Should I buy this lathe?

Those are commonly called "Tray Top" lathes. They are solid industrial machines. If you don't have one, I'd certainly venture $500 on it, although you will spend much more than that getting it fully tooled and operational. I would caution you that you should see it run under power in every gear, also you should pull the flat top to the headstock and examine the gears under a strong light, looking for flecks of metal in the oil, missing teeth, etc. Also, it's Cincinnati, not Cincinatti. The spindle is an L-type, they come L-00 through L-3, and yes you'll be able to find L-type tooling still. There is almost certainly a Morse taper in the headstock spindle; there should be an adapter with the lathe so you can use identical lathe centers at both ends. I was never able to find such an adapter for my Cincinnati so I just got a 5MT lathe center NOS off ebay it was dirt cheap like five bucks.

Don't even think about doing a full restoration. Clean it, yes. Oil it, certainly. Find the manual, absolutely. Then just use it. Yes, it's a klunker but I'd use that lathe a bunch if I had it in my shop.

Grant

Andrew H. Wakefield wrote:

What Grant said: looks ok, you will double your investment in it by the time you get done with minor fixes and tooling. I'd probably buy it for the $500 in spite of having a nice little Logan sitting in the shop.

Be prepared for some surprises, they always show up. My last lathe ran OK when I > I saw the Cincinatti Tray-Lathe yesterday. Here are some pictures: >

Hey Andrew,

Pretty hard to go wrong with a Cinci at 500 bucks.

I don't "see" the wear you mention in photo two. What do you think is worn? It isn't a keyway per se, but rather a "drive" channel. Nothing fits at all tight into it. I only engages a dog that slides in it all the time, and used to turn the saddle hand-wheel when you engage the clutch, so to speak. For thread-cutting, the dog is dis-engaged and the half-nuts clamp onto the threads of that shaft. I don't see a thread-dial though, so ask about that.

Why is the compound off? What are the V-belts looped around stuff for? What power is required to run this (voltage, single phase, amps, etc)? What is the "tin" guard there for?

No chance of getting a friend with some experience to have a look at all this? Just be sure that he keeps his hands out of his wallet!!

And what are your plans to get it out of the basement? Maybe offer him the $500, but that the lathe be FOB his driveway, and to be in the same good condition as now. Or at least be sure that when you move it and his house gets damaged, it isn't your problem.

And you may wish to make some sort of a restoration project of this, but hey...if it was me..... it would be clean it up, lube it up, run it up, and make chips!!

Take care. Nice Xmas toy.

Happy New Year.

Brian Laws>I saw the Cincinatti Tray-Lathe yesterday. Here are some pictures: >

Frankly..for $500 I dont see how you can go wrong. You could part it out on Ebay for double or triple that amount with the chucks and whatnot. The stiffness of the various controls is typical of a lathe that has sat for a while. The oil and spooge tends to set up a bit. Running it will make things move easier. The bedwear..well...just how accurate and long are you going to need in making parts? .002? .0002? You will be cutting a taper. Just how big a taper depends on how much wear. My old Clausing 13x36 cut a .006 taper over 10", and it had a bed ridge you could put books on. But it taught me a lot and was just hunky dorey for smaller parts. Ive loaned it to a friend who does rough turning and he loves it. Still threads just fine etc.

The sight glasse are still available from various sources, or turn your own out of a piece of plastic. RTV em in. Or simply cover em with rtv and check with a dip stick now and then.

The pictures show a nice old lathe that has been moderately well taken care of, and while not at her prime anymore..is still capable of teaching you how to turn, and giving you some enjoyment along the way.

Btw..there should be a thin piece of metal, paralellagram in cross section..called a "gib" that goes inside the slide on the compound. I see the compound has been removed..and when that happens, the gib comes out too. Its pretty important...its what tightens up the compound. But its pretty easy to make a new one if it got lost. Generally they are about 1/8" thick and as long as the compound..so its easy. But look around for it when you get ready to move it. Just a heads up.

Personal opinon..that lathe is far far more machine for the buck, than an equally or worse worn Southbend for the same money and less Stuff.

Go for it.

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

I see a taper attachment on it. That alone is worth at least $200.00. The steady rest has value. I just don't see how you could go wrong with what you have said. Yes, it may cut a taper, but for short fits you won't even notice this. Either you learn to step out the diameters or you sand and polish shafts straight. I have had to do that in shops where the lathe cut straight then taper near the chuck. Off setting the tail stock will usually be fine for short shafts. Long shafts you can turn half way and then turn the shaft around and do the other end. Not all shops have good lathes to work with. I prefer lathes with a D spindle, I but wouldn't hesitate to buy a lathe with an L spindle. It looks like a good home shop lathe to me, I would buy it if I were you. Just on what you have said, if it has the gib for the compound.

What Grant said. Indeed.

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Andrew,

I agree with everything everybody else has said. It might not be perfect out of the box, but it is a solid machine that you will be happy with once you have worked out the kinks.

But what are you looking for? What are you going to do with it? I'm sorry if you have already said. If you are not mechanically inclined, then this might not be the lathe for you, but then again, you probably don't what a lathe at all if that is the case. All old tools are an opportunity to learn.

You can get the sight gages. I had to replace the all of the ones in my tray-top. I used gasket compound to install them with. The are round and a simple push fit into a hole. Buy a couple of spares. I used my spares to replace the ones I installed with a hammer and a block of wood. ( you should not use a hammer, just push hard )

The spindle taper is L-0. Much better then a threaded spindle. The inside taper is Morse # 4 1/2. You really want to make sure you get. The morse #4 1/2 to 3 adapter are tricky to find.

Yes, the last "thing" on the apron is an oiler. The apron is filled with way oil and it is pumped (manually) up to the cross slide.

Good luck,

Vince

Andrew H. Wakefield wrote:

Asking a metalworking newsgroup if you should buy a $500 lathe is like asking a barber if you need a haircut.

All,

Many thanks as always for the input. I'm going to pick the lathe up Tuesday, and a friend of mine who is a professional machinist is going with me, so hopefully he'll spot anything obvious that I might have missed. But your comments have helped to quell the little nagging voice that was saying, "But what if this really is a lemon?" -- thanks!

And by the way, I promise to spell it Cincinnati from now on! :)

Andy

Hey Mike,

Welllllllllllll.....all depends I guess. Friend of mine sold his really nice 14 X 50. Pretty heavy machine. The guy offered to pay what he asked OK, then made so many stupid "noises" about how he was going to get it out of the basement that George said "Don't bother, it will be in the driveway tomorrow evening." Saved his house a lot he figures.

Take care.

Brian Lawson, Bothwell, Ontario.

Mike, I think I didn't say it very clearly -- the lathe was not in a basement, but rather (originally) in a basement garage. A few years ago the seller built a detached garage and moved it in there. Better yet, he never took it off the dollies he had put it on when he moved it into the new garage. So the lathe was relatively easy to get. We backed the trailer up to the garage, swung it down, put down a heavy steel plate. We put chains on the lathe and pulled it up using a 2-ton hoist. Strapped it securely down, took it home, eased it back down the trailer into my garage. Jacked it up and pulled out the dollies. Eventually I'll have to move it back a couple of feet, but first I needed to have access to the back for cleaning and setting up the motor & wiring.

Andy

According to Andrew H. Wakefield :

Keep that space behind it. It is helpful when working with the taper attachment, and when cleaning the chip tray.

Enjoy, DoN.

Yes, I would like to ... but the demands of time-sharing the garage may require me to move it back at least some. I'll certainly leave enough space to get to the taper attachment.

Andy

Or use a step ladder like I do.

Gunner

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