Mellor Lathe, can anyone ID it?

[Jaeger_S2k]

This isn't too far from me and badly advertised.....
Can anyone ID it?

Distance between centres 11" approx/2 x chuck jaw 3 1/4 inch diameter

 

[Hitch]

A little bit here for you...

 

[Jaeger_S2k]

I spent a couple of hours reading up on these little babies, but can't seem to get a maych to this one. Could be I need to imagine it in a better condition

 

[Jaeger_S2k]

The mounting of the motor is the strange one, it's certainly in there but in a guise

 

[Wedg1e]

I've had two of those, although neither of them had the countershaft mounted up there! The countershaft was usually bolted to a thick steel plate that stuck out behind the lathe and had the motor slung underneath.
My first one had apparently been run from an overhead line shaft so it came without motor or any means of supporting the countershaft so I had to weld up a frame to support the whole caboodle.

Interestingly, that one for sale, like the second one I had, has had raising blocks fitted under head and tailstocks to increase the throw. From what I recall that is the correct countershaft assembly, you can see the caps of the Stauffer lubricators sticking out of the bearing housings at each end.

Could be a good deal if cheap enough but everything's on plain bearings so there'll probably be lots of slop, though the bed is huge with long shears on the saddle and thick gibs to play with. The leadscrew nuts are non-adjustable for wear so you have to resort to making your own. I'd check the cross-slide leadscrew and make sure it still has a crisp ACME form to it (well probably more like a square form as I recall); if it's worn to look like a 'V' (like a bolt thread) the screw will have more slop than a pig farm and the rest of the lathe won't be far behind it. The bit you can see sticking out to the left of the headstock is a casting that carries a needle-roller thrust bearing to take the end loading of the spindle.
I think Mellors were in production from about 1922 to 1950 so it's a good half-century old.
The first one I had was serial number 103 so even if they only made one a month it would have been about 1932!

 

[geon]

Mellor Lathe

Hi, I have a Mellor lathe and have posted images on photobucket. The photos may be useful for comparison. I have one showing the motor slung below the heavy plate supporting the countershaft. The arrangement shown above would certainly save some floor space. The lathe is not a gap bed so the raising blocks look like a useful modification. I can see the blocks for the tailstock and tool holder, but the headstock looks to be a complete casting. That would suggest a factory modification.

I bid and didn't win this lathe, it went for just over 100 GBP which is a bargain for the functionality you get. Well compare any lathe with a PC - I know which is better value. John

 

[stormin]

As Wedg1e says,

Very wide bed for a 3 1/2 swing and plenty of weight about it, lends itself to raising blocks for extra capacity. Probably better than Myford 7's do.
Looks like someone got a good buy at just over £100.
If it had Myford written on it, probably have gone for 5 times that price.