My first Lathe - learning. American Pacemaker 1948 16x78

[raskel]

Ignore all the kitty litter... the trays had a ton of oil in there. I don't plan on doing anything that requires incredible precision, and yea a bit oversized... but after messing with this it just felt so smooth.
I still need to do a lot of cleaning. Looks like it has an Aloris toolpost, with tool holders on a custom holder they made. I have no history on the machine as it came from an industrial surplus supply. The gears have no chips, and everything turns smoothly.

The biggest issue I will have is replacing the motor. I have a bunch of replacements I picked up for cheap and I plan on building a Rotary phase converter. The current motor on the case has it listed as 550v only, which is Canadian voltage I believe. I'll have to open the motor area up to be 100% what's actually in there now.

 

[wood2steel]

Trust me;
Everything you will ever do on that Machine will be Incredible Precision!! Hopefully, you have a machine that has not been abused. Take your time and learn everything you possibly can about it's history, and capabilities. Several members here run that machine and speak very highly as it's one of the finest lathes ever built. Good Luck with your pursuit. You'll never know how good you have it when you start at the very top!!
Johnny

 

[johnoder]

Serial will be on front vertical face of front way at right end if you would like to date it

Like so

 

[johnoder]

Here is a link to the guy that sells spanners for your L1 spindle nose - but his daughter Barbara is running the business now in case you need such a thing to get the chuck off and back on again

Search results for query: spanner

Here is the daughter's email Walter posted in Dec of 2020

[email protected]

 

[raskel]

Serial will be on front vertical face of front way at right end if you would like to date it

Like so

yea, its a 1948:

 

[raskel]

Trust me;
Everything you will ever do on that Machine will be Incredible Precision!! Hopefully, you have a machine that has not been abused. Take your time and learn everything you possibly can about it's history, and capabilities. Several members here run that machine and speak very highly as it's one of the finest lathes ever built. Good Luck with your pursuit. You'll never know how good you have it when you start at the very top!!
Johnny

It definitely looks like it was put to use - lots of marks on the tool posts, saddle, etc. I guess in anticipation of it being sold off the entire thing was just doused with oil. Good news about that is no rust anywhere. Just a bit of cleanup to do. Also the drive belts look fairly new. No cracks, no extensive wear. Everything seemed to have been kept up. The oil in the tray in the gearbox is clean; no water, etc. It looks like maintenance was kept up.

 

[310 Guy]

Nice hobby lathe!

 

[dalmatiangirl61]

Nice machine! Read up on safety practices, those big ones can suck you in and turn you into a bag of bones real quick. There used to be some excellent video tutorials on what can happen, but they were deemed too gruesome. Play safely!

 

[m-lud]

I bought one of Walters Spanners for my L2 Pacemaker spindle mount and the workmanship is great. Clean edges and precision fit. Plenty of meat. Don't use a hammer and a bar!
Hoping Walter is doing well.

Raskel
Do a thorough overall service and cleaning.
Old oil and swarf dry up and clog oil passages. I considered just oiling and starting up my Pacemaker but knew that would be a mistake. Pulling the carriage and cleaning out oil passages is almost always needed on these old lathes. Mine was clogged with dried up oil and dirt.
Every that Wood2steel says is true. You're starting with one of the best lathes made. I haven't run mine yet but I'm in Awe daily as I clean and get it ready.
It's the true Heavy Metal

 

[4GSR]

You shopped at HGR, didn't you? I did too, earlier this year. I didn't get to browse thru all of their stuff the day I was there. That was before they brought in the American. HGR hardly ever bring in a "clean" lathe. They are always covered in filth and crud as my was that I bought from them. Hopefully you will have a nice lathe when done. Can't help you much on the 575 volt motor other than going back to HGR and see if they have a 220/440 volt motor to replace it with. Ken

 

[raskel]

You shopped at HGR, didn't you? I did too, earlier this year. I didn't get to browse thru all of their stuff the day I was there. That was before they brought in the American. HGR hardly ever bring in a "clean" lathe. They are always covered in filth and crud as my was that I bought from them. Hopefully you will have a nice lathe when done. Can't help you much on the 575 volt motor other than going back to HGR and see if they have a 220/440 volt motor to replace it with. Ken

HGR in Fort Worth, yes! They were having a sale and tons of motors marked down too. I literally bought anything that was 5-15HP and 220/440 volt. This entire box was about $200. The big baldor is 15HP, 333 pounds. That most likely is going to be the rotary phase converter motor.

 

[raskel]

Nice machine! Read up on safety practices, those big ones can suck you in and turn you into a bag of bones real quick. There used to be some excellent video tutorials on what can happen, but they were deemed too gruesome. Play safely!

Yea I've seen the Russian lathe incident video. I think ill keep this thing at low RPM till I get pretty comfortable. Plus I do a lot of farm/ranch work so I am familiar with the dangers of spinning metal (PTO attachments). Safety first!!

 

[wood2steel]

Looking at the pics closely, I'm getting the impression you just might have scored a fine Gem. Don't let all the crud discourage you. Most all those lathes were run with flood coolant and the appearance of that machine indicates the same. Zep purple Industrial cleaner and of course Cat litter work great on these cleanup projects! Ha!
Just take a section at a time and bring her back to life!! I've refurbished 2 Lodge and Shipley's that date early and late 1940's; and run both machines often . The mass of these machines will Definitely spoil you. Be sure to keep the pics coming of the rehab!

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Yea I've seen the Russian lathe incident video. I think ill keep this thing at low RPM till I get pretty comfortable. Plus I do a lot of farm/ranch work so I am familiar with the dangers of spinning metal (PTO attachments). Safety first!!

Lathe’s like that are just as dangerous at low revs as they are at high speed. Plus it’s at the point when you get “ pretty comfortable “ around lathes that the shit can hit the fan. Be very careful. Always think before acting.

Regards Tyrone.

 

[wood2steel]

Raskel,
Every single word of CAUTION just mentioned is totally warranted & justifiable.
You are making the jump into the Industrial world from the very beginning. Learn and follow all the basics; PERIOD;;;
and you'll do just fine!
I have 50+ Machines at my Business operation covering every aspect of Woodworking as well as Manual Machine Work, tool/cutter grinding, etc and have run a number of these 45+ years. The bigger they are, the more Respect they will command!
The one point I teach every single one of my Students;
When you walk up to any one of those Machines; their only intentions are to screw up all your work and knock you in the head the first chance they get-----
YOU, -----the Operator; will be the only one who can change that picture. YOU run the Show; and YOU create the safe environment!
Good Luck with your new Beast!!

 

[4GSR]

HGR in Fort Worth, yes! They were having a sale and tons of motors marked down too. I literally bought anything that was 5-15HP and 220/440 volt. This entire box was about $200. The big baldor is 15HP, 333 pounds. That most likely is going to be the rotary phase converter motor.



View attachment 372731

Yeah, I picked up a bunch of the motors including a 15 HP one for a possible RPC in the future, too. I have plenty of backup motors now if I ever loose one in the future on one of my machines.

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Raskel,
Every single word of CAUTION just mentioned is totally warranted & justifiable.
You are making the jump into the Industrial world from the very beginning. Learn and follow all the basics; PERIOD;;;
and you'll do just fine!
I have 50+ Machines at my Business operation covering every aspect of Woodworking as well as Manual Machine Work, tool/cutter grinding, etc and have run a number of these 45+ years. The bigger they are, the more Respect they will command!
The one point I teach every single one of my Students;
When you walk up to any one of those Machines; their only intentions are to screw up all your work and knock you in the head the first chance they get-----
YOU, -----the Operator; will be the only one who can change that picture. YOU run the Show; and YOU create the safe environment!
Good Luck with your new Beast!!

Machines are very patient, they’ll wait a life time to get you if they have to. I had a couple of screw ups as an apprentice. Luckily they were on an old “ Colchester “ Student and not a real lathe like the one in the photo.

Regards Tyrone.