Levin did it right...

[LittleWatchShop]

As far as I can see, Levin is the only maker of the vintage watchmaker lathe that got it right...making the tailstock to hold a collet was, IMHO, brilliant.  I don't own one, but I wish I did.  They do not come cheap.

Tell me I am just wrong.

[madchops67]

One of my Peerless 8mm lathes came with the tailstock accepting 8mm collets for drilling. It's really great to have

[LittleWatchShop]

34 minutes ago, madchops67 said:

One of my Peerless 8mm lathes came with the tailstock accepting 8mm collets for drilling. It's really great to have

Peerless!  Please post a picture...would love to see it.

[madchops67]

Doesn't have the sensitive lever or micrometer depth knob like the higher end lathes (how I wish it did) but this is sufficient for a job that needs drilling.

[nickelsilver]

Pretty much all the lathe makers offered collet holding tailstocks. And there were a bunch- Levin, Derbyshire, Marshall/Peerless in the U.S. (there were others, but they were the big ones), Boley-Leinen, G. Boley, Lorch, Wolf-Jahn in Germany, Pultra in England, Favorite and Star in Switzerland, easily a dozen more.

 

But yes, having the ability to hold the same collets in the tailstock as the headstock is a very, very, nice feature.

[LittleWatchShop]

7 hours ago, nickelsilver said:

Pretty much all the lathe makers offered collet holding tailstocks

Makes sense...but did anybody buy them?  I watch ebay every day (literally!) looking at watch stuff.  I have a saved search for watchmaker lathes.  I have never seen any except Levin.  Maybe that feature was not popular, or those that own them are not willing to sell them.  A Levin lathe went for $1500 the other day but I did not win it.  It was nice.

I have a a tapered collet holder that is good but not great because it does not achieve perfect registration with the headstock.  I don't know if the issue is the tapered collet, or the tailstock runner.  All matching serial numbers.

[Lukebgb]

On 3/5/2022 at 10:19 AM, LittleWatchShop said:

Makes sense...but did anybody buy them?  I watch ebay every day (literally!) looking at watch stuff.  I have a saved search for watchmaker lathes.  I have never seen any except Levin.  Maybe that feature was not popular, or those that own them are not willing to sell them.  A Levin lathe went for $1500 the other day but I did not win it.  It was nice.

I have a a tapered collet holder that is good but not great because it does not achieve perfect registration with the headstock.  I don't know if the issue is the tapered collet, or the tailstock runner.  All matching serial numbers.

Just keep watching. I lucked out today and scored one off craigslist an hour away from me. Complete lathe (head, tail, bed, and motor. Came with a good selection of collets, and a stand. I'm stoked. I need grabbers but I can get those a piece at a time. I'll use a file until then. Lol

[LittleWatchShop]

9 hours ago, Lukebgb said:

Just keep watching. I lucked out today and scored one off craigslist an hour away from me. Complete lathe (head, tail, bed, and motor. Came with a good selection of collets, and a stand. I'm stoked. I need grabbers but I can get those a piece at a time. I'll use a file until then. Lol

Since that post, I acquired a Levin with a cross slide and four-jaw chuck on FB marketplace for $350. It was truly a deal. The only downside was that the cross slide is English rather than metric. A minor disturbance.

I have nearly a complete set. That is where the real money went!! I bought lots resulting in duplicates.