Photo Index - Mulliner-Enlund Tool Co. - 14" engine lathe

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
Mulliner-Enlund Tool Co.
Syracuse, NY; Cincinnati, OH

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Metal Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Lathe, Metal
Machine Size:	14" swing, 36" ways
Submitted By:	James Huston

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	14" engine lathe
Date of Manufacturer:	between Feb. 1917 & May 1919
Serial Number:	B6584
Last Updated	12/4/2020 11:09:33 AM

Comments:

I was looking for one of these lathes for about a year before yet another WTB post on BOYD came to the attention of Dan Warner, who was understandably surprised that I wanted such an uncommon model. He had purchased it for his machine shop partnership and quickly outgrew it but hung on to it until he could find it a home. I immediately sold my Sheldon 11" to acquire the necessary funds. He took it to Arnfest 2016, where a group of OWWM'ers was kind enough to help him break it down and load it into two separate full-sized trucks ( piloted well out of their way by Charlie Brady and Peter Rohan!), which should give some idea of the mass of this beautiful machine.

Mulliner Enlund was bought by Porter-Cable in May of 1919, when the company was little more than a year in business after reorganizing under that name and moving from Cincinnati to Syracuse. This particular machine was made between those dates, and very likely first saw the light of day when the Great War was still raging and American troops were fighting at the Marne. The lathe used a quick change gear box that is indistinguishable from that found on a Hendey "conehead" lathe of the era. Built as a general-purpose engine lathe but with an emphasis on threading operations, the Mulliner is a very versatile design, capable of feeding and facing under power.

My example (I call her Millicent, or the Beast of Syracuse) was retrofitted by someone very clever to run an overhead drive system kifed from a 1930-ish South Bend 15" lathe, as the original drive was the then-common ceiling-mounted countershaft powered from the shop lineshaft. There is evidence that the lathe was fitted at the factory with a relieving attachment, which would have made machining tooling like reams and taps much easier.

I completely dismantled the lathe and carted it into my basement shop, which required taking the massive bed through a window with the use of a large engine hoist and a tower of cribbing. Repairs of a few castings were needed, mainly to replace the broken fingers on the gearbox and stabilize cracks in the overhead drive platform. I replaced some damaged drive train gears, which required a bit of machinining, which the Mulliner Enlund was able to do by that point. I changed the motor to a more period correct General Electric polyphase, installed a less anachronistic drum switch, light and wiring, and gave the old girl a fresh coat of satin black enamel. There is a missing cover for the outboard side of the headstock, which is a rare bird, but I have plans to adapt an indexing arrangement to boost the already formidable capabilities of this classic machine.

In the four years I've had this lathe, I've fallen in love with the reassuring mass, user-friendly tailstock lock, and respectable accuracy of this 102-year-old machine. I was expecting to have an old clapped out lathe with a Porter-Cable connection that could be coaxed into doing some basic machining; I was elated to find myself the caretaker of a turn of the century powerhouse that can still peel a piece of high carbon steel like an orange. I've seen my machining efforts improve due to the greater rigidity and robustness in comparison with other lathes I've used. I have nothing but good to say of this fine old lady and salute everyone involved in bringing her to her new home.

Photo 1:

Comments: Gaze at the majesty of a 2,700 lb metal lathe
Source: Amy Huston

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Photo 2:

Comments: Hendey gearbox
Source: Amy Huston

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Photo 3:

Comments: This plaque weighs about a pound
Source: Amy Huston

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