FamilyTradition · Aug 8, 2022

I would definitely rethink having it inside the living area of your house, if at all possible.

If you rent, your landlord is not going to be happy if they find out you have a machine in there, for many of the same reasons why a homeowner might not want a machine in a living area.

If you own, you're setting yourself up for failure when you go to sell the house. The oil can and will soak into every crevice, nook, and cranny over time.

You will never get the smell out, and it's going to turn your house into a massive fire hazard. From what I have heard from firefighters that I know, modern houses already burn way faster than their older counterparts, and having oil soaking into everything is going to make it spread much faster and make it much more difficult to fight it, if something does light up.

Have there been any old factories near where you live, burn down recently? There's a lot of them in my neck of the woods and they can damn near decimate the town if the FD doesn't respond in time.

Plus think about the future, if you are eventually going to have a wife and kids, you don't want to have them living in oils and solvents and piles of chips.

If you have a garage, that would be a much better spot for the machine - usually they have concrete floors, and a future buyer isn't going to balk at oil stains or smells in the garage. Or see if you can build a small detached shed to house the machine.

Some folks do the basement shop thing as well, with your only concern is avoiding soaking the rafters with oil and keeping ventilation so any solvents you use don't creep up into the living area. I personally was going to do the basement workshop, but decided against it to reduce fire risk. It won't be as devastating if my little detached shed burns down, and if I do need to clean it up, I'm tearing down a stick frame structure that is easy to replace, rather than large sections of the house.

However, if you're in America, you should be free to have a lathe in the living room if you so please. It is a very cool machine!

Greg Menke · Aug 8, 2022

I had a basement workshop for a number of years, the deal I negotiated with my wife was to keep the floor clear of chips on the path from stairs to the laundry machine. I had a Bridgeport, Nichols horizontal and an American 14" down there- a couple workbenches and so on. It was really nice all 3 of us being down there- wife over at her craft table, I'm messing with the machines and daughter running amok (didn't run the machines when she was down there). The only complaints I got were when I was doing some rush work making a bunch of smoke.

I was careful with the vacuuming, we only had a couple barefoot chip incidents. I still miss it a bit sometimes- I moved all the stuff to the garage and set up there which is better space by far- fewer compromises on layouts and equipment. Out there I can pop open the door and fire up the torch and/or angle grinder and make all kinds of noise and smoke- couldn't do that in the house.

FamilyTradition · Aug 8, 2022

Good that your wife was accommodating to your workshop.

My mother was not particularly happy when I brought my South Bend home, back when I lived with my parents. She must have the most sensitive nose in the country, because there was constant complaints of the smell of oil every time I used the machine. And since I've been in the trade, always complaints about the scent of my work clothes, and fears that the dryer would catch fire when I did laundry.

Maybe that is where I get my anal-retentiveness about fire from...

jwearing · Aug 8, 2022

Nice lathe. I’m also having a nice chuckle seeing it in the living room on carpet. Mine is too messy even for the garage! It’s an oil multiplier — I put a few drops in the top, and a bucket full leaks out the bottom. Not to mention chips everywhere, always embedding in my shoes. That would be fun with bare feet!

jmm03 · Aug 9, 2022

all good replies above as to location issues. My only suggestion is a better location for the VFD, or at least some protection against oil and chips. Jim

jim rozen · Aug 9, 2022

That's the same lathe I own, and the vfd shown is pretty well protected from chips, and the ventilation is good. One can put a lathe in the kitchen, or more accurately, in the short hallway between kitchen and living room. Wood floors however:

animal12 · Aug 9, 2022

Did the OP mention that he had a concrete floor in is house ? If he did I missed that . I'd be concerned with having a lathe on a floor other than concrete that is made up of floor joist's & then plywood/osb for the actual floor . A couple of years & you'll have a engine hoist in your living room trying to lift your lathe up from the crawl space .
animal

M.B. Naegle · Aug 9, 2022

I've known guys that had whole workshops between the kitchen and the living room. Most of that "type" tend to work fairly clean when the line between "work" and "eating supper in front of the TV," is practically non-existent. If you're going to be constantly wiping down your "toy" and otherwise carefully managing the mess it'll make, heck it's a cool thing to have in the house!

I'd agree to think about the foundation under the lathe. A wood floor isn't an issue, but constant force on chip-board and the squishy nature of carpet could be. If it was my house, I'd pull up the carpet and put tile under it, and while you're at Home Depot, put up some decorative paneling around the room to at least catch half the potential drip spray.

Scottl · Aug 9, 2022

I agree with those who say to add protection. I can't remember where but I remember seeing rectangular "hoops" above an old-fashioned free standing tub as part of a shower setup. I'd suggest something like that so any oily chips hit that instead of the walls.

A lathe in the living room - now that's dedication.

animal12 · Aug 9, 2022

I was thinking of cutting fluid & other oils soaking into the flooring material plywood / osb . That's when the engine hoist come's out to pull the lathe from the crawl space . I've been in houses full of Harleys , but most of the guys use something to protect the floor . My Harley's a 1946 3 wheeler , My wife knows it won't fit through the garage door .
animal

Ironcross44 · Aug 13, 2022

animal12 said:
Did the OP mention that he had a concrete floor in is house ? If he did I missed that . I'd be concerned with having a lathe on a floor other than concrete that is made up of floor joist's & then plywood/osb for the actual floor . A couple of years & you'll have a engine hoist in your living room trying to lift your lathe up from the crawl space .
animal

Yes floor is concrete, sorry forgot to mention that

michiganbuck · Aug 13, 2022

Looks like a nice lathe.
And when you add a surface grinder try to have the sparks going away.

Ironcross44 · Aug 13, 2022

Thanks for the comments all! Haha yes i know its a whack-o idea, but ill update with some more pics when im done setting up. This lathe is also WAY oversized for what i plan on using it for, but i couldnt pass it up.

The floor under neath is concrete. I turned a couple test pieces on it (1/4”-3/4” threading, facing, and general turning) and havent had any oil spray issues…YET, but I still have plans Im working on to address that just in case.

Used a Fuji Electric Frenic Mini for the VFD, and runs GREAT. Very quiet, no whining. (FRN0010C2S-7U).

Ive had 2 different 9” SB’s in the past as well (in the basement, both single phase), never had any issues with those either as far as spraying/flinging oil. Never had any issues with oil, swarf, chips, etc. getting on the floor or walls either.

Again I mostly machine softer metals like brass, copper, bronze, etc. Sometimes stainless or carbon steel, but typically softer stuff.

Ironcross44 · Nov 26, 2022

I know its been a while since this original post, I’ve been busy the past few months with an outage at work. But I got some free time and took some updated pics of the lathe.

Ive since added a NOS taper attachment, an SB collet holder with 5C collet set from Grizzly, and the 4 recommended SB A/B/C and way oils. I have a Plews oiler for the ways, and Eagle oilers for the A/B/C’s.

Ive turned some machine screws and other odd parts but no major projects yet. No problems at ALL with oil spray on the wall so far.

The VFD runs GREAT for this machine. Next project is to find a somewhat matching “machine-age” cabinet for more storage, as you can see my cabinet is already getting packed. I did also lay down a foam-rubber anti fatigue mat in front too which I got from Amazon is is surprisingly durable and comfortable for the $20 it cost.