Thread: Forbes lathe rebuild - WIP

The stand that came with it was made up of bits of railway line and some RHS.

I have almost finished a new one for it.
It will be closed in with some 1.6mm plate, will have 2 shelves and a door at the headstock end. The tailstock end will have a set of drawers under it, the center section will be left open at the front. It will house the coolant return tank.

Attachment 172387Attachment 172388

Here I have sat the tray and the bed on top to check for fit.
Attachment 172389

I have been thinking about what to paint the lathe and stand with. An old guy that I see most days, and have a chat to him, says 2 pack epoxy is the go.
He has got a truckload of it in his shed that he wants me to use. But I am a bit worried about how old it is, he got it cheap from a business that closed down.

I spoke to another guy that owns a local paint shop he has recomended 2 pack polyurethane, I have started another thread here if anyone missed it --
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f65/pa...athe-s-136098/

I told him about this stuff, and apparently he has another truckload of 2 pack polyurethane from the same place .
My old mate will probably take it the wrong way if I use the other stuff, but at least I know what I am getting.
I might go over to his shed and have a look at his paint, see how rusty the tins are, and go from there I suppose.

Hi,
That will be a nice lathe when you have finished and will be better quality than whats available today.
The stand looks good and will be nice a solid especially when you wrap it in 1.6mm sheet.
As for the paint, I would have a good look at it as it will probably still be good and will save you $100 odd dollars or more. All you need to make sure is if the hardener is their as well.
I will be looking forward to your up dates as projects like this give me enjoyment myself.

Dave

Cheers Dave. He says he has the hardener, and the proper thinners .
Reckons he has got a variety of colours ( except white ).
I might have a look at it tomorrow if I see him.

Sounds good, what colour are you after? You might be able to get the panel guy to tint it for you.

Dave

Originally Posted by Dave J

Sounds good, what colour are you after? You might be able to get the panel guy to tint it for you.

Dave

I would be happy with a light grey. Thats the lathes original colour by the looks of it.

My old mate reckons grey is easy, just mix all the colours together and you'll have grey .

With any two pack paint, mix up a trial batch, paint it on a bit of scrap and if it goes hard in the expected time, it's OK. If it stays gooey on the trial piece, it'll stay gooey on your lathe.

Thanks, I will give it the test if I end up using the old stuff.

Hi Ironwood, you have a really great lathe, mine is slightly younger than yours, 10/05/1976 I bought it new then & it's been fantastic value for money. I think I paid about $1,100.00 for it. Mine is green & the only other one I have seen is also green, maybe yours had a repaint? If I can be any help with any info, just ask.
tinkera.

Thanks for the info Tinkera.
Thats interesting, I wonder if there were different coloured ones sold. The guy I bought mine off, doesnt seem the type that would go to the trouble to repaint it.
When I scraped off the old paint, there was nothing but grey, and red oxide primer.

Do you have a photo of yours that you could post ?

Ironwood, good to see you're going the full lolly. For inspiration, here's another one restored by a forum member: Forbes KS3.5 FK Lathe - Metalworking Fun

Hi Ironwood, I will post a pic soon.
tinkera

Originally Posted by Bryan

Ironwood, good to see you're going the full lolly. For inspiration, here's another one restored by a forum member: Forbes KS3.5 FK Lathe - Metalworking Fun

Thanks Bryan, I had seen that one before, I actually double checked it earlier this morning to see what colour it was as I remember it being grey like mine.
It was originally green, like Tinkera's, but he's repainted it grey.

Not sure about mine now, as there's no indication that it was originally green, but chances are now, it probably was.

I'm not one to restore things to totally original specs, ( one look at my BSA and you'll see that ) so I'll probably still go with the grey. Depending if I use my old mates paint and what colours he has, that might change things as well .

Hi Ironwood, that's my lathe, on what plate has yours the date of manufacture?, I can not find it on mine,
regarding the paint,I used White knight epoxy ennamel from Bumings, you can wipe it even with thinners and it does not come off,
cheers, Richard.