Rebuilding a craftsman lathe

[Clint Wenthur]

I have a very old craftsman lathe that I am considering to rebuild. I have a motor and the bearings seem o be on good shape. Does anyone know if it is worth my time? I am also in need of a lathe stand design so I can mount the moor.

I will post a few pictures tomorrow.

[Clement]

Clint:

I too have an old Sears lathe. I have had it in and out of service for at least 35 years. It gives me fine service. I have it mounted on a bench. The motor is Lagged to the top of the table just as instructions call for.

Right now I am turning Pens, And it is working well. Am still using The same sears lathe chisels that were purchased with lathe.

Best of luck with new "old" lathe.

Clem

[rmac]

Does anyone know if it is worth my time?

I think that boils down to whether or not you think you would enjoy the process of rebuilding the old lathe and making a stand for it. If you would, go for it. Otherwise you might be happier just buying something all set up and ready to go. I personally like restoring old equipment, but I realize it's not everyone's favorite thing.

There's a short thread about lathe stands here:

-- Russ

[Clint Wenthur]

Thanks for the updates and links. I will post a few pictures of the lathe once I dig it out from under the tables in my shop. I will definetely enjoy restoring this piece of equipment as I don't think I would otherwise purchase a lathe given most of my experience has been with cabinets and other shop tools. http://wenthurs.blogspot.com