Opinions on Standard-Modern Lathe

Hi folks, I have the opportunity to buy a Standard-Modern Lathe. I believe it is a fairly recent model (1334) although I neglected to ask for a serial number. I'm unfamiliar with this make and model. Is it any good? Anything I should look out for? From other posts I've read on older models it sounds like the company has come/gone and come again. Will I get stuck with this lathe with out a possibility of replacement parts? I'm open to any opinions. Thanks Brian

Reply to
Brian S
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Standard Moderns are still made in Canada, in Mississauga, Ontario near Toronto. Web page . The 1334 is still listed on their web page and is in production, therefore no problems getting parts. I think Standard Moderns are very good lathes. Probably as good as any U.S. made iron. Wish I had one.

Reply to
C.A. Decker

Like many others, I learned how to run a lathe on a S-M engine lathe. One thing that stands out is that the machines are quite easy to maintain. They are simply built, but quite sturdy. These machines have been abused for decades in Toronto high-schools and colleges and they still work.

If the one you're going to buy is in a condition that is acceptable to you, I would recommend the machine.

Regards,

Robin

Reply to
Robin S.

I worked on an off-shore oil rig years ago, and the 20"X120" Standard-Modern lathe in the machine shop was a treat to use. If their smaller capacity machines are of similar quality, grab it!

Rex the Wrench

Brian S wrote:

Reply to
Rex the Wrench

Hey Brian,

Very good quality machines. If nowhere else, I understand that Leblond has parts inventory.

An 11" SM cabinet lathe from a high-school sold at an auction near here on Saturday for $450 Canadian. The room was very small and the crowd kept me from being able to get a good inspection of the machine, but I did see the following: Three phase 220Volt motor. The bed and saddle looked in good shape, but absolutely no chuck(s) or tooling, and there were a few drive train parts missing, and the lathe was stenciled "Metric Only". As I was not interested in it in any event, I did not try to pay any more attention, so I can't tell you whether it was a totally Metric lathe from the git-go, or if it merely meant that it was presently set-up for metric cutting. I don't recall looking at the hand-wheels either.

One interesting thing about this particular lathe though, was the threading-dial. It was mounted in the "normal" place, but it was mounted on a bracket that allowed for it to be placed at five different heights, and it had five different worm-gears which would contact the lead-screw depending on which of the bracket positions was selected. There was a chart attached near it too, but I did not get into what it was for. It looked very OEM, but just not something that I was familiar with. Maybe somebody else can explain??

Take care.

Brian Laws>Hi folks,

Reply to
Brian Lawson

That's a metric threading dial.

English threads are based on simple fractions. 1/20,1/16, 1/32 etc.

So a simple thread dial works fine.

Metric threads are based on decimals, which seem simple, but are really very complex fractions. 75/100, 6/10, 125/100 etc.

So several gears are need to match the complexity to the leadscrew.

Paul K. Dickman

Reply to
Paul K. Dickman

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That goes with the "Metric only" part. Cutting metric threads with a metric leadscrew requires the selection of ratios for the different thread pitches, thanks to the way the series of threads is generated. One of the benefits of the normal Imperial threads vs Metric.

Enjoy, DoN.

Reply to
DoN. Nichols

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