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Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.
Wadkin RU
Very much heavier than the RS, and sold with the option of a 12, 15 or 18-inch centre height (305, 380 or 457 mm), the massive RU was unusual (for a wood lathe) in having a sliding bed and all-geared, oil-splash lubricated headstock. The sliding bed was not just to provide a gap of adjustable width, its real purpose was to extend the capacity between centres without making the lathe unnecessarily long or cumbersome. The lathe was very robust, capable of prolonged hard work over many years without attention and able to accept up to 99 inches (2.5 metres) between centres. Mounted on a simple, adjustable plate at the back of the headstock, the exposed motor drove the headstock gearbox through multi V-belts running on short centres. A useful headstock spindle lock was provided - to aid the removal and fitting of large faceplates and other items - with this being electrically interlocked with the motor control switchgear to prevent inadvertent stating with it engaged.
Fitted as standard (though also available without to special order) the RU had a rack-driven carriage assembly similar to that on the RS but incorporating a reduction gear between handwheel and rack to give a more-easily-controlled and finer feed. One interesting option, and valuable on long-bed versions, was the availability of a power sliding feed. Although the arrangement was well engineered, the design of the initial drive boarded on the crude, with an exposed flat belt running over a 2-step pulley fitted on an extension to the headstock spindle. The drive shaft was in two parts, split at the headstock end and taken through a pair of speed-reducing gears to a slotted shaft that drove a crown-wheel and pinion assembly inside the apron. By means of two sliding pinion gears - one fitted at each side of the crownwheel - the drive could be reversed with a screw-in friction clutch to engage the mechanism. Unlike the quick-action cam-locked T-rest toolholder unit with its front-mounted handle used on the RS, the one fitted to the RU had a more powerful, though less convenient (loose-spanner) central-bolt fixing. |
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Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.
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Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.
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