Levin 3.94" swing x 9.5" between centres Heavy-Duty Instrument Lathe - shown without the standard motor-drive unit
The machine was available under Code ACAF to take D Type collets with a maximum capacity of 5.16", or as Code ABMX to accept WW collets with a largest bore size of 3/16".
Standard equipment consisted of:
Rack-feed tailstock barrel with micrometer stop, 2 hard centres mounted on collets, tip-over hand rest, chip tray, bench, variable-speed motor drive and controls.

Levin Watchmaker's lathe of 3.94" swing and 3.5" between centres. This particular machine has a ball-bearing headstock and is fitted with a lever-action tailstock barrel.
Besides the ball-bearing headstock, the lathe was available with a choice of two different kinds of plain bearing. Either WW and D type collet fittings could be specified and the lathe bed was mounted on either single or twin supports, depending upon its length.

Levin 3.94" swing x 9.5" between centres Heavy-Duty Instrument Lathe with Turret Head and lever-operated Double-tool Slide shown mounted on the maker's underdrive stand with variable-speed motor, coolant unit and electrical control box.
The machine was available under Code ACAF to take D Type collets with a maximum capacity of 5.16", or as Code ABMX to accept WW collets with a largest bore size of 3/16".
Standard equipment consisted of:
Rack-feed tailstock barrel with micrometer stop, 2 hard centres mounted on collets, tip-over hand rest, chip tray, under-drive bench, variable-speed motor drive and control gear.

Instrument Makers' Lathe
Beautifully made and finished the Levin Instrument Makers' lathe was available in numerous configurations backed by ranges of accessories designed to support various specialist operations. The machine was large and rugged enough to tackle both continuous production work, and the heavier classes of instrument turning, yet still retain the fine sensitivity necessary for ultra-precise machining done by hand and eye.
Drive was by a single, overhung V-pulley on the left-hand end of the hardened headstock spindle with provision to take the drive downwards to a motor slung underneath the bench - the special Levin stand illustrated below shows how the units fit together. The motor was a continuously variable-speed type, fitted with dynamic braking, and able to run at a maximum speed of 4000 rpm. Normal starting and stopping of the motor was controlled by a foot switch, with the speed of the motor controlled by a large rotating knob on the face of the electrical box - which also had switches mounted for reverse and a coolant pump. The standard motor was a 110 volt, 60 cycle 1-phase type.
If one of these lathes is found without the drive system it is a simple matter to rig up either a conventional rear-mounted belt-change countershaft, or employ a heavy-duty motor and its control gear from something like a scrap industrial sewing machine.

Levin Heavy-duty Instrument Lathe Code ACAF with the lever-feed slide rest Code ABLX

Levin Heavy-duty Instrument Lathe Code ACAF with the screw-feed slide rest ABLW

Levin Heavy-duty Instrument Lathe Code ACAF (D collets) or ABMX (WW collets)

The headstocks fitted to the Instrument maker's lathes were fully enclosed and fitted with precision ball bearings installed in a pre-loaded condition. The spindle was made from hardened steel and could be specified to take either WW collets, or the larger D type - with either a simple draw-in or Lever-action Collet Closer.
The single V belt from the underdrive motor could be replaced without dismantling the spindle - a great cost saving when the machine is in continuous, professional use.
Headstock fittings include Indexing Plates (Code ILSP) and the indexing plate latch (Code ILCO). The indexing plates mount on a central hub, retained by three screws; only one hub is required to mount any of the division plates, which are made to order; the lathe below is shown fitted with a plate having four divisions.
In the case of the open headstock lathes, ready-made plates can be found with the following divisions: 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 82, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, 94, 96, 98 and 100.

Standard Instrument Maker's Headstock with end cover removed

Open Headstock Lathe
Indexing Plate (set Code ILSP) and the spring-loaded indexing latch (Code ILCO).

Indexing Plate (Code ACAD) mounted on its retaining hub (Code ACAA) and the spring-loaded indexing latch (Code ACAB).

Lever Action Collet Closer - Code ACAO for D Type collets, and Code ACAN for WW Ttype lathes

Levin plain cone-bearing "Watchmaker's" lathe
Cone-bearing watchmakers' lathe with 12-inch bed and "push" tailstock barrel.
Code BPCT with WW collets, bronze bearings and push tailstock barrel. Code BLFT with lever tailstock.
Code HPCT with WW collets, Hard-steel bearings and push tailstock barrel. Code HLFT with lever tailstock.
Code ABHM with D collets, Hard-steel bearings and push tailstock barrel. Code ABHN with lever tailstock.
This model was constructed with the long familiar and traditional D shaped bed; the swing was 3.94" and distance between centres either 3.5" with the 12-inch long bed, or 9.5" with the 18-inch bed. The bed was identical in cross section and centre height to other Levin lathes - and so allowed for the economical interchangeability of accessories between them.
Both ball and plain-bearing headstock spindles were available, the latter type with either bronze or hard-steel bearings. The most expensive lathes were fitted with a ball-bearing headstock spindle, the cheapest with bronze cone bearings - the difference in price across the range being some 40%. Whilst the ball-race and hard-steel headstocks could be ordered with either D or WW type collets, the bronze bearing model was restricted to the latter type only.
Tailstocks were offered with either a simple "push" tailstock barrel or one controlled by a lever-operated rack and pinion.
In standard form a conventional tip-up tool rest was the sole fitting on the bed, but a very wide range of superbly made accessories was available, which could turn the lathe into a miniature machining centre.

Heavy-type plain cone-bearing headstock lathe with 18-inch bed and lever-action tailstock barrel.
Code ABEM with WW collets, bronze bearings and push tailstock barrel. Code ABEN with lever tailstock.
Code ABER with WW collets, Hard-steel bearings and push tailstock barrel. Code ABES with lever tailstock.
Code ABHR with D collets, Hard-steel bearings and push tailstock barrel. Code ABHS with lever tailstock.

Levin Stands
The bench (illustrated above) was part of the standard equipment supplied with the Instrument Maker's Lathe - but the Watchmaker's lathes, with open headstocks, can also be mounted on it by using an "AB Type" self-contained motor-drive unit.
Made from 1.5-inch thick maple-wood top, 46" long and 21" wide, the top was available in three different forms to suit the various lathes and their drive systems: a plain without a cut-out; with a cut-out to accept the self-contained motor-drive and with fittings to mount the lathe with a motor-drive unit and chip tray; the 2-drawer fitting was an optional extra.
Self-contained, the motor-drive and countershaft unit with its underslung, resilient-mounted, 1-phase 0.5 HP motor was designed to run a lathe through the most useful and appropriate range of speeds - 350, 600, 950 and 1500 rpm - yet be quickly adaptable by changing pulleys if a faster or slower range was judged more appropriate. A double pulley was available for the motor spindle and countershaft, which generated speeds of: 350, 600, 950, 1200, 1500, 1900 and 3000 rpm. The unit was supplied in two lengths to suit the 12" or 18" bed lathes and included both foot starting and reversing switches.

Cast-iron Chip Tray (Code ABJD) designed for the 18-inch bed lathe only. The tray was cast with integral raiser blocks, so requiring the removal of the lathes standard bench feet. Connections and a drain for use with a coolant pump were built in.

Turret lathe fitted on the cast-iron chip tray and maker's bench with the Coolant system Code ABJE.
Note that the lathe bed's standard (round) bench feet have been removed.

Above: the basic Countershaft unit was supplied in two lengths to suit the 12" or 18" bed lathes. Extra pulleys, as well as clamp-on Idler Pulleys (shown below) could be mounted on the shaft to drive accessories such as the grinding head and milling slide.

Powered accessories, no matter how awkwardly aligned they are with the lathe bed, can be driven by looping their drive rope around the adjustable Idler Pulley Attachment.

Ball Bearing Spindle lathes
The Levin "Watchmakers" lathe was constructed with the long familiar and traditional "D" shaped bed; the swing was 3.94" and distance between centres either 3.5" - with the 12-inch long bed - or 9.5" with an 18-inch bed. The bed was identical in cross section and centre height to other Levin lathes - and so allowed for the economical interchangeability of accessories between them.
Both ball and cone-type plain-bearing headstock spindles were available, the latter with either bronze or hard-steel bearings. The most expensive lathes were fitted with a ball-bearing headstock spindle, the cheapest with bronze-cone bearings - the difference in price across the range being some 40%. Whilst the ball-race and hard-steel headstocks could be ordered with either D or WW type collets, the bronze bearing model was restricted to the WW collets only.
Tailstocks were offered with either a simple "push" barrel or one controlled by a lever-operated rack and pinion.
In standard form a conventional tip-up tool rest was the sole fitting on the bed, but a very wide range of superbly made accessories was available to turn the lathe into a miniature machining centre.

Levin Ball-bearing headstock "Watchmaker's" 18-inch bed lathe with "push" tailstock barrel.
Code ABEO with WW collets, 18" bed and "push" tailstock barrel
Code ABIE with D collets, 18" bed and "push" tailstock barrel
Code ABEP with WW collets, 18" bed and lever-action tailstock barrel
Code ABEQ with D collets, 18" bed and lever-action tailstock barrel

Levin Ball-bearing headstock "Watchmaker's" 12-inch bed lathe with lever-action tailstock barrel.
Code ABBQ with WW collets, 12" bed and "push" tailstock barrel
Code ABID with D collets, 12" bed and "push" tailstock barrel
Code ABBR with WW collets, 12" bed and lever-action tailstock barrel
Code ABBT with D collets, 12" bed and lever-action

Tailstock with "Push" barrel

Levin Turret lathe Code ABHE (WW Collet) & ABHF (D collet) with 18" bed, ball-bearing headstock spindle, double-tool rest cross slide, 6-position turret and lever-action collet closer.
Turret lathes
All types of Levin lathe can be converted into miniature production machines, for second operation work and the manufacture of instrument parts, by the addition of a bed-mounted turret unit, double tool side (sometimes called a cut-off slide) and a lever-operated collet closer.
The cross slide has a swivelling slide at the end nearer the operator and a tool block at the rear. Adjustable stops are fitted to each slide, allowing accurate repetitive movements.
The turret head, with six half-inch diameter holes, is self indexing and runs on hardened steel ways, so guaranteeing long life and sustained accuracy. When new (as on all accessories of this type) the rotating head was supplied with undersized holes to allow final boring out by the lathe on which it was to be used. Transferring a turret from another machine may mean buying a new rotating head assembly and boring it out - if perfect accuracy is required
In catalog form the turret lathe was offered with a headstock spindle running in either ball-bearings (Code ABHE for WW collets and Code ABHF for D collets) or with a hard-steel cone bearing (Code ABIL) which, in the case of the Turret lathe, took WW collets only.

Using the lever-operated toolslide.
Levers provide a wonderfully delicate direct "feel", - which is especially useful when delicate components are being machined.
Used in conjunction cross-feed stops, and with six tools mounted in the self-indexing head, small-batch production of intricate and critically dimensioned components can be achieved by even unskilled operators.

Splash guard Code ABKI (lathe) and ABKJ (milling or grinding attachment) to fit over the spindle nose and prevent coolant spraying on the operator.

Accessories
Accessories are the key to making the very best use of a precision lathe. If the basic machine tool is well-built and accurate enough to form a solid foundation, then numerous useful guides, formers, cutters, grinders, drills and milling attachments can be mounted on it and will perform as well (is not as conveniently) as stand-alone machines.
The accessories listed by the makers of high-class machine tools do seem to vary as the years go by, items frequently being dropped from the catalogs as demand slackens or alternatives become available. Batches of special or modified items were frequently manufactured for specialist use, and these were sometimes never listed or illustrated in the firm's sales lists; if you find an "unusual" unit, this might explain its origin.
So sort-after are certain accessories - the milling and grinding heads in particular - that on the rare occasions when they become available on the open market prices are correspondingly high. One way of negating this is to build up a stock of accessories that you can offer in part exchange; the owners of fine-quality machine tools tend to keep them for many years and, if you have something to tempt a seller with other than cash, that can be the deciding factor in your favour.

Milling Attachment (Code MAOO) carries a swivelling spindle (with a travel of 2.5", running in pre-loaded, lubricated-for-life, precision ball races) designed to take WW sized collets. The swivel is graduated in degrees, the feed screw is hardened and ground and a friction-type zeroing micrometer dial, calibrated in 0.001".

Lever-feed conversion unit
Code ABLZ for the lower slide and Code ABLY for the upper

Screw-feed conversion unit
Code ABMB for the lower slide and Code ABMA for the upper

Triple-feed Standard Type slide rest with a combination of lever and screw feeds Code SRLF

Double Tool Cross Slide for use on the turret lathe in second-operation, production work, parting off and form work.
The swivelling top slide is rack-and-pinion operated and the back of the slide carries a rigid toolholder specially designed to carry inverted tools for parting off and forming - or for any other occasion where it is better to resolve the cutting forces down into the lathe bed rather than upwards into the headstock bearings. Both slides are fitted with adjustable stops. The base of the slide carries an adjustable guide which allows it to fit all Levin and other types of WW lathes.

The Grinding Spindle (Code ABDF) can be mounted in several ways and used for both grinding and drilling operations. The precision ball-bearing spindle carries WW collets.

Grinding Head in use driven through the Adjustable Idler Pulley Attachment

An Indexing Unit, Milling Slide and adjustable Idler Pulley Attachment being used to machine a clock gear wheel.

Graver Sharpening Set.
A necessary part of successful hand-graver work (turning by holding the cutting tool in the hand) depends upon being able to keep the tool sharp. The Sharpening Set was available as a boxed kit, or as separate components, and designed to make this task as easy as possible.
Levin Gravers, made from high-speed steel, 1/16" square and 2.5" long can be gripped in the special "pin chuck" and are useful for any kind of hand-turning work.

Diamond Laps
To sharpen very small drills and other miniature tools, which require a very smooth edge, a lap used with diamond compound is indispensable.
For most sharpening jobs a cast-iron lap is ideal but for polishing a boxwood lap is also available. The heads are 1 13/16" diameter and are supplied on either a WW or D collet - or plain for fitting to a grinding wheel arbor.

The Pivot Polisher and Grinder unit (Code TGOO) is mounted on a slide identical to that of the standard compound rest.
The swivelling head is graduated in degrees and can be instantly locked by an eccentric. For very fine adjustment of the polishing lap, the head of the unit is provided with two thumb screws which allow the spindle to be moved through a limited arc; this adjustment is particularly useful when polishing or grinding the square shoulders of pivots.
The spindle shaft and its bearings are made from hardened steel, carefully lapped to a precision fit for very high-speed use. The end of the spindle carries 4 degree taper, into which the end fittings are drawn by a through bolt.
The unit can also be used for light grinding and a special grinding wheel mount (Code ABAE, illustrated below) is available which fits the spindle end. For heavier grinding jobs the proper attachment (Code ABDF) should be used.
Various accessories are available for the Pivot Polisher - a lap truing arbor, lap reamer and various kinds of laps - which are illustrated below.

Pivot Polisher & Light Grinder unit mounted on the lathe with a drive via the Adjustable Idler Pulley.

Accessories for the Pivot Polisher - a lap truing arbor and a lap reamer. The arbor is made of tool steel, hardened and ground. The steel, brass and boxwood laps can be either straight-sided or with included angles of 12 or 24 degrees.

Diamond-tipped Grinding Wheel Truing Unit (Code ABJO). This fits any WW type lathe and can be used to true grinding wheels mounted in the headstock or any of the attachments.