Old (late 50s early 60s) lathe

[ozziozzi]

I have recently acquired and old "STS" brand lathe that that looks identical to the "Sears" (Craftsman?) lathe shown in the book "Setting Up your own Woodworking Shop" by Bill Stankus--maybe helpful if you have this ;-). This is the only reference or picture that I have found after extensive Googling on the subject. It has #1 morse tapers on head & tailstock and 4-speeds selected by belt & pulley steps.
Further info:
As the "Fifties" ended, Craftsman introduced this ball-bearing headstock, 12-inch wood-turning lathe. Built on a nicely ground, heavy-walled 21/4"-diameter steel tube with a cast semi-steel headstock and tailstock, the lathe had a 6-inch centre height, admitted 37 inches between centres and was provided with a 12-inch long tool rest, the working edge of which was handily marked out in inches. A riveted-on 1/2" inch wide steel key ran nearly the length of the round bed to locate the tool rest and tailstock. The spindle pulley was drilled with a ring of 36 holes indexing holes on its inner face that could be engaged in the usual way by a spring-loaded pin.
The spindle was threaded 3/4" x 16 t.p.i., had a No. 1 Morse taper, ran on sealed ball races and could be driven from either behind or below. The recommended motor was a 1/3 hp, 1750 rpm that, with a 4-step pulley matching that on the headstock, produced speeds of 875, 1350, 2250 and 3450 rpm. This was probably the last American-built wood lathe to be offered with a "Craftsman" label and, unfortunately, in an attempt to make the lathe as cheap as possible to produce (in 1959 it cost $56.95) design features were introduced that both limited the machine's specification and its ease of use: there was no provision for outboard bowl turning, the centrally-disposed and awkward-to-operate handwheel on the tailstock spindle made drilling difficult; the No. 1 Morse centres and tiny headstock spindle reduced the lathe's capacity for hard work and the too-short locking handles on the tool rest and tailstock were fiddly to operate. The left-hand half of the "headstock" (that appears in the picture to be part of the casting) is really a removable, stamped sheet-metal cover for the pulley and belt - the actual headstock casting being rather shallow and the outer surfaces of the ball bearing assemblies only about 2 1/4" apart, that is, too close together for really good spindle support against side loads. However, these various departures from an ideal machine design are not as serious in a wood lathe as they are in a machine for metal-turning and the round-bed Craftsman was an entirely adequate machine for its intended hobby use in a home shop.

My question. Has anyone a similar lathe and have they improved the "weaknesses" mentioned in the article above or bought any accessories for this lathe?. Any help appreciated -sorry for long text post, but thought it essential for ID.

[RETIRED]

In later years it was copied by the Chinese. It was woeful. The bed actually bent if you tightened the tail stock up too much.

No!!!!!!!!!!!! I never owned one.

[ozziozzi]

Thanks , thats one thing to watch out for. Perhaps I can make a stiffening brace in the middle of the lathe bed as I plan on mainly doing face work rather than spindles. I have used the tailstock, but fairly close to the headstock to hold in a bowl with the live centre to a jam chuck for security.

Perhaps there is an actual owner out there who can make some more suggestions on what and how to improve on the STS. For a newbie who has tried other expensive and cheap lathes this appears to work OK although a bit clutsy in its operating levers etc. I am gradually improving these with better levers and knobs, variable-speed DC motor etc. I have lathe mounted on a *very* solid base and anchored it to the wall of the building for stability. I have used it successfully to turn a few plates, bowls and spindle exercises and it's not too bad. Compared with a friends Vicmark as 10/10 I would guess it is about 4/10 and better than some other cheap lathes I have examined. For the very low price I paid (including Vicmark chuck adaptor and other accessories) it's OK for a learner. I have been advised by a turner with twenty years experience that I can eventually sell it for at least its original purchase price.

At the moment I can't justify a more expensive lathe, although I have just bought a VM100 chuck, VM long jaws for pen boring and a VM bowl chuck, which can be swapped later to a better lathe if I feel the need.

Cheers Ozziozzi

[Hickory]

I have one. :doh: Yes you can get assessories and I have bought quite a few, does the bed bend "Heck No" :oo: who on earth would ever put that much torque on a piece on the lathe. :? If you do then you are doing something wrong.

Is it the best , Heck No,:oo: but it will do a fine job if you approach each job knowing the limitations. :2tsup: I have made numerous fine projects with this lathe. It is the opperator not the tools that make the products. :q

PS mine looks like the picture and Chraftsman still carry the assessories, although not by the model number but in the general discription. Go to Sears tools at www.sears.com (http://www.sears.com)

[RETIRED]

Read my previous post properly.:wink:

[ozziozzi]

Thanks Hickory for the pointer and your comments. I think meant that the lathe bed flexes if you do up the tailstock too hard. Fortunately this is very hard to do with the wheel on the tailstock so it is self-protecting to some extent. A 2 1/4 thick-walled tube is also pretty hard to flex although it is certainly weaker than a solid cast-iron bed. There is also a bit of wobble back to front unless I do up the tailstock lock wingnut securely!!!

I am trying to work out some way to convert the tailstock to a winding wheel like most other lathes as I do a bit of drilling of pen blanks etc. In the meantime, I have just cobbled up a lever arrangement from the rest sled to behind the tailstock so I can move the tailstock towards the head of the lathe more easily for drilling holes. Sortof a pantograph arrangement. After I refine it I'll try to post pics. Have you worked out any improvements to the fiddly little screw clamping arrangements for locking the rest and tailstock on the beds?

In the meantime I am learning the limitations and trying to stay on their safe side.

[thefixer]

Read my previous post properly.:wink:

They're still not reading it properly:no:

[ozziozzi]

Perhaps or Thefixer would be kind enough to explain. That might be quicker than me trying to guess.

[RETIRED]

I said " The Chinese made a copy of this lathe and it was woeful" It was the bed on THIS lathe (the Chinese) that bent if you exerted too much pressure.

[Harry72]

means the cheapy Chinese copy didnt have the bed/bar rigidity of the Craftsman.

[ozziozzi]

Thank you all for your posts. I think I got confused because we are probably discussing three different lathes. Mine's made in Taiwan--the source of many a fine American (and Australian) hand and powertools.:wink: I am old enough (61) to remember when there were many more local :australia: manufacturers, especially clothing, footwear and machinery. Now almost all manufactured goods are imported :C

I dismantled the STS lathe because it was too heavy and awkward to lift by myself. The lathe bed is ~2 1/4" diameter with about 1/4" thick walls. Along with the attached keyway on the bottom and with a tensioning rod (maybe 1/4 or 5/16) down the middle it ends up being pretty rigid. I haven't seen any bending when turning a spindle about 30" long and I did up the tailstock pretty hard using a live centre. Maybe the Taiwanese are better copiers than the mainland Chinese or earlier copies were better than more recent ones. My lathe is at least 30 years old and third hand and yet still seems OK if you take the trouble to do up all the fiddly adjusting/clamping bolts.

I think we have exhausted this thread unless someone has suggestions for improving the operating levers of the lathe. Thanks again guys. Ozziozzi

[bowl-basher]

Just A final note I have one in bits on top of the cupboard so if you need any bits to play with just yell
regards
Bowl Basher