Is it my turn? Anything to do with lathes, mills and other shop tools

So.....you veterans don't laugh, please. Everyone starts out at some point. I've been doing a lot of research and weighing many options for buying a lathe for home/shop/hobby use. Have always been interested in learning to turn metal. Even thought about buying cheap HF lathe to learn on, but my better judgement dictated I should wait for a good used lathe with metal gears to show up. Well, one showed up on Craigslist that caught my interest. It's a Logan Model 200 vintage 1946, and I bought it for the right price after quite a bit of back-and-forth. It came with a lot of tooling, 4-way jaw, etc. Online reviews on this lathe have been positive with quite a following on Youtube, etc. Forward/Reverse with power cross-feed. I learned enough before buying on how to assess the condition. Bought from a guy who's grandfather bought it originally and he inherited it upon his death. Stored in a wood shop. Dirty as can be but mostly from sawdust. All the v-ways, head stock, tail stock, etc., seem to be tight and everything looks to be in really clean/lightly used condition. I'll be tearing this thing down and restoring/re-painting as needed before using. The original instructions book came with it and it states to use a machinist's level to ensure it is spot-on, else it could throw the bed off and cause the lathe to turn and bore taper. "It is impossible to do accurate work on a lathe that is not level and the lathe will be damaged beyond repair". Yikes. Should I foot for an expensive machinist level? Will be buying machine levelers as I can't drill into my concrete shop floors to mount it (have in-floor heat). As near as I can tell, all bearings seem to be in good condition but replacement parts appear to be available as needed. Opinions please..... Pics to come....just wanted to get advice from you pros.

...and you thought motorcycles were an addictive hobby...HA!...and so it begins.:rolleyes:
 
thumbnail_20200311_143022.jpg CIMG2875Small.jpg Here it sits in my pole barn waiting for the Kubota to help hoist it off the trailer. Second pic is stolen from the internet in what it should ideally look like once restored.
 
Well like Beags said..... now ya stepped in it. ;) You gonna restore it or just clean it up?
 
SWEET!! Just like my first PwrKraft lathe (mfgd. by Logan - sold by MontgomeryWard). "Just need a COUPLE pieces of tooling...", or so the saying goes
 
You gonna restore it or just clean it up?
My first reaction is to initially clean it all up and inspect everything as best as possible and make sure there is nothing critically worn out. If all is good, do a full tear down/restore. What do y'all suggest?
 
SWEET!! Just like my first PwrKraft lathe (mfgd. by Logan - sold by MontgomeryWard). "Just need a COUPLE pieces of tooling...", or so the saying goes
So Beags, was it a good lathe to learn on? What are the downfalls/pitfalls I should be aware? Lots of owners on Youtube and a Yahoo forum dedicated to these old Logans, and they seem to love em. It's got a full set of change gears, but I'm not into cutting threads at least not yet. Would have to get a different set of gears for metric...not worried about that at this time. There's a website available for ordering just about any part needed: Logan Actuator Co. https://store.lathe.com/
 
I did a light restoration (if that's even a thing :rolleyes: ) on my Atlas about 4 yrs ago. It's the same age as the lathe you just picked up. I enjoyed doing it but.... if I had it to do over, I'd prolly just clean it up and make it usable. Restorations are for museums. I use this one and it really doesn't look restored anymore.

IMG_20200311_152823.jpg
 
I'm always blown away at all the creative uses I see with lathes on this forum. Your lathe still looks great Jim. I just like having a clean shop with nice looking and practical use tools. So yeah, a partial/light restore sounds like a good approach.
 
Just like you Larry, I'm just a rookie. First time I ever used a lathe... was this Atlas after it was back together. Main reason I restored it was it came to me in a half a dozen cardboard boxes. It was like putting a jigsaw puzzle together... having never seen a jigsaw. If it was already together, I'd prolly just have used it.
I still have a lot to learn about spinning chunks of metal.
 
I'm with Jim, clean her up, make any needed repairs and start throwin' chips. I had ZERO experience when I got mine. Mr. Pete, Tom's Techniques and others on UTube got me started. I liked mine so well bought another Logan - mod.920 11x24 - that I still run today.
Metal chips are like potato chips...once you start it's hard to stop!
 
Oh man we gotta see before pics! Search lathe leveling, there's simple acurate diy solutions out there.
 
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Restorations are for museums.
Agreed. Amen. If it isn't dinged, scratched, dirty, greasy, etc., it isn't abuse, it's use. If you're crashing the deck, breaking things, ripping out gears... different story. Take a class. Better yet, get some class. Go ahead, 2XSive, set it up and make something!
waterworld.jpg Deacon says "...Don't just stand there... MAKE something!!!..."
 
I did a light restoration (if that's even a thing :rolleyes: ) on my Atlas about 4 yrs ago. It's the same age as the lathe you just picked up. I enjoyed doing it but.... if I had it to do over, I'd prolly just clean it up and make it usable. Restorations are for museums. I use this one and it really doesn't look restored anymore.

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Like the work light! Just hope you did not empty that bottle while running the lathe!
 
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