Lazarus Lathe Project

[Soulbear]

Hi Trolls,
Due to being Inordinately busy following my house move, I've not had time to make much more progress with this Lazarus Lathe Project. I did however find time to send an email or two to Paul @ http://www.inperspextive.com
Paul has made for me a Totally Superb Acrylic Cover which fits the DR33C like a Charm. I thoroughly recommend his workmanship to any Lathe Trolls needing any similar Covers for their own Projects

BSR DR33C Restoration-105.jpg

BSR DR33C Restoration-106.jpg

Regards
Soulbear

[KNOP]

That is seriously awesome! What a great idea. Next to being really usefull it makes the lathe look very nice.

[IRF80]

Just come across this.. Wow I really want a DR33C, I missed out on one a while back. I am having to build something similar from scratch instead.

I didn't know you were UK based Soulbear - I'm in Leicestershire.

Nice idea with the cover.

[grooveguy]

Nice idea, SB, and excellent work by Paul. What's more, if you get tired of cutting discs, just flip the cover over and raise goldfish!

[Soulbear]

Hi There,

I didn't know you were UK based Soulbear - I'm in Leicestershire.

Nice idea with the cover.

Sunny South Yorkshire for me IRF80, I'm glad you like the cover Te He!! By the way, Paul@inperspextive is U.K. Based too. I can't wait to get back to work on this project, I'm getting new floor coverings fitted in my new place pretty soon, a little more sprucing up of the Soul Cave, and then at long last, I'll have time to get back to the important stuff like working on the DR33C and my other projects. I've got a Poltz Freres Lathe to make a start on modifying, a AR Sugden "Connoisseur" to continue repairing, and a MSS/Technics SP10/Caruso Stereo Hybrid Lathe to make a start on too!!With the latter in mind, in case it packs up, I just got me a spare Technics SP10 to go with the other one :-

Technics SP 10-15.jpg

Wow I really want a DR33C, I missed out on one a while back. I am having to build something similar from scratch instead.

Well keep a log, and don't forget to keep the rest of us Lathe Trolls up to date with the progress of your endeavours, sharing and learning is the name of the game after all, Te He!!

What's more, if you get tired of cutting discs, just flip the cover over and raise goldfish!

What an absolutely crackin' idea Grooveguy, in a nod to the popular and traditional British take-away food, the fish could be said to be there, to accompany the chip from the disc cutting. (Fish & Chips, Gedditt??) Perhaps not, I just remembered, you American Cousins have the anomalous and peculiar habit of calling Chips, French Fries, oh well, I tried Te He!!
In other news, do you think perhaps Mr Sillitoe might like the title and the name of the Band, on this cover version of an old Ike and Tina Turner Tune????

Smokestack Lightnin'.jpg

Regards
Soulbear

[Sillitoe]

Haha! I absolutely love it Soulbear!
Nice track.

Nice work mate!

Cheers
James

[Soulbear]

Hi James,

Haha! I absolutely love it Soulbear!
Nice track.

I thought it might just give you a Grin Te He!!
Soulbear

[IRF80]

Thanks Soulbear,

I'm enjoying the build, if the lathe works out well then I'll see if Flo has a Caruso but its a big project to get such a small and simple device made (with aluminium) to a decent standard - Without a physical reference.

Overall, making it myself will still be less than a T560, whether it'll sound as good is something else.

Sound's like you're really on it buying those SP10s... I'd love one just for playback! I need to win the lottery.

That Connoisseur is a nice looking unit. Poltz Freres look interesting too.

I try to take pics of any significant progress but I'm afraid I'd just be boring everyone - Today I have been making a jig for my router to mill some alu stock so even today I have nothing to show... But I will

[Soulbear]

Hi IRF80,

Sound's like you're really on it buying those SP10s... I'd love one just for playback! I need to win the lottery.

That Connoisseur is a nice looking unit. Poltz Freres look interesting too.

Yup, the SP10s should do a job, I bought a "Humongous" MSS Lathe but was "Totally Fooled" by Photographic Perspective, and so it had to go. Not before I "Salvaged" and "Restored" the Overhead, which, as Overheads go, is Pretty much a Rolls Royce Number. This MSS Overhead will now sit Atop one or T'other of the SP10s, with Caruso Number 128 mounted to it. It should make a Pretty Decent Lathe when it's completed, and an challenging if not interesting Project to boot.

That Connoisseur is a nice looking unit. Poltz Freres look interesting too.

I bought the "Connoisseur" last year and the Idiots at DPD dropped it whilst delivering it, and almost wrecked it beyond economic repair. A Pox on the House of DPD Couriers . Thus far it's had the Pitch-Changer Stripped, Repaired, and Re-built, all the "Torn-Out" Motor Suspension Plate Mounts Re-newed, and a New Synchronous Motor C/W 45RPM Capstan fitted, only when "Powering-Up" for the main spindle to be found to be "Bent" also, so it too needs replacing. The Jury's out on whether the Cutterhead Internals can be replaced, for they too were a "Total Write-Off". There's the possibility of making a Presto 1D Cutterhead fit onto the "Connoisseur" with an "Adaptor Bracket" if the Sugden Cutterhead can't be repaired.

The Poltz Freres is a most attractive Lathe, however, the "Original" Motor and Gearbox Drive, doesn't lend itself to being adapted from the 78RPM Speed to 45RPM, and so I've got a great deal of work to do on that Lathe to bring it up to date. My current thinking is to do away with the Original Motor/Gearbox/Platter and replace these with a BLDC Motor, this would be Belt Driving the Rim of a Platter from a Garrard 401. The Pierre Clement Cutterhead that came with the Lathe appears to be a great bit of kit though, and a Joy in its simplicity, I can't wait to get back to work on these Projects
Regards
Soulbear

[IRF80]

Hey SB,

How are the project/s? Any updates to the SP10/Caruso build?

I have to say I'm not so keen on the look of the Poltz Freres but wouldn't say no to a Sugden Connoisseur. Of course I have no idea how either perform mechanically or sonically which would be a deal breaker.

I have passed up a ROK M12 overhead and back in the mid 2000's a 6N (way before the craze). I too have had bad experiences with couriers... An amp I ordered from the US a few years ago arrived battered, although debatable who was responsible (USPS/FedEx) it has put me off buying anything of any value from overseas and then of course there's duty to rub salt into the wound.

TTFN

[Soulbear]

Hi Trolls,
After what seems like an eternity, getting my New Home fixed up, and barring problems from a recurring injury which I picked up in the process of my Home Renovations, I'm just about ready to get back to work on this project.

That is seriously awesome! What a great idea. Next to being really usefull it makes the lathe look very nice.

Thanks KNOP, I'm glad you like the Acrylic Cover, I agree, as well as being usefull for keeping out any "House Dust" I think it's aesthetically pleasing too.

How are the project/s? Any updates to the SP10/Caruso build?

Hi IRF80, I've made a little progress on the SP10/Caruso Build, details of which I'm hoping to post later in the year, in another thread, here's an overdue update on this DR33C Project.

When I've had a few minutes to spare, I've been looking in on the Forum when I could, and keeping abreast of the latest posts etc. I became especially intrigued when reading other Trolls thoughts/recommendations about this Rietschle VTE-8 Vacuum System for Swarf/Chip Pick-Up, particularly because it was an area in which this DR33C Lazarus Lathe could be improved upon, over and above the original BSR "Swarf Sweeping Brush" Design
https://www.lathetrolls.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7273

I wondered, could this Rietschle VTE-8 be as Good as was being suggested??? Further research led me here :- https://www.esska-tech.co.uk/esska_eng_s/Rotary_Valve_Vacuum_Pump_VTE_Picolino_8_8_0_m_/h_Max_201523630000_9520.html

Now as much as a Powerful and Oil-Free, Carbon-Graphite Vaned Vacuum Pump appealed to me, the somewhat Eye-Watering, nearly £1200 price tag gave me Food for Thought, and so I went-a-hunting on the Ubiquitous Bay and found me a Rietschle VTE-8 Picolino for around a tenth of this price. After downloading Maintenance/ Servicing PDF Manuals, I simultaneously ordered a New Set of Carbon Graphite Rotor Vanes for my latest acquisition, estimating that in all probability, as an Absolute Minimum, that these Vanes would need Renewing. Imagine my suprise and delight when the VTE-8 was delivered to find it in the Original Manufacturers Box, bearing no "Battle Scars" at all.

Vacuum Pump-3.jpg

A quick continuity and insulation resistance test later, and I was ready to fit a New Cable and give the VTE-8 a Test-Run. I ran the VTE-8 for a few seconds, and in light of other Lathe Trolls perceptions of this being a "Quiet Machine" I thought the Pump sounded a "Little Noisy" and so immediately switched it off again.

Maintenance of these Pumps is "Simplicity Itself" and within five minutes I'd opened up the VTE-8 and saw what I perceived to be an issue. The Carbon "Rotor Blades" looked "Brand New" appearing for all the world like they'd recently been exchanged. However, two of the four "Rotor Blades" had been installed "Back to Front" the Outer of the Blades have a "Trailing" Bevelled Edge, two of the Blades had been installed with the Bevelled Edge "Leading". I reversed the two "Offending" Vanes, "Boxed it Up" and gave it a Re-Test, and what can I say?? Result!! Now the VTE-8 is much, much "Quieter"

I made a swift visit to a fairly local "Pipe Fittings Supplier" and purchased some Hose Tails "T" piece and some 3/8"ID x 5/8"OD Clear Tubing (10mm ID x 16mm OD if you're from that part of the world which doesn't use these civilised Imperial Measurements!!)
The "T" was so I could make some "Objective" measurement of the Vacuum produced, using a Vacuum Guage, and unless I've mis-read the Specifications somehow, the VTE-8 is supposed to "Produce" 150mBar of Vacuum :-

Rietschle VTE-8 Vacuum Pump Specifications.pdf

What I can say from my "Vacuum Test Gauge" is that this figure is "Understated" in the extreme, my Vacuum Guage reads 800mBar when the Hose is "Sealed" What can't speak, can't lie, so they say :-

Rietschle VTE-8 Test.3gp

At 8cu M/Hour or 4.7cu ft/min this Machine has some serious performance, and I have a Brand New "Spare Set" of Rotor Vanes if and when they're needed. Now all I have to do, is find an appropriate location for this Pump because, whilst it's a lot quieter than a "Domestic Vacuum Cleaner, with a Noise Level Specification of 61dB (A) it is not exactly "Whisper Quiet". I'm seriously entertaining notions of Locating this VTE-8 Remotely Away from the "Cutting Room" and Piping the Vacuum to the Room from afar, a la Jesus's solution, now where to Locate it?? In the Loft? In the Garage? In the Man-Cave??, Oh the Agony of Choice Te He!!!
Regards Soulbear

[grooveguy]

Nice find, Soulbear, and congratulations on sussing-out the problem with this beast. I have had limited experience with vane-type (positive displacement) vacuum pumps. Decades ago, I did belt an AC motor to a "smog pump" out of a '70s-vintage automobile, a Buick, I believe. I don't know if Europeans employed the same technique as we did in the US to mitigate our autos fouling the air, but as I recall, a certain amount of air-under-pressure was introduced into the exhaust manifold to help consume the unburned hydrocarbons before they got cold and exited the exhaust as pollution. These 'smog pumps' ran off the fan belt and produced positive pressure, but their intake was derived from the air cleaner, so it had a negative-pressure side as well. As I recall, the motor/pump lashup worked fairly well, but didn't move as much air, volume-wise, as a Lamb 8-stage turbine variety of vacuum-maker, which I subsequently acquired, and which was virturally noiseless too. That Lamb moved enough air that you could almost lean into it, and when the input passage was restricted in size, it would collapse the surgical tubing down to the cutterhead. I had either to run it at reduced voltage or bleed air into it, but, boy, would it suck. That "blower" was huge, however, and now I run a smaller Lamb of the same architecture.

On a historical note, our PBS television utility (which I think has more Brit-originated programming than US) did a series recently on how US ethnic music was 'collected' shortly after the arrival of electrical recording. I guess Bell Laboratories built half a dozen lathes that were sent to different parts of the country, becoming the first independent recording centers outside of the major cities. Evidently a fellow acquired one of these old lathes, plus the microphones and amplifiers, and built a 'vintage' recording studio. All manner of famous musicians came to L.A. to record 'direct-to-disc' at 78 r.p.m.; the series, American Epic, is worth watching if you get a chance.

Anyhow, the chip/swarf removal system was a motor-driven double-acting bellows, which I thought was a really splendid idea. Very efficient and perfectly noiseless, as it moved slowly with a cam arrangement. The double-action provided smooth suction, and seemed loosely based on a foot-pump reed organ. Here's a frame from the series showing the lathe.

Snap1.jpg