March 16, 20224 yr Couple years back, a guy was flipping an abandoned house in my co-workers neighborhood, and I noticed a bunch of junk piled up by the street. I spoke to the guy, and he said I could have whatever I wanted. Long story short... I got this older Wilton vise that had been stored in the garage... right under a hole in the roof. UGGHH!! It looked pretty bad, but I decided to carry it home anyway, just in case I could use it for parts, or possibly bring it back to life. I ended up storing it in my grandmother's basement ever since. (probably 5 years or so) I finally got around to bringing it back home and messing with it. It was frozen up solid, but with some kroil and a big hammer, it finally relented. I haven't even put any grease on the screw yet, and it's smooth as silk. Here are some before and after pics. I really like this thing. Wish I could find more of these!
March 20, 20224 yr Author I don't really care much for the rinky-dink ones, but I'm always on the hunt for the large ones, or the Cadillac types. Lately, I've been wanting some of the larger variety. Don't really need them... it's just in my male DNA. This is too much, but it's cool to look at..
March 25, 20224 yr Author Yeah, I can't help it. I'm a total junkie for quality tools. Especially older ones. I ended up buying a Logan Metal Lathe today.
March 25, 20224 yr Ooooh, I have operated a couple of Logans, they got the job done! Was offered one for free, no place to put it. Pictures! Pictures!! Robert Taylor P.S. - nice restore on the Wilton. pm for shipping address...
March 25, 20224 yr That Wilton Bullet is nice (and I believe fairly collectable). Around here they go for a good dollar.
March 25, 20224 yr Latticino, they busted a larger bullet right at the moving jaw, at one of my previous workplaces. Pretty sure I know the "special supervisor" who probably broke it. I pulled the two pieces out of the dumpster. Someday I will gouge out the break and restore it. Where is them Logan pics?! Robert Taylor
March 25, 20224 yr Author lol... okay, okay... sorry for the bad pics, but they were taken hastily this evening. It came with a small amount of tooling, several tool holders, a super nice Cushman 3-Jaw Chuck, a 4-Jaw Chuck, and a Face Plate. I will eventually get this thing cleaned up, and fab up a proper stand for it. (unless I find one first) It seems to have a disproportionate short length of bed compared to other 9" swings I've been around. Doesn't matter much to me, though. It's plenty long enough for most of the small stuff I do. I was really pleased to find it and be able to take it home.
March 25, 20224 yr Good Morning Malleus, I have had 12' long Lathe Beds, i have a Colchester that is foot powered, I have 5 others somewhere in between. I have seen a 12' Lathe from a Shipyard with a 6" 3-jaw Chuck, in it's big Chuck. It seems most work I do is within 12" from the Chuck. Yes, there are times you have to spin an axle or a driveshaft, but, most of the time you don't. The Lathe with Deep Reduction is the Lathe that will twist your fence pickets or something heavy (sometimes it works better with a little heat or a Rosebud). Putting square stock inside a piece of pipe and twisting with a Cresent Wrench will create the same, COLD!! The Lathe is also a GREAT Milling Machine, put the cutter in the Chuck and fasten your work-piece to the Cross-Slide. Cut keyways in a shaft, notches........whatever the mind can imagine. Is it possible?.....Yes it can be done, just put a little thought into it. K.I.S.S. Neil
March 25, 20224 yr I was given one of those Logan 400's a year ago. Worked OK just plunking it in my shop - needs aligning and tuning, though. After I get the boat done and out of the shop... This model Logan was designed primarily for screw & bolt making, hence the short ways. It's shorter length also made it popular in the home machinist market. Scott Logan of Logan Actuator still makes many of the parts (but not the castings) if you need 'em and has a lot of information about them on his website.
March 25, 20224 yr Wow, way back in the early 1990's when the internet was ASCII based Scott Logan used to participate on rec.crafts.metalworking and was a great resource on Logan lathes.
March 26, 20224 yr 18 hours ago, swedefiddle said: The Lathe is also a GREAT Milling Machine Yep, built a little cross slide milling table for my little Southbend. It is said that one cannot turn with a mill, but can mill with a lathe... Malleus, did you Logan come with change gears for screw cutting? Lathe very Pretty!! Robert Taylor
March 28, 20224 yr They dumped a MAZAK CNC Lathe? at the scrapyard recently, Hydraulically powered and probably weighs twice what my pickup does. One of my forging buddies is trying to see if there is a market for any parts off it...
March 28, 20224 yr Author On 3/25/2022 at 7:50 PM, Anachronist58 said: Lathe very Pretty!! Malleus, did you Logan come with change gears for screw cutting? Thanks! Unfortunately, no change gears, but I seriously doubt I will ever be cutting any threads anyway. However, the ability to change spindle speeds would have been nice. I have plans at some point in the future, to acquire a 10" Logan or South Bend with quick change gear capability. 10 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: They dumped a MAZAK CNC Lathe? at the scrapyard recently, Hydraulically powered and probably weighs twice what my pickup does. One of my forging buddies is trying to see if there is a market for any parts off it... Wow! That's some big money to toss in the dumpster! I would pretty much guarantee there is a lot of money in parts on that thing. People somewhere need those parts.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.