Photo Index - McIlvanie Machine Works - Model "B" 16 inch Century Lathe

Machinery Photo Index

Manufactured/Badged by:
McIlvanie Machine Works
Yakima, WA

True Manufacturer:
McIlvanie Machine Works, Yakima, WA

Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Metal Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Lathe, Metal
Machine Size:	16" X 48"
Submitted By:	Torvald Sorenson

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	Model "B" 16 inch Century Lathe
Date of Manufacturer:	~1950
Serial Number:	52710
Last Updated	12/3/2023 12:27:29 AM

Comments:

A McIlvanie Machine Works Model “B”, 16”, Century Lathe, made by McIlvanie Machine Works of Yakima WA to their own design. It’s rated at 16” but will swing 18” and has up to 4 ½’ between centers. It’s about 10’ in length, 4 ½’ to the top of the head-stock, and weighs approximately 3 tons. It has 12 gear settings giving speeds of 18 to 477 RPM. There are 45 different threading settings and 45 feeds. Threads go from 2 to 64 threads per inch, and feeds are from .188" to .005" per revolution. For extras it does have a taper attachment and follower rest. This is the cut rate version, so there's nothing fancy about it; it doesn't have a brake or clutch, so the spindle is started and stopped with the motor switch, It doesn’t have snap action levers for the carriage and cross slide, and there was no chip pan. But it's very stable and will accurately swing anything that I'm interested in turning.
It was probably built in ~1950, possibly for the Marshal Plan for shipment to Europe. McIlvanie apparently had a contract for lathes under the Marshall plan, but the Marshall Plan was cut short in 1951 before all the lathes could be delivered. This lathe ended up in a lumber mill in Yakima from whence it was eventually traded in on a new lathe to Hallidie Machine Tools in Seattle where I bought it in 2002. The reason that I think it was made for the Marshal Plan is that there are several instances in the lathe where it looks as though shortcuts were taken and workmanship was not all it could have been. This might be explained by the thought that it was to be shipped overseas where no one would contact the manufacturer, or maybe it had to be finished very quickly to get it out the door.
A final note on the Lathe; it appeared to have not been lubricated for the last many years of its working life; all the plain bearings were dry and filled with a black dust and the ways were likewise dry. The headstock lubricant had probably never been changed; there was 1 inch of thick goo piled on the horizontal shifting bars in the headstock. The nose was horribly pitted from years of installing chucks without first wiping the chips from the nose socket. In spite of the terrible lack of maintenance, it still was possible to bring it back to good working order; a stout machine, to say the least.

Photo 1:

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Photo 2:

Comments: A view inside the headstock.
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Photo 3:

Comments: Quickchange gearbox (rebuilt), covers removed.
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Photo 4:

Comments: Inside the quickchange gearbox. Unfortunately, it is not an oil bath type.
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Photo 5:

Comments: Geartrain to the quickchange.
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