The Secret Society of Lathe Trolls

The only problem I would have with the belt drive approach is that there would be no way to uncouple the 45 motor from the rest of the gear train while cutting at another speed. Presto has clutches inside the gear box that do this to reduce mechanical noise and drag from the other motors while one m...

That idler shaft shouldn't be too hard for a machinist to correct and or make a replacement. I'm not sure on your lathe, but on mine from bottom to top, they have a plain washer at the bottom, the rubber idler wheel, felt/fiber washer, then the retainer clip. The shaft should be greased. Now, on my ...

Hi Bryan,

What does the bronze "C" do around the turn table shaft pulley? Does it clamp at the bottom of the TT bearing housing or something?

Regards,
Andy

I saw a very early Scully lathe that actually had Western Electric logos and emblems on it. Supposedly it was made in the mid to late 1930s, when Larry Scully's father was still in charge of the Scully company. Earlier, his father worked for Columbia, who at the time from the 1910s to 1920s, made th...

I don't know, but would it be that difficult to take pics with a phone and then just post them on the auction listing? Even pics of the lathe just sitting in a storage room someplace not set up would be ok. The concept of using photos of it for the listing set up someplace else just seems ridiculous...

I'm not sure if I understand the OP question exactly either, but I think what he's asking is if manufacturers of disk cutting lathes had a repeatability tolerance from one manufacturer to another. IMHO, audio disk cutting lathes were never really sold like a milling machine or engine lathe found in ...

Taking a look at my Grampian Gotham literature and schematics, it looks like this amplifier is from before January 10, 1955. After July 10, 1957 they no longer had the time delay tube and used the 6AU4 rectifiers in the power supply section as well as removed the T3 transformer. Not sure what the t...

Taking a look at my Grampian Gotham literature and schematics, it looks like this amplifier is from before January 10, 1955.

After July 10, 1957 they no longer had the time delay tube and used the 6AU4 rectifiers in the power supply section as well as removed the T3 transformer.

Now the way they have that Presto compressor set up, I for one, like very much!

Easy service in a busy cutting room with that kind of layout!!

I'm not sure how to answer you question of getting the 12" to track correctly, as I don't really know what tonearm you have and the cartridge installed. But, I can say for sure, that my Presto 8N lathe came with a Rek O Kut model 160 and it measures around 11 3/4" from pivot point to tip of stylus a...

I don't mean to open a can of worms here, but I have to ask, why wouldn't a 12" length arm work? They generally can accommodate 16" disks.

Keep in mind that the largest disk available today is 14".

Unless your planning on working with old 16" transcription disks?

I don't know, this is starting to seem like a nice item to have that may not become reality again. Like trying to find a new preview tape deck with 1/4" or 1/2" interchangeable head stacks. As interested as I am in this, since I'm still cutting from an analog console and working OTB, I'm afraid most...

Here is a crazy idea......is the motor spinning the correct direction?

The transmission is direction specific because of the clutch on the worm shaft to disengage the electric motor while not in use.

You know, I think my lathe has those Lord shear-type couplings between the motor shaft and worm shaft. Maybe yours is the same?

I know Presto used Lord for the rubber base mounts on most of their studio model lathes.

I'm not sure how it can be, unless the rubber is hard and the coupling is formed bent? :? Perhaps a "Lovejoy" type coupler would work in it's place? Maybe the Buna-n type rubber for maximum vibration isolation. You can look at McMaster Carr under shaft couplings to see if something would fit there. ...

I would jump on this, but not sure how to gang the two together?

Well, all I know is, my 8GV is exactly what is shown in the 8GV manual. I keep forgetting that 45 was the "new" speed back in the 1940s and 1950s. :lol: It does mention about aligning the motor shafts to the worm gear shafts in the maintenance section of the 8GV manual. You may have to move the moto...

On my 8GV, the 33 and 45 are gear driven with the 78 rubber idler rim driven.

I suppose maybe the earlier lathes were 33 and 78 on the gears and 45 was rubber idler driven?

They might have. The switches are supposed to be electrically interlocked in nature so that when one motor is selected, you can not select the other two and so on. That power supply on the side of the 78 motor should only be turned on when the 78 motor is turned on. There is also a mechanical interl...

Well, in my room, I have LED track lighting and they are pretty bright on the lathe now for general lighting. I like them because they are cool.

I was going to hang above the lathe, but not on all the time, was something like a 500W photo flood lamp to serve as sort of a Buchmann-Meyer light.