Thread: F Berry and Sons Sowerby Bridge Yorkshire Lathe

Nice find.
Back in the 1800s when this was made electric motors of any sort or size didn’t exist.
I would love to see the original Heath Robinson arrangement for routing out the barley twist.
H.

Nice!
That's a wicked lead screw.

Originally Posted by clear out

Nice find.
Back in the 1800s when this was made electric motors of any sort or size didn’t exist.
I would love to see the original Heath Robinson arrangement for routing out the barley twist.
H.

Yeah H the lathe spindle and the cutter head were both flat belt line shaft driven originally and the electric motor has been added.
The machine would have come out pretty much as I have it now ( except the motor)and I would think the line shaft pulleys were made up here in Melbourne .
The guy I bought it off, his brother owned it before he did and It had the overhead running gear with it then. He was using it one day and it must have been in very bad condition because it blew up and nearly killed him I was told. Maybe he had it running off the wrong sized pulleys and had it going to fast ? I wouldn't mind mounting a motor up high on a track that rolls along above the cutter head and . 7 foot high sort of thing so its out of the way.

That's the cutter head sitting on the bed before being re fitted.
IMG_2856a.jpg
And three shots of the head being rotated to the left to try and show the cutters. They are slotted HSS and like the type fitted to a square head but thinner material. 3 or 4mm ? They sit in a rebate and I guess the cap covering them once went across to the other side as well becuase of the extra holes?
IMG_4257a.jpg IMG_4258a.jpg IMG_4259a.jpg
Some of the work it had done. And a picture of one of the type of things I want to do with it.
IMG_2865.JPG IMG_4169a.jpg
Bronze half nut that grabs that Buttress thread lead screw.
IMG_4274a.jpg
I just got myself a MF 165 Red helper a few weeks ago. Machine moving will never be the same as it was before, thank goodness!! That lathe weighs a HEAP!
IMG_4267a.jpg

Rob .

Originally Posted by Picko

Nice!
That's a wicked lead screw.

Isn't it !
It's a Two inch diameter with a One inch pitch. With the gearing set up as it is above one rotation of the lead screw rotates the spindle half a turn. I know the driving gear with the crank is 60 teeth . I didn't check the driven gear on the spindle last night but Im guessing its 120 . Ill go and record all the gears teeth count and diameter today.

Rob

I finished the first clean up and test run today to see what the next step is in getting this working its best.
The mess on top. The latest motor addition was giving me some trouble and running backwards for some unknown reason. It was a single phase old compressor motor. So I went searching for a replacement in my stash of motors. I never expected such a good match was in there waiting. It bolted down into two of the original holes, had the same size pulley and the belt tension matched what was there before. Its the old 2HP 3 phase motor off my Wadkin Bursgreen 10 AGS. I replaced it with w 3 HP yoears ago.
IMG_4276a.jpg IMG_4292a.jpg IMG_4302a.jpg

Here it is looking a bit better than yesterday.

IMG_4293a.jpg

IMG_4295a.jpg

These are the gear sizes that came with it. 1 inch hole and tooth count of each gear. 8 gears all up . One of them is on a bracket to use for reversing the spindle so left and right hand cuts can be made.
IMG_4296a.jpg IMG_4301a.jpg

I did a cut in that long thin piece of Oak that's on the machine and the wood was vibrating like crazy before much was done . It needs a steady fitted behind the head, dust extraction and some guards in case it throws a cutter. The seller had a steady on it but it was off another of his lathes and it wasn't much good anyway. I have to make one and re make the motor mount and do a few other things like some better crank handles and fix the tail stock alignment problem.

Rob

Originally Posted by auscab

I just got myself a MF 165 Red helper a few weeks ago. Machine moving will never be the same as it was before, thank goodness!! That lathe weighs a HEAP!
IMG_4267a.jpg

Rob .

Love the Massey Ferguson - how much weight do you think you could pickup with those forks?

Yeah, I love it too! The front end loader is rated at 800 KG with the bucket on. I watched a guy lift what I think would have been 1 ton by attaching a chain a little behind the bucket.
The rear 3 point linkage can lift 1.5 Ton. I can put pallet forks on that. It came with a homemade set but I doubt they could handle 1.5 Ton. The forks on them are just hollow rectangle section. It was built in 1966 and had only done 1 hour on its rebuilt diesel motor when I bought it.

Thats awesome! You get some nifty MF 135s (PTO capable of 1292 kg) and can range from $6,000 - $10,000 for a good one!

Nice pickup on the lathe, it couldn't have found a more suitable home.

Originally Posted by Mobyturns

Nice pickup on the lathe, it couldn't have found a more suitable home.

Thanks Mobyturns!

Originally Posted by Charlie_6ft

Thats awesome! You get some nifty MF 135s (PTO capable of 1292 kg) and can range from $6,000 - $10,000 for a good one!

The MF 135 is what was recommended to me years ago. In looking for tractors. I had to have a Front end loader. And It had to be local as well. Plenty turn up to far away. The 165 showed up one Sunday morning on the local FB Market place and it had the FEL, front bucket and front hay forks. Rear Slasher, grader blade, carry all and home made rear forks + a big set of disk plows, off set plows on a trailer sort of thing in rough condition. It had done one hour on a reco motor and fuel pump. And I had enough in the bank to buy it. So I was thinking about it looking at info on them on the net and I looked again at the add and noticed the seller was a friend of a guy I have become friends with since moving here. So I rang the guy I know to ask him if it was a genuine sale and all that and he says he's standing next to his mate the seller and would wait at his house until I came over for a look. 40 minutes later I'm checking it out. The seller was a professional tractor driver who drove a council tractor and his mate the diesel mechanic had helped him out by restoring the motor over the last three years. The tractor had been kept in a shed by the first owner and when his dad bought it they kept it in a shed for the last 20 years. It was on his dads property and he was going into a nursing home so everything was being sold off. I knew nothing about tractors. I realized its not going to get better than this for me and with a bit of talking he dropped some $ off the price and it was mine. All sorts of shifting stuff around and other work has been happening now. I slashed a few acres of bracken the other day. Tomorrow I'm moving two machines out and bringing a stroke sander into the workshop that has been stored away for 8 years, it'll get done in 1/2 an hour compared to what would take 4 hours of hard labor for 2 guys before.

IMG_3983a.jpg IMG_4050a.jpg

Originally Posted by auscab

The 165 showed up one Sunday morning on the local FB Market place and it had the FEL, front bucket and front hay forks. Rear Slasher, grader blade, carry all and home made rear forks + a big set of disk plows, off set plows on a trailer sort of thing in rough condition. It had done one hour on a reco motor and fuel pump.

Sounds like a great deal, especially with the known provenance from someone you trust. Apart from a back hoe, which isn't necessary unless you're doing wide trenches or deep pits, you've got everything you need to do just about anything that can be done with a tractor, Bobcat or similar.

Originally Posted by auscab

Tomorrow I'm moving two machines out and bringing a stroke sander into the workshop that has been stored away for 8 years, it'll get done in 1/2 an hour compared to what would take 4 hours of hard labor for 2 guys before.

I have a Dingo that I hung onto after deciding some years ago not to use it for business any more. I was thinking about selling it then, but it constantly shows that I'd be mad to get rid of it as it can lift way more than I can, such as a 16" bandsaw, and does work I wouldn't attempt by hand, such as spreading 15 cubic metres of gravel on a driveway.

Hang on to your tractor until they put you in a nursing home, because it'll always be able to do stuff you can't or wouldn't do.

Originally Posted by auscab

I realized its not going to get better than this for me and with a bit of talking he dropped some $ off the price and it was mine. All sorts of shifting stuff around and other work has been happening now. I slashed a few acres of bracken the other day. Tomorrow I'm moving two machines out and bringing a stroke sander into the workshop that has been stored away for 8 years, it'll get done in 1/2 an hour compared to what would take 4 hours of hard labor for 2 guys before.

IMG_3983a.jpg IMG_4050a.jpg

Thats an awesome find - the restored ones come up now and then but not often with all the gear. I don't have a large property and therefor obviously not a tractor BUT one day I hope I do. Its a royal pain in the ass to move machinery - I hate it!

I love the lathe Rob, proper vintage. Just out of interest, how many lathes have you got?.