Can a Boehringer VDF hydraulic tracer lathe be used as a regular lathe

Not sure about that particular unit but yes every tracer lathe that I've ever run could also be operated as if it were an engine lathe and so unless the tracer is broken then there's no reason to remove it.

Tracers are very nice to have in that you can easily use a DNMG style insert tool and in a single chucking you can produce contours that include tapers, large radius fillets and so forth that would otherwise require use of cnc.

Biggest issue is safety; this class of machine was a mainstay shortly before cnc became prevalant and fully enclosed chip guarding came into normalcy--they are typically capable of very agressive metal removal rates when using carbide tooling which at high feedrates makes it difficult to accurately stop the carriage feed at the desired position etc when running without the tracer because the operator is already fairly well preoccupied ducking hot chips and trying to keep them from sticking to his forehead or falling down his shirt front if you catch my drift.

I have my doubts.

Do you have it home yet? If so -- look at what appears to be a leadscrew, and see if it is threaded, or just a shaft with a keyway down its length.

I don't see a quick-change gearbox on it.

It looks as though there is a cross-slide knob and a compound knob, and a handwheel for the carriage, but I suspect that all require hydraulic power to make the carriage move. (Well ... perhaps the compound is manual. :-)

I don't even see anything which looks like gearshifts for the spindle speed. (Unless those are knobs on what looks to me like a hydraulic fluid tank.)

You might be able to get rough control by manipulating the followers for the tracer mechanism -- but I would not bet on being able to control it with any degree of accuracy that way.

Intersting that it has a 4-jaw chuck on the outboard end of the spindle. A spider for stabilizing long workpieces? Or simply a storage place for the chuck, and letting it act as a flywheel? :-)

Good Luck, DoN.

No

No leadscrew.

I think that this lathe does not have any threading capabilities.

No, I could operate at least the X handle to make the carriage move left and right, to look at the ways. The ways are covered and need the carriage to move significantly to open up the relevant areas. By the way, there was no significant wear where I looked.

I think that it is a variable speed Reeves type mechanism. I will know more soon.

Yes, looks yucky.

It is definitely for long work pieces.

It reminds me of whats called an oil field lathe. But i suspect it is a tube end finishing machine, note the two chucks on the spindle which is common for working on long tubes, pipes and rods. I bet it has a spindle bore of 3" or bigger. Worth big $$$$$ to the right buyer.

Best Regards Tom.

It has a 3" spindle bore. 71mm to be exact

I would advertise it as is before you strip it down for scrap. Check the used machinery trade papers to get an idea of its value.

Best Regards Tom.

Just looking at the picture, it sure looks like it has all the normal manual handles, so I would think so. You should be able to move the toolpost by those handles when inspecting it. it may have some apparatus like a telescopic taper attachment to sum in the tracer movement to the crossfeed handle.

Jon

If it has handwheels on all axis..yes indeed.

The methodology of the left has always been:

1. Lie
2. Repeat the lie as many times as possible
3. Have as many people repeat the lie as often as possible
4. Eventually, the uninformed believe the lie
5. The lie will then be made into some form oflaw
6. Then everyone must conform to the lie

Thats quite common with long work pieces. About 25% of the lathes I service are used with long work, such as pipe.

The methodology of the left has always been:

1. Lie
2. Repeat the lie as many times as possible
3. Have as many people repeat the lie as often as possible
4. Eventually, the uninformed believe the lie
5. The lie will then be made into some form oflaw
6. Then everyone must conform to the lie

Indeed. The bigger spindle bores get more money.

Gunner, setting up a WS next week with a 9" spindle bore. Photos will be posted.

The methodology of the left has always been:

1. Lie
2. Repeat the lie as many times as possible
3. Have as many people repeat the lie as often as possible
4. Eventually, the uninformed believe the lie
5. The lie will then be made into some form oflaw
6. Then everyone must conform to the lie

Yes, it does. It does not have a leadscrew for threading, though. But whatever. I used my lathe a lot over the last few years, never needed threading.

By the way, sometimes material needs to be removed in successive layers, how do hydraulic tracers manage that?

Threading can..can be accomplished with a die holder or head.

Gunner

The methodology of the left has always been:

1. Lie
2. Repeat the lie as many times as possible
3. Have as many people repeat the lie as often as possible
4. Eventually, the uninformed believe the lie
5. The lie will then be made into some form oflaw
6. Then everyone must conform to the lie

You just crank in the X axis screw the amount you want to take off for each pass. The chuck on the left looks like an air chuck. The tracer lathes are sort of a obsolete item with the coming of CNC lathes. They still are used in some applications but their sale value low. They are good for repeat parts that have contours and tapers.

John

Yes. The question is, can it be used in manual mode.

And it seems the answer is yes

Gunner on Sat, 15 Dec 2012 16:23:38 -0800 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

I use to turn 35 foot SS forgings. 48" four jaw chuck. Two center rests if I recall right. Tolerance was 0/+.250. Yep, fine tuned with a hammer.

tschus pyotr

-- pyotr Go not to the Net for answers, for it will tell you Yes and no. And you are a bloody fool, only an ignorant cretin would even ask the question, forty two, 47, the second door, and how many blonde lawyers does it take to change a lightbulb.