Got a 25 yr old Rockwell/Beaver 3400

[JimB]

I got this yesterday from a co-worker of the LOML. I haven't paid him yet as he told me to try it for a week to see if I like it. He wants %50. I was wanting something bigger to turn bowls as the Jet 1014VSI is good for small bowls but not for bigger stuff. Since LOML just bought me a bandsaw (G0555) and a bunch of other stuff (bowl gouge, scraper, faceshield, pen press etc)a new lathe was out of the question.

The co-worker bought it about 25 years ago in Canada and his neighbor put a motor on it. He didn't use it much and hadn't touched it in 10 years. Here's a few stats.

11" swing over bed
15" swing over 3" gap
36" between centers
3/4" - 16 LH outboard spindle thread
7/8" - 14 RH inboard thread
4 speeds with manual pully change
MT1 - but i haven't figured this out yet since everything seems to screw on including the center in the tailstock.
Motor - I can't read anything on the plate.
To move anything (tail stock, tool rest) you need to use a wrench.

I hope I loaded the pictures OK. This is my first attempt at pictures on here.

Here it is when I got it.

Here it is after I cleaned off some of the rust.

It came with most everything including faceplate, screw center (no screw, you use your own apparently), spur center and what seems to be a dead tail center, tools.

It doesn't have a face plate for the outboard so if anyone knows where I can get a LH 3/4" - 16 faceplate please let me know.

Any recommendations about anything on this lathe are welcome!

After I cleaned it up a bit I turned it on. It hummmmmmmmed very nicely. I attached a small piece of wood and made it round. Then I put a piece of green pine log on it. I hadn't even cut iit on the bandsaw. I knocked off the corners on the lathe and roughed a bowl.

This is definately a keeper

 

[maxwell_smart007]

Good load of paste wax on the bed should help things slide nicely...good looking lathe for the price!

One thing I'd do is move the on/off swich to the left side...a bit quicker to stop it that way in an emergency!

Andrew

 

[maxwell_smart007]

I looked at Oneway's site, and they have faceplates in 3/4inch 16tpi:

http://www.oneway.ca/faceplates/index.htm#table1

 

[JimB]

Thanks Andrew but that looks like RH threading for that size. I need LH threading for the outboard as the headstock don't turn rather the outboard spindle just comes out the back of the headstock. I know it can be made but the cost will add up and I'm hoping to find something that I don't need to spend a ton of $$$ on.

 

[Ligget]

As Andrew said about moving the switch for safety precautions, how about a foot switch as advertised on CSUSA (I think).

Fantastic lathe, the new motor that has not done much work is a bonus, have fun using it![]

 

[JimB]

The motor isn't actually new. The original owner bought it without a motor and his neighbor put the motor on it, so I think it is as old as the lathe but I'm not sure. It has a 2 prong plug and i put some electrical tape on part of the cord that was stating to fray. However, it puuuuurrrrrs like a kitten. So does the lathe. It doesn't make any funny noises.

The whole motor and pully is intersting. The motor hanges on a bracket under the table. Even though the bracket holds the motor up the weight of the motor helps hold the belt tight. When i move it to the smallest pully it is really loose.

I had it on the largest pully to turn the green pine. No matter how much I was taking off it never hiccuped, slipped or anything else. It kept a very steady speed and removed wood quickly and seems like it did better than my Jet.

 

[kirkfranks]

Jim,
I don't know about the faceplate for outboard turning. I am not a bowl turner so I am just guessing, but since the tool rest does not reach to the left it would be scary to rig a freestanding tool rest.

I did make a wooden "handwheel" for my lathe for turning the spindle while sanding and such.
I found a 3/4-16 LH nut at ACE Hardware (those guys have almost everything) and then mortised that into a piece of 3/4 pine. I cut it round best as I could on the bandsaw and then mounted it and sanded it the rest of the way round.

 

[JimB]

Thanks Kirk. That's a good idea. Not having anything to grab onto has been a pain.

The only faceplate option I've found so far has been Grizzly. The have an adapter and a non=threaded face plate system. It's more than I want to spend so I'll keep looking but at least I know one place that has it.

 

[the nude lather]

i know that this is an old post, but to add for those who found themselves a beaver rockwell gap bed lathe like this here fella, here is the american made version of the same lathe along with info on parts and accessories.

The Rockwell, Beaver, Delta 46-140 Wood Lathe: Canadian Source of Parts and Accessories