Star Lathe.

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Glock21user

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I am looking for any information on this little lathe I have acquired.
It is a Seneca Falls Star 10" by 24", it is best described in the pictures and original description all of which I will post here.
Running a lathe isn't my issue but this one as much as it seem simple leaves me with some questions.
Does anyone have any knowledge of these older lathes, the numbers I found on it seem to indicate an age of 1910 - 1916.
It would be nice to know for certain what the lever directly behind the drive pulleys is for and it proper application, along with the proper way to engage back gear.
Thank for any help you can give, sorry for the long post.
And yes at the moment it is setup in the living room of the house until I can figure it all out and move my other lathe and Bridgeport's to make proper room in the shop area of the barn.
Time to buy chocolate and flowers, lots of them.
There are a few more boxes yet to unpack and sort through.


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Awesome! What a piece of history. (y)
Thank you sir, I was very fortunate to come across it.
Now starts the search for manuals and such, then to learn the quirks of it.
 
I have others but this one due to its history and me being a huge Ford fan couldn't pass it up.
It will be used for mainly gun parts and small stuff down in my gun room..
 
If you haven't- go ask on GarageJournal.com forums. They know everything there is to know about any kind of tool.
That’s a bad azz piece of machinery and history. Just image what that bad boy turned out. ????
Thank you PowerDubs for the GarageJournal.com suggestion I will register and poke around.

Outcast, I agree with you it would be nice to know what this thing has built.
I am a huge history fanatic so it appeals to me for multiple reasons.
 
That’s looks like a wonderful piece. Not familiar with that lathe. To engage a back gear generally you have a spring loaded pin you pull to allow half the spindle to run much slower than the other half. On a Southbend it’s a knurled button on the side of the largest pulley on the headstock. If you take some pictures of the headstock and drive I may be able to help you but my guess is you’ll figure it out. There’s a site called practical machinist which has a forum and I’m sure someone there has your lathe and could help you out.

Did it come with extra gears for thread cutting? Does not look like it has a sliding gear box so there may be a chart and gears to set for different thread pitches.

The lever on the left behind the spindle pulleys is most likely (I never saw that lathe...) your back gear lever. It is on an cam which allows the gear unit to swing away when not in use. To use it though the pin that frees the two halves of the hhead stock must be pulled.

Great looking lathe, take some pictures when you get a chance. I would love to see some more of that machine.
 
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That’s looks like a wonderful piece. Not familiar with that lathe. To engage a back gear generally you have a spring loaded pin you pull to allow half the spindle to run much slower than the other half. On a Southbend it’s a knurled button on the side of the largest pulley on the headstock. If you take some pictures of the headstock and drive I may be able to help you but my guess is you’ll figure it out. There’s a site called practical machinist which has a forum and I’m sure someone there has your lathe and could help you out.

Did it come with extra gears for thread cutting? Does not look like it has a sliding gear box so there may be a chart and gears to set for different thread pitches.

The lever on the left behind the spindle pulleys is most likely (I never saw that lathe...) your back gear lever. It is on an cam which allows the gear unit to swing away when not in use. To use it though the pin that frees the two halves of the hhead stock must be pulled.

Great looking lathe, take some pictures when you get a chance. I would love to see some more of that machine.

Thank you @Jimbobjr, I was fortunate to find it.
I do believe that you are correct to pull the pin on the main gear and swing the lever to engage back gear.
If I pull the pin and do not throw the lever it free wheels with no drive,
If i throw the lever it gives me back gear.
And just to see if i was correct if i throw the lever and not pull the pin it locks up solid.
Btw this was all done with no motor attached and spinning by hand.
Last thing I want to do is damage something with power applied.
It did come with a full compliment of gears I just need to figure out the ratios and what goes where to give the thread I want for the task at hand.
And lastly I would be very happy to post any pics you might like, anything I can pay particular attention to for you?
 
Wife and I found a great Machine Shop converted to a Museum in Nashville Tn. recently. Used to be an Axle factory. Love old Machines!!
I agree, old machines and tools just make ya think what they have seen and done.
We collect old tractors and hit miss engines also and that is just one reason why.
One of the other reason is they mostly make a great sound unlike modern crap.
I have hit & miss engines that max rpm is 600 and operating rpm can be 400 to 600 unlike new engines that require using rpm to make up for lack of inertia and weight.
 
Glad you got the back gear figured out. You do not want to move that lever with out the pin out. Many old lathes will have teeth missing from either turning the machine on or locking the spindle and hitting the chuck with a hammer to get it off. I had to weld up my main gear when I bought the sb.

Once you get the lathe in place take a few pics. Sounds like you have a lot of ol' iron.
 
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