Have my 1st lathe. It's a Dunlap. Old. Need info on what I need to turn. Especially the chuck set up. Thanks

Figure out what your spindle OD and thread pitch is. That's the first step. Also, does the interior feature a Morse Taper? If so, what size?

From there the rest is easy.

.............

Harry Dunlap - craftsman ran both machine lathes as well as wood try doing a google search, tons of info out there once you find out exactly your lathes specks as Tom said the rest is easy be prepared the accessories can cost more then the lathe
John

Found my Dunlap Lathe a year ago on Craigeslist. It is a charming piece of machinery with its original paint and the original motor. It is listed in he 1941 Sears Catalog for $16.45. But it is built with solid cast parts and I was glad to pay many times that amount for it. It has all of the needed attributes to take on rod handle chores. The 44" bed is long enough to drill center holes in eva blocks. With a jacobs chuck, a tail stock live center, and a 3/8" mandrel I've been turning grips made of foam core, cork and eva.

The headstock spindle on mine is a #1 morse taper. This spindle has a 3/4" -16 thread to accept a chuck or collet if wanted. Not an expert, but, I believe a good strong chuck is necessary in order to drill a center hole in a long piece of wood or eva for rod handles. The Nova G3 Chuck recommended a few posts below is up to the task and will fit nicely on this lathe. It probably costs more than what you paid for your lathe, though, lol.

[rodbuilding.org]

The only drawbacks of this old beaut is the original motor that came with it and the tailstock locking mechanism. The old motor takes time to get up to speed and the tailstock needs a 11/16" wrench to lock and unlock it. The latter really slows the process down compared to modern cam systems and I'm looking for a way to improve it. The motor is acceptable. It's a nice lathe for a beginner like myself.

Happy turning with your Dunlap.

James,
With respect to your tail stock, you can go to a hardware supply store and pick up a nut with an attached arm to take care of the need to use a wrench.

You can pick up an inexpensive Ac motor to have the lathe start instantly if you like.

If you want to get your motor up to todays standard, you can pick up a DC motor with a variable speed control.

But, as you have said, the lathe as it is right now, will certainly do a nice job of doing what is needed for rod building.

Roger

Harry

I also have an old Dunlap wood lathe. I think I have the technical info you are looking for, but don't have the time right at the moment to look it up. I'll reply to you as soon as I can get to it. Post a pic of yours to so I can see if it matches mine.

Rog

Harry,
this one is almost like the one I use. It has the correct thread size and probably plenty of capacity for what you are turning.
[www.grizzly.com]

BTW your machine has a 3/4" X16 thread head stock with a # 1 Morse taper on both the head and tail stock.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2012 03:25PM by gary Marquardt.

Roger Templon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Harry
>
> I also have an old Dunlap wood lathe. I think I
> have the technical info you are looking for, but
> don't have the time right at the moment to look it
> up. I'll reply to you as soon as I can get to it.
> Post a pic of yours to so I can see if it matches
> mine.
>
> Rog

Yes, the serial # of my lathe would help Harry to see if his lathe compares to mine in spindle specs. Should have included this in my above post. The serial # of my lathe is 534.0601. However, since ownership of the manufacturer changed hands more than once, the serial # of the same model changed, as well. A good place to match up and old lathe such as this, or any old machinery for that matter, is on the "Vintage Machinery" website. There you will find the proud display of many machines by their owners in photographs with the serial #s and other information about them. I believe Harry can find his lathe there, as there are many photos of Dunlap lathes.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2012 03:32PM by James Whelan.