Heivil & "Etsco" Lathes


	email: t ony@lathes.co.uk Home Machine Tool Archive Machine-tools Sal e & Wanted Machine Tool Manuals Catalogues Belts Books Accessories Heivil & "Etsco" Lathes Should any reader have handbooks, parts lists, sales literature or other details of Heivel and "Etsco" plain and screwcutting lathes the writer would be pleased to hear from you


	Heivil lathes were marketed at one time in the UK under the brand name "Etsco". During the 1930s, and possibly during the next decade as well, Percy Martin of Leicester offered both a plain-turning precision bench lathe for toolroom use and a much larger screwcutting version, the up-to-date 10-inch "High Precision Heavy Duty Tool Room Lathe" - a lathe was was available in between centres' capacities of 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 inches. A choice was offered of either a cone-pulley drive by flat belt (Model CPD) or as one of two types of all-geared head with either a 3.375-inch wide single-pulley for drive at 435 r.p.m. by a remote motor (Model SPD) or with a ready-mounted, flange-fitting 3 h.p. 1420 r.p.m. motor (Model FMD). Of conventional layout and construction the CPD/SPD had a 14.5-inch wide bed with separate V and flat ways for tailstock and 23-inch long saddle with the latter guided by a front V-way with a steep thrust angle on the inside and a wide, shallow-set, slow-wearing surface on the outside. To accommodate its 16-inch deep and 13-inch wide gap, the bed at the headstock end was enormously deep - but cantilevered to something approaching half the depth towards the tailstock. Full-depth diagonal cross bracing ribs were used to stiffen the walls and reduce vibration. Using a particularly heavy casting, the geared headstock was held down by 6 bolts with its ground-finish, high-tensile steel 1.5-inch bore spindle running in adjustable, parallel-bore, tapered-outside bronze bearings of considerable length - but only 3-inch diameter. Axial thrust was absorbed against a ball race. A "semi-helical" gear immediately behind the front bearing was used to drive the spindle and all gears were either of high-tensile or hardened chrome-nickel steel and ran in a simple splash oil bath. 9 spindle speeds of 17 to 370 r.p.m. were provided and changed by a 3-position lever working through a quadrant on the front face of the headstock together with an unusual, vertically disposed handwheel connected to a transverse shaft running across the top of the headstock. A clutch was fitted as standard and operated by a long rod running the length of the bed and carried in supports that placed it safely within the reach of the operator no matter where he stood - and safely above the top of the largest chuck. Continued below:

Above, a Heivil fitted with a very large faceplate-cum-4-jaw chuck. Note the exposed gear at the headstock-end of the leadscrew and unusual spindle-speed selector handwheel on the headstock
Continued:
Employing a conventional backgeared headstock, the flat-belt drive models had a 1.5-inch bore spindle running in adjustable, parallel-bore, tapered-outside bronze bearings. A 4-step cone pulley was fitted to take 3-inch wide belt which, if driven from a 3 h.p. motor and the maker's 180 r.p.m countershaft gave 8 rather slow speeds (including backgear) of 10 to 392 r.p.m.
Built into the inside of the headstock, the leadscrew and powershaft reversing gears drove a conventional Norton-pattern quick-change screwcutting and feeds gearbox able to generate 36 English threads from 2 to 30 t.p.i. and 36 sliding and surfacing feeds from 0.08 to 1.22 mm. With one change of drive gear 21 metric threads could be obtained from 0.4 to 7mm pitch. The leadscrew was used only for screwcutting and engaged by a large sliding gear (unfortunately exposed when not in use) at its headstock end. The leadscrew gear meshed with one on the powershaft that drove the sliding and surfacing feeds through the usual worm-and-wheel arrangement within the apron. Surfacing and sliding feeds were selected by a push-pull knob on the face of the apron with the latter able to automatically disengaged by an adjustable collar on the shaft - a useful fitment and one omitted from far too many ordinary lathes of a similar size from the 1940s onwards. Besides the headstock-mounted gears, the carriage could also be instantly started, stopped and reversed by a third-shaft control system operated by a handle pivoting from the right-hand face of the apron and working a mechanism within a sub-box on the right-hand end of the screwcutting gearbox. Unusually, and breaking with established practice, this shaft was not below the feed shaft but forward and level with it and carried in a downward-pointing forked bracket at the tailstock end of the bed.
Entirely conventional in construction, the compound slide rest was fitted with taper-type gib strips and the usual (for the time) tiny and inadequate micrometer dials; a heavy cast-steel 4-way toolpost was fitted as standard as was a rather large, clear but ungainly-looking thread dial indicator.
Besides the items mentioned, supplied as standard with each lathe were: an oil tray, a light-duty 4-jaw independent chuck of the type then popular, a catchplate, fixed and travelling steadies, 2 hard centres, a set of 7 changewheels including a 127t metric translation wheel and 4 spanners.
Weights varied from approximately 2900 lbs for the shortest bed machine to 4150 lbs for the longest..

Well-braced bed with a front V-way having a steep thrust angle on the inside and a wide, shallow-set, slow-wearing surface on the outside


	Strong, double-wall apron with pull/push button selection of power sliding and surfacing feeds


	email: t ony@lathes.co.uk Home Machine Tool Archive Machine-tools Sal e & Wanted Machine Tool Manuals Catalogues Belts Books Accessories Heivil & "Etsco" Lathes