Tools to rebuild civilization

Sep 22, 2018 2 Replies

Hey Ed, this shows a Heavy 10 lathe like yours and mine on a WW2 Navy harbor repair ship.

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Clearing and restoring a sabotaged port facility is an extreme example of disaster relief, and the ship's equipment list suggests that common shop machinery is enough for their part of the effort.


Yup, that's the same model lathe I have. Mine was built in 1945 -- it has a "War Board" plate on it, and the base has an extra door on the left side, for the DC motor. It's a shipboard model that had both AC and DC motors.

Mine was never used. You can still see the bedway flaking near the headstock. My uncle was a SeaBee, and they got dibs on those machines when they were surplussed out.

I should have pointed out that it's Figure 24, for those not familiar with SB lathes.

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