# Logan Lathe



## Soniq7 (May 6, 2006)

Last year, I found this Logan 11x48 lathe crated up in an old warehouse at the hospital I work at. Manufactured in Chicago in 1957, the lathe had lived its whole life in the old steam plant where it saw only occasional maintenance use. It was crated up in the mid 1980s and didnt see the light of day for over 20 years until I happened across it in two coffin size crates in the back of a dusty warehouse. Amazingly, it was only missing a few parts which I quickly sourced on Ebay. The entire lathe was torn down and every single piece was stripped, refinished and re-assembled using new Logan parts (theyre still in business!). The original 3 phase 220vac motor was also refurbished and is now running on a Toshiba AC drive which provides me full speed control and uses 120vac power.
I now have a magnificent machine that functions flawlessly at my disposal. 

After finding CPF, I think I know what my next project will be. I will be designing and manufacturing a small run of lights in the near future. Most likely a 1x123 design to start with.

BigMike


Heres a before:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v289/Soniq7/lathebefore.jpg

And after:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v289/Soniq7/latheafter1.jpg


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## wquiles (May 6, 2006)

Magnificent !!!

Those before and after pictures are awesome 

Will


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## thezman (May 6, 2006)

That is just awesome. You did a superb job.


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## gadget_lover (May 6, 2006)

I actually liked thsi picture best... YOU held out on us!






That's a real pretty lathe. Nice work


Daniel


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## TranquillityBase (May 6, 2006)

Now that's what I call a real lathe. You are one lucky dog! 

Very nice referb. :goodjob: 

Wanna make aluminum flashlight parts and keep that baby rust free and pretty? 

*WD-40 is the worlds best cutting, drilling and tapping fluid for aluminum, bar none!



*

Your lathe will love being saturated with it.


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## scott.cr (May 8, 2006)

Dang, that is a GREAT find. I love it when old, neglected machinery finds a new home. I hear these stories all the time, someone finds an old machine/car/etc in a field or shed or warehouse and makes it into their own dream project. (Too bad that's never happened to me in all the years I've been looking for various car, machine or gun projects.)


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## Soniq7 (May 10, 2006)

I figure the old Logan got pretty lucky too. Most folks probly would have liquidated it for parts which would have been a real shame. My only lathe prior is a 7x10 mini which has been running well for about 5 years. Id been wanting a larger lathe for a while and was looking to budget about $2500 for an import of minimum quality when I ran across this Logan. I paid $300 for the lathe and spent another $800 on the restore including the AC drive and the AXA tool post with some tooling. Grand total $1300 and the immeasurable quantity pride of owning something special. It was rather simple to restore using a sandblast cabinet and my mini lathe for spin polishing of round stuff. Theres quite a few old machines floating around, if you can find one its a really fun restortion.

Mike


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## kromeke (May 10, 2006)

Congrats on the lathe. I always hear good things about Logans. My uncle once had one, but I was too young at the time to appreciate it. 

Ever visit Practicalmachinist.com? I see a few folks from there on this board as well. Lots of good info there. There is also a Logan group on Yahoo. I'm not a member, so I can't say if it is any good.

I have a South Bend myself.


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## Anglepoise (May 10, 2006)

Beautiful job.Well worth the effort and money as you probably will have it for the rest of your life.


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## trumpeterjack (May 14, 2006)

Nice looking lathe. I am now rebuilding a 10 inch Logan, and am considering putting on the long bed version (found a bed, used, of course). Too, I am putting on a taper attachment. You don't happen to have a taper attachement, do you, as I have a question about it? Best, Jack


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## Soniq7 (May 16, 2006)

Sorry, I dont have the taper attachment. Yet..


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