For you machinists out there…

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Estraven
Posts: 122
Joined: May 05, 2021

by Estraven »

This is so damn cute, I just had to show it off. It’s a Derbyshire watchmakers’ lathe compound cross slide that I recently acquired. Designed for 50mm spindle height, takes 3/16” tools. Notice the hand-scraped slide ways, all three of them received that treatment. It is solidly caked with ancient dinosaur lube of some sort, I’ll probably dunk it in some sort of “Dissolv-All” for a month with intermittent ultrasonics to loosen everything up so that I can take it apart and clean it the rest of the way. Replacement leadscrew cranks will be on order soon from Derbyshire (yes, they are still in business and continue to make insanely high-precision machine tools).

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hornbuilder
Posts: 1384
Joined: May 02, 2018

by hornbuilder »

Nice!! Now, where's the rest of the lathe??
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Estraven
Posts: 122
Joined: May 05, 2021

by Estraven » (edited 2023-11-03 9:39 p.m.)

[quote="hornbuilder"]Nice!! Now, where's the rest of the lathe??[/quote]

Right here! Marshall “Webster-Whitcomb” pattern with chuck-holding lever-operated tailstock (the only one I’ve ever seen). There’s a 3-jaw chuck in the headstock spindle, but I have a large assortment of collet chucks also.
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ithinknot
Posts: 1339
Joined: Jul 24, 2020

by ithinknot »

Very nice. And the chrome!
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hornbuilder
Posts: 1384
Joined: May 02, 2018

by hornbuilder »

My father was a watch maker by trade. He had a machine very similar. I wish I knew what happened to it.
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Doug_Elliott
Posts: 4155
Joined: Mar 22, 2018

by Doug_Elliott »

So there's where you get your attention to detail.
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mahlertwo
Posts: 289
Joined: Apr 03, 2019

by mahlertwo »

[quote="hornbuilder"]My father was a watch maker by trade. He had a machine very similar. I wish I knew what happened to it.[/quote]

Have you ever considered making a valve cap with a watch built in?
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Blabberbucket
Posts: 305
Joined: Oct 09, 2022

by Blabberbucket »

[quote="mahlertwo"]<QUOTE author="hornbuilder" post_id="224266" time="1699059256" user_id="3205">
My father was a watch maker by trade. He had a machine very similar. I wish I knew what happened to it.[/quote]

Have you ever considered making a valve cap with a watch built in?
</QUOTE>

Built-in metronome....
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Estraven
Posts: 122
Joined: May 05, 2021

by Estraven »

[quote="Blabberbucket"]<QUOTE author="mahlertwo" post_id="224582" time="1699360067" user_id="5762">

Have you ever considered making a valve cap with a watch built in?[/quote]

Built-in metronome....
</QUOTE>

Use one of the old Accutron movements that hummed at A=440. Built-in tuner!