Photo Index - Foley Manufacturing Co. - Model 15000

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Foley Manufacturing Co.
Minneapolis, MN

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Lathe, Wood
Machine Size:	6"
Submitted By:	John Jensen

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	Model 15000
Date of Manufacturer:	unknown
Serial Number:	1689
Last Updated	9/28/2016 11:44:59 AM

Comments:

My dad bought this lathe I'm guessing in the late 1940s or early 1950s. He mounted it on an old sewing machine table with the 1/3 HP motor at the bottom feeding a secondary shaft mounted mid-way up. That secondary shaft had two stepped pulleys, one for the belt to the motor and one for the belt to the lathe head. He also built a foot switch using a foot operated dimmer switch (yeah, remember when cars had those?).

I remember a small grinding wheel mounted on the lathe head and my dad used that for sharpening our lawn mower blades since he didn't have an actual grinder. My brother recalls using the lathe to turn down old bowling pins to make croquet mallets.

Until this past summer (2016), the lathe parts were in boxes so the lathe hadn't been used for 50 years. I cleaned it up, mostly rust on the bed rails, put it back together and then built a stand with some storage. Instead of the original 1/3 HP motor, I now have a 2-speed 3/4 HP motor. I also built a new foot switch. The finished "product" is shown in the following photos

Photo 1:

Comments: Fully restored and ready to turn
Source: self

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Photo 2:

Comments: Close up of lathe itself
Source: self

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Photo 3:

Comments: New footswitch shown next to body of old footswitch
Source: self

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Photo 4:

Comments: Input/Output of foot swtich
Source: self

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