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Warner & Swasey All Geared Head Turret Lathe, Part 1:



Ladies and gentlemen, the cast, crew, employees, janitors and CEO of Stupid Machine Shops LLC
would like to announce our stupidest purchase of the year! At a time when funds are tight, time is nil
and space nonexistent, we bring in yet another project!

May we present the 1939 Warner & Swasey No. 2 Geared-Head Turret Lathe! The type of machine that quite literally
won World War 2, but was soon after superseded by better, automated machines and is today thoroughly obsolete.



So why'd I pick it up? Well, it may be obsolete, but it still has its use. Turret lathes are ideal for short-run
production, and even better for "second op" work, doing finishing touches or additional features to
parts produced by a modern CNC turning center.



In this case, the 6-postition turret has power feed, making deep drilling and boring a breeze.



This particular machine, oddly enough, came equipped with Brown & Sharpe 22SC collets.  These offer
"dead length" operation, meaning the part isn't pushed forward or drawn back as the collet closes.



Unlike a more common or more familiar 5C, this system has an inner collar that is
pushed forward, towards the collet nose, to close the collet.



Moving around back, we see the oil pump for the headstock, and the disconnected
pump for the coolant system. (Note the drive collar has been slid back.)



At the left end we see a large and kind of unweildy device, which is both the collet
closer and the actuating mechanism for the bar feeder. (Which I don't have.)



Under the hinged cover, we can see the collet closer, and a place to put this spare
rod and chrome ball found in the parts box, to manually actuate what was
originally an electrically-powered system.



The factory setup had a rod with a handle running along the base of the headstock, that when actuated,
moved this linkage (parts of which were also found in the parts box) which engaged the clutch
to the electric motor, which ran the whole mess.



You can see the blank spot where the bracket that held the actuating lever was once bolted.



This splined collar, I believe, held that shaft with the chrome ball, which was the lever
that actuated the system. Most of which is missing or nonfunctional.






All text, photos and graphics Copyright 1998- 2020, Doc's Machine & Airsmith Services. All Rights Reserved.
Information contained in these pages is for reference and entertainment purposes only.  Our methods are not always the best,
quickest, safest, or even the correct ones. It's up to you to know how to use your own machines and tools.
Keep your fingers away from the spinny blades o' death and you should be all right.