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Enterprise 1550 Rebuild

Sailor

Randy
Premium Member
I obtained this lathe earlier in the summer. It worked but while not abused it was neglected. Slides barely moved and none to their full travel.it had some rust and I don’t know if the coolant or oil had ever beeen changed. The delightful part was there was little wear on any gears, bearings, threads or bronze blocks. I suspect it had limited use as the last owner who operated a large oil field and caterpillar repair shop did not know how to operate a lathe, he simply would bring someone in when he needed something turned. I have been taking pictures as I go although not enough but it will show the progress.
 
I’ll try to upload a few pictures every day.
 

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Yummy looking stuff - I can feel for you.

Went through a similar “resurrection” with my Colchester Master...
Good luck - slow and steady wins the race.
 
What is it about restoring something old and big that's so satisfying and therapeutic? Tons and tons of fun. Good luck.
 
Its an Indian made machine that is a copy of a Harrison and is 15x50. Mine is 16x75.

They are not too well made lots of little issues all over the place - mostly to do with poor materials (weak)

Company went under few decades ago so I guess I was not the only one that sees this as imperfect copy of Harrison. They can be had for very cheap as well.
 
You’re right it is an Indian made machine and a 15 x 50. I don’t know about other ones but I am very impressed with this machine. I tried it for a few items to check tolerances, tapering and twisting and I am excited. Took the gears and bearings out and literally no wear. So I guess I lucked out.
 
Not to give anyone nightmares but here are a few more of the coolant pump and sump before sandblasting. Put a bit of absorbent in sump to aid in picking up the last of the slime.
 

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Some missing or broken switches. If anyone has a source for these I would appreciate it.
 

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Re your head stock picture - a Metric/Inch lever. That looks highly desirable. I assume for threading? I assume it shifts into appropriate gears internally? What TPI/MOD range can you do?
 
The button looks good for one switch but I’ll need spacers, the holes are quite large.
yes it switches from metric to inch for threading
 
You will have a very functional lathe after your resto. No need to take a hugh chip and break something... If used well, it will serve a lot of years!

You might try your hand at 3D printing the levers. They don't undergo huge forces if not 'rammed' into gear...

I love when old stuff comes back to life!
 
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