ozziozzi
20th February 2008, 03:20 PM
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.
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.