Ian

A bit more work has been done on the lathe, I needed to find a way of mounting this rather big motor mounting bracket..
 

 
 
A bit of big box with a slit later sort of thing..
 

 
 
The bit of big box slot's into the chassis like so.. It does need to go higher up..
 

 
 
But some plonker had dumped a big elecric motor in the way!
 

 
 
Checking the pulleys line up. 
 

 
 
Not fully welded up yet, just a check to see if everything lined up as it should.... It does
 

 

 
 
Now to find a way of adjusting the motor to pully belt... This will come in handy
 

 
 

Chop the foot rest rods off, followed by the front of the chassis...
 

 
 
Chop the axle pivot mounts off and weld them to a big bit of box.
 

 
And with one of the sliced off foot rests through the hole it becomes a big arse hinge
 

 
 
Checking where to drill hole holes in the trans mount of the top pulleys.
 

 
 
Interesting to see the chassis rails did not come level from the factory.. But all the bolt holes did
 

 
 
Checking for belt clearance as the motor fill fit behind the chassis belt tensioner thingy..
 

 
 
And that's as far as the new lathe bench has got.. Tune back for more heavy metal work when it happen

Morning all, a bit more progress on the lathe bench even if it is slow progress... Well, every things so heavy you see
 
In order to bolt the lathe down I needed a couple of big thick steel plates (or so I thought!), but as I didn't have any it was time to slice up some of this nice 1/4" thick angle and do some welding..
 

 
 
You can never have too many clamps
 

 
 
Welded..
 

 
 
The almost finished plates.. As somehow the drip tray is a bit warped the lip was left on the plates so it could be carefully ground down to level the plate up..
 

 
 
Can you spot why I just wasted a lot of time? 
 

 
 
The lathe has small feet thingys where the bolts go through which means I only needed a couple of small plates rather than the full feet length one I had just made!!
 

 
 
Oh yes, and there's the small matter of a foot long crack in the tray!!
Not much I can do about this other than drilling small holes at each end of the crack to stop it spreading (done) and sealing the crack up with something to stop it leaking.. (Not done yet!)
 

 
 
Yes the crack does go right through..
 

 
 
Big electric motors... For those time your legs are just not long enough
 

 
 
Lot's and lot's of drilling later (thanks Nigel and Rob ) the lathe and tray was bolted down to the bench and I could think about how to mount the pulleys and motor..
This WH chassis looks like it could come in handy
 

 
 
With the chassis flipped around an easy solution presented its self..
The chassis will be hinged where it makes contact with the lower bar on the bench to adjust the tension on the top belt and make it easier to change speeds..
I have the mounting plate for the motor which will be hinged off the chassis to make it easy to tension the main drive belt..
 

 
 
Were see how far I get today
 
 
 

Hi Neil, sorry to of broke the news to you while you were still on holiday.. Had I of known I'd of waited a few days..
 
I think the best way forward is for you to send us all the engines you have and we will work out the best one to put in the RJ.. A bit of mix and matching may or may not be needed... Don't worry about the different exhaust fitments, that can be sorted easy enough
 
 

Chop the foot rest rods off, followed by the front of the chassis...
 

 
 
Chop the axle pivot mounts off and weld them to a big bit of box.
 

 
And with one of the sliced off foot rests through the hole it becomes a big arse hinge
 

 
 
Checking where to drill hole holes in the trans mount of the top pulleys.
 

 
 
Interesting to see the chassis rails did not come level from the factory.. But all the bolt holes did
 

 
 
Checking for belt clearance as the motor fill fit behind the chassis belt tensioner thingy..
 

 
 
And that's as far as the new lathe bench has got.. Tune back for more heavy metal work when it happen

Thanx for that information John, I have had a look in  the Wheel horse  dungeon n I have three other potential donors , one. Of which I bought off of Joe Papke from Michigan USA , it was bought as a spair for my RJ 58 but it could be used and does have the threaded exhaust section but it will need to be painted . So I think we may be able to solve the problem ,as for the old engineers concerned,we could use the shnake pull on new engine &  I could do with a new paper weight anyway.

Wow, this is upsetting news, Ian, I have sent you a PM about another engine that I have  that may solve the problem, 
I am currently in Snowdonia at the moment , will get back to you tomorrow , Saturday! 
 

Morning all, a bit more progress on the lathe bench even if it is slow progress... Well, every things so heavy you see
 
In order to bolt the lathe down I needed a couple of big thick steel plates (or so I thought!), but as I didn't have any it was time to slice up some of this nice 1/4" thick angle and do some welding..
 

 
 
You can never have too many clamps
 

 
 
Welded..
 

 
 
The almost finished plates.. As somehow the drip tray is a bit warped the lip was left on the plates so it could be carefully ground down to level the plate up..
 

 
 
Can you spot why I just wasted a lot of time? 
 

 
 
The lathe has small feet thingys where the bolts go through which means I only needed a couple of small plates rather than the full feet length one I had just made!!
 

 
 
Oh yes, and there's the small matter of a foot long crack in the tray!!
Not much I can do about this other than drilling small holes at each end of the crack to stop it spreading (done) and sealing the crack up with something to stop it leaking.. (Not done yet!)
 

 
 
Yes the crack does go right through..
 

 
 
Big electric motors... For those time your legs are just not long enough
 

 
 
Lot's and lot's of drilling later (thanks Nigel and Rob ) the lathe and tray was bolted down to the bench and I could think about how to mount the pulleys and motor..
This WH chassis looks like it could come in handy
 

 
 
With the chassis flipped around an easy solution presented its self..
The chassis will be hinged where it makes contact with the lower bar on the bench to adjust the tension on the top belt and make it easier to change speeds..
I have the mounting plate for the motor which will be hinged off the chassis to make it easy to tension the main drive belt..
 

 
 
Were see how far I get today
 
 
 

Morning all, a bit more progress on the lathe bench even if it is slow progress... Well, every things so heavy you see
 
In order to bolt the lathe down I needed a couple of big thick steel plates (or so I thought!), but as I didn't have any it was time to slice up some of this nice 1/4" thick angle and do some welding..
 

 
 
You can never have too many clamps
 

 
 
Welded..
 

 
 
The almost finished plates.. As somehow the drip tray is a bit warped the lip was left on the plates so it could be carefully ground down to level the plate up..
 

 
 
Can you spot why I just wasted a lot of time? 
 

 
 
The lathe has small feet thingys where the bolts go through which means I only needed a couple of small plates rather than the full feet length one I had just made!!
 

 
 
Oh yes, and there's the small matter of a foot long crack in the tray!!
Not much I can do about this other than drilling small holes at each end of the crack to stop it spreading (done) and sealing the crack up with something to stop it leaking.. (Not done yet!)
 

 
 
Yes the crack does go right through..
 

 
 
Big electric motors... For those time your legs are just not long enough
 

 
 
Lot's and lot's of drilling later (thanks Nigel and Rob ) the lathe and tray was bolted down to the bench and I could think about how to mount the pulleys and motor..
This WH chassis looks like it could come in handy
 

 
 
With the chassis flipped around an easy solution presented its self..
The chassis will be hinged where it makes contact with the lower bar on the bench to adjust the tension on the top belt and make it easier to change speeds..
I have the mounting plate for the motor which will be hinged off the chassis to make it easy to tension the main drive belt..
 

 
 
Were see how far I get today
 
 
 

Morning all, a bit more progress on the lathe bench even if it is slow progress... Well, every things so heavy you see
 
In order to bolt the lathe down I needed a couple of big thick steel plates (or so I thought!), but as I didn't have any it was time to slice up some of this nice 1/4" thick angle and do some welding..
 

 
 
You can never have too many clamps
 

 
 
Welded..
 

 
 
The almost finished plates.. As somehow the drip tray is a bit warped the lip was left on the plates so it could be carefully ground down to level the plate up..
 

 
 
Can you spot why I just wasted a lot of time? 
 

 
 
The lathe has small feet thingys where the bolts go through which means I only needed a couple of small plates rather than the full feet length one I had just made!!
 

 
 
Oh yes, and there's the small matter of a foot long crack in the tray!!
Not much I can do about this other than drilling small holes at each end of the crack to stop it spreading (done) and sealing the crack up with something to stop it leaking.. (Not done yet!)
 

 
 
Yes the crack does go right through..
 

 
 
Big electric motors... For those time your legs are just not long enough
 

 
 
Lot's and lot's of drilling later (thanks Nigel and Rob ) the lathe and tray was bolted down to the bench and I could think about how to mount the pulleys and motor..
This WH chassis looks like it could come in handy
 

 
 
With the chassis flipped around an easy solution presented its self..
The chassis will be hinged where it makes contact with the lower bar on the bench to adjust the tension on the top belt and make it easier to change speeds..
I have the mounting plate for the motor which will be hinged off the chassis to make it easy to tension the main drive belt..
 

 
 
Were see how far I get today
 
 
 

Time to bring this lathe thread back from the dead.... Yes it really has taken me this long to get on with it!!
 
 
It's not turned into anything for a long time Norm!
 
 
 
Thanks mate, you know me... If it's there, use it
 
 
 
Hi Alan, I was thinking about using your kitchen chair belt tension-er idea, but where the lathe is positioned the chair would be sticking through the wall  
 
 
Soooo... Fast forward almost 16 months with this lathe project and this is where were at
 

 
 
The poor Southbend lathe hasn't moved, it just got buried!
 

 
 
The idea is I dig this steel framed bench out from it's hiding place and use this as the basis on the new lathe bench..  To use the new-ish bigger electric motor I need something strong to mount it on.... I just don't trust the workshop walls!!
 

 
 
Speaking of electric motors, here's the old one on the left next to the new one.. You can see the sort of weight I need to safely position now!
Interestingly the new motor is a 1/4 of a hp less than the old one, but it has a huge amount of torque
 

 
 
Looks like a re-wire is needed too... Something has leaked onto the cable while it's been stored under a bench and has turned the plastic into a sticky stretchy mess!
 

 
 
A big thank you to Rob at this point for your help in this huge rearrange of the workshop.. Thanks mate 
 
Lathe, be gone...
 

 
 
As luck would have it the wooden bench and the steel framed bench were both near enough the same length, which made swapping them around easy
 

 
 
This bench and I have a long history, I remember collecting it as a bare frame from a friend's yard on a trailer behind my old WH 312-8.. A pleasant 15mins drive across (well around) fields...
The holes on the right are where I had a 9 inch cutter mounted, all the sparks, dust etc would shoot down the hole, through a funnel thingy made from old computer cases into a collection box..
 

 
 
The said funnel thingy..
 

 
 
Off comes the top, two MDF boards bolted through the frame skinned with stainless which was stuck down with "No more nails" back in the day when it first came out and was dirt cheap!
 

 
 
The bare frame..
 

 
 
And the mess the rest of the workshop is now in
 

 
 
Leg extensions as modeled by Rob..... The bench that is not Rob
 

 
 
A test fit of the catch tray and a bit of a measure..
 

 
 
HHmmm... The results of the measuring..
 

 
 
You might say the bolt hole don't quite line up a lot!
 

 

 
 
The easy way would be to grind the flat plate down so the lathe legs would sit level on the tray, but I'm a bit worried about removing strength from the tray at a stress (bolting down) point..
The other way is to make a couple of rather big shims/plates that would bring the tray base level with the flat bit and bolt the lathe down through that..
It's something to think over..
 
By that point yesterday I was quite tired so I did a little gentle cleaning instead.. It's nice to see what colour the paint is and some shiny bits
 

 

 
 

Time to bring this lathe thread back from the dead.... Yes it really has taken me this long to get on with it!!
 
 
It's not turned into anything for a long time Norm!
 
 
 
Thanks mate, you know me... If it's there, use it
 
 
 
Hi Alan, I was thinking about using your kitchen chair belt tension-er idea, but where the lathe is positioned the chair would be sticking through the wall  
 
 
Soooo... Fast forward almost 16 months with this lathe project and this is where were at
 

 
 
The poor Southbend lathe hasn't moved, it just got buried!
 

 
 
The idea is I dig this steel framed bench out from it's hiding place and use this as the basis on the new lathe bench..  To use the new-ish bigger electric motor I need something strong to mount it on.... I just don't trust the workshop walls!!
 

 
 
Speaking of electric motors, here's the old one on the left next to the new one.. You can see the sort of weight I need to safely position now!
Interestingly the new motor is a 1/4 of a hp less than the old one, but it has a huge amount of torque
 

 
 
Looks like a re-wire is needed too... Something has leaked onto the cable while it's been stored under a bench and has turned the plastic into a sticky stretchy mess!
 

 
 
A big thank you to Rob at this point for your help in this huge rearrange of the workshop.. Thanks mate 
 
Lathe, be gone...
 

 
 
As luck would have it the wooden bench and the steel framed bench were both near enough the same length, which made swapping them around easy
 

 
 
This bench and I have a long history, I remember collecting it as a bare frame from a friend's yard on a trailer behind my old WH 312-8.. A pleasant 15mins drive across (well around) fields...
The holes on the right are where I had a 9 inch cutter mounted, all the sparks, dust etc would shoot down the hole, through a funnel thingy made from old computer cases into a collection box..
 

 
 
The said funnel thingy..
 

 
 
Off comes the top, two MDF boards bolted through the frame skinned with stainless which was stuck down with "No more nails" back in the day when it first came out and was dirt cheap!
 

 
 
The bare frame..
 

 
 
And the mess the rest of the workshop is now in
 

 
 
Leg extensions as modeled by Rob..... The bench that is not Rob
 

 
 
A test fit of the catch tray and a bit of a measure..
 

 
 
HHmmm... The results of the measuring..
 

 
 
You might say the bolt hole don't quite line up a lot!
 

 

 
 
The easy way would be to grind the flat plate down so the lathe legs would sit level on the tray, but I'm a bit worried about removing strength from the tray at a stress (bolting down) point..
The other way is to make a couple of rather big shims/plates that would bring the tray base level with the flat bit and bolt the lathe down through that..
It's something to think over..
 
By that point yesterday I was quite tired so I did a little gentle cleaning instead.. It's nice to see what colour the paint is and some shiny bits
 

 

 
 

Time to bring this lathe thread back from the dead.... Yes it really has taken me this long to get on with it!!
 
 
It's not turned into anything for a long time Norm!
 
 
 
Thanks mate, you know me... If it's there, use it
 
 
 
Hi Alan, I was thinking about using your kitchen chair belt tension-er idea, but where the lathe is positioned the chair would be sticking through the wall  
 
 
Soooo... Fast forward almost 16 months with this lathe project and this is where were at
 

 
 
The poor Southbend lathe hasn't moved, it just got buried!
 

 
 
The idea is I dig this steel framed bench out from it's hiding place and use this as the basis on the new lathe bench..  To use the new-ish bigger electric motor I need something strong to mount it on.... I just don't trust the workshop walls!!
 

 
 
Speaking of electric motors, here's the old one on the left next to the new one.. You can see the sort of weight I need to safely position now!
Interestingly the new motor is a 1/4 of a hp less than the old one, but it has a huge amount of torque
 

 
 
Looks like a re-wire is needed too... Something has leaked onto the cable while it's been stored under a bench and has turned the plastic into a sticky stretchy mess!
 

 
 
A big thank you to Rob at this point for your help in this huge rearrange of the workshop.. Thanks mate 
 
Lathe, be gone...
 

 
 
As luck would have it the wooden bench and the steel framed bench were both near enough the same length, which made swapping them around easy
 

 
 
This bench and I have a long history, I remember collecting it as a bare frame from a friend's yard on a trailer behind my old WH 312-8.. A pleasant 15mins drive across (well around) fields...
The holes on the right are where I had a 9 inch cutter mounted, all the sparks, dust etc would shoot down the hole, through a funnel thingy made from old computer cases into a collection box..
 

 
 
The said funnel thingy..
 

 
 
Off comes the top, two MDF boards bolted through the frame skinned with stainless which was stuck down with "No more nails" back in the day when it first came out and was dirt cheap!
 

 
 
The bare frame..
 

 
 
And the mess the rest of the workshop is now in
 

 
 
Leg extensions as modeled by Rob..... The bench that is not Rob
 

 
 
A test fit of the catch tray and a bit of a measure..
 

 
 
HHmmm... The results of the measuring..
 

 
 
You might say the bolt hole don't quite line up a lot!
 

 

 
 
The easy way would be to grind the flat plate down so the lathe legs would sit level on the tray, but I'm a bit worried about removing strength from the tray at a stress (bolting down) point..
The other way is to make a couple of rather big shims/plates that would bring the tray base level with the flat bit and bolt the lathe down through that..
It's something to think over..
 
By that point yesterday I was quite tired so I did a little gentle cleaning instead.. It's nice to see what colour the paint is and some shiny bits
 

 

 
 

Time to bring this lathe thread back from the dead.... Yes it really has taken me this long to get on with it!!
 
 
It's not turned into anything for a long time Norm!
 
 
 
Thanks mate, you know me... If it's there, use it
 
 
 
Hi Alan, I was thinking about using your kitchen chair belt tension-er idea, but where the lathe is positioned the chair would be sticking through the wall  
 
 
Soooo... Fast forward almost 16 months with this lathe project and this is where were at
 

 
 
The poor Southbend lathe hasn't moved, it just got buried!
 

 
 
The idea is I dig this steel framed bench out from it's hiding place and use this as the basis on the new lathe bench..  To use the new-ish bigger electric motor I need something strong to mount it on.... I just don't trust the workshop walls!!
 

 
 
Speaking of electric motors, here's the old one on the left next to the new one.. You can see the sort of weight I need to safely position now!
Interestingly the new motor is a 1/4 of a hp less than the old one, but it has a huge amount of torque
 

 
 
Looks like a re-wire is needed too... Something has leaked onto the cable while it's been stored under a bench and has turned the plastic into a sticky stretchy mess!
 

 
 
A big thank you to Rob at this point for your help in this huge rearrange of the workshop.. Thanks mate 
 
Lathe, be gone...
 

 
 
As luck would have it the wooden bench and the steel framed bench were both near enough the same length, which made swapping them around easy
 

 
 
This bench and I have a long history, I remember collecting it as a bare frame from a friend's yard on a trailer behind my old WH 312-8.. A pleasant 15mins drive across (well around) fields...
The holes on the right are where I had a 9 inch cutter mounted, all the sparks, dust etc would shoot down the hole, through a funnel thingy made from old computer cases into a collection box..
 

 
 
The said funnel thingy..
 

 
 
Off comes the top, two MDF boards bolted through the frame skinned with stainless which was stuck down with "No more nails" back in the day when it first came out and was dirt cheap!
 

 
 
The bare frame..
 

 
 
And the mess the rest of the workshop is now in
 

 
 
Leg extensions as modeled by Rob..... The bench that is not Rob
 

 
 
A test fit of the catch tray and a bit of a measure..
 

 
 
HHmmm... The results of the measuring..
 

 
 
You might say the bolt hole don't quite line up a lot!
 

 

 
 
The easy way would be to grind the flat plate down so the lathe legs would sit level on the tray, but I'm a bit worried about removing strength from the tray at a stress (bolting down) point..
The other way is to make a couple of rather big shims/plates that would bring the tray base level with the flat bit and bolt the lathe down through that..
It's something to think over..
 
By that point yesterday I was quite tired so I did a little gentle cleaning instead.. It's nice to see what colour the paint is and some shiny bits
 

 

 
 

I had a very similar TW Monoturn years ago which friend John and I found to be fairly accurate given its age.   Bought as part of a job lot of machinery and tools by my old place of work.  They didn't want it so it ended up in John's garage. Came with a large and heavy 1hp motor which we just clamped to an old kitchen chair and moved to tension the drive belt.  A temporary arrangement that stayed temporary as things often do.
 
Had quite a bit of use before being loaned to another friend who moved house and we lost touch with.  Never did track him down. 

good upcycling as always!

That's turned out quite well.

No by me, must of been someone else

Was it built in Hawkhurst 

I was offered this the other day and could not resist it. I think it may be a Rupp or Fox mini bike from USA but not sure. Does anyone have any ideas? Engine is a 3 speed BSA 125cc so it should be quick.

I looked at one of those a few weeks ago and decided it was too big to go behind a wheelhorse

As Jonathan, (expeatfarmer) was not going to be able to attend the HVC ploughing match this year, he kindly offer one of his crawlers and a plough, to anyone who wanted to enter. I kindly accepted his offer and volunteered my mate Dunc. Never having driven a Ransome before, though many other agricultural machines, we met at Jonathans last Monday so Dunc could have a drive and see the plough he would use.
 

 

  MG5 imported from the south of France along with the three furrow plough hanging on the back. You'll notice, now I've told you, the plough at the rear is off set by about 2". Why?, you ask. Haven't a clue.
 
 We collected tractor and plough today and took it to Dunc's for a bit of practice. Neither of us having any idea of setting things up. The afternoon was spent freeing things up and with much debate, a couple of trial runs. More will be done tomorrow or Saturday, depending on the weather.
 
 Below are some shots of the plough.

 

 

 

 

My new neighbours next door are very friendly and me being my normal helpful person that i am i offered to tidy up their drive free of charge.
they were very pleased

Had a play today. Rigged up a bit of pipe work.
 

 
  Worked quite well. Fired a rag out of the end. Took it onto the green which I'd given a topping yesterday. Didn't half shift the grass. Even the big lumps and the strips of the tractor wheels. 
  When I had it running in the yard, it moved under it's own power. Jet propelled.
 
 
 

Looking at the outlet pipe you could wear baggy trousers and collect the grass, don't forget to tuck the bottom of the legs in your socks