Full restoration of a 1943 Logan Lathe (Model 200)
February 2021
Full write-up below the pictures.
Before:
After:
Why?
My grandfather was something of a machinist so I've always been interested in machinery and things of that nature. At some point, I decided I wanted a lathe, so I started to look around for one. The new ones were too expensive so I decided to buy an old cheap one and restore it. After a bit of research, I decided on the Logan Lathe Model 200 because I liked the way it looked.
Brief summary of the restoration:
This ended up being quite a labor intensive restoration. I began by taking the entire lathe apart, then sandblasting every single individual component to prepare for painting. If any parts were broken and not able to be repaired, I bought replacements. For the color, I wanted to restore the lathe to whatever color it was when it rolled off the assembly line. In this case, that meant painting it a dark blue-grey, for which I was able to find a very close substitute in Benjamin Moore's "Baby Seal Black". After a couple weeks of painting, everything was ready for reassembly.
For me, reassembly is usually the hardest part of a restoration. No matter how many pictures I take, it's never enough, and I end up having to figure out via trial and error how things go back together. Eventually, after several weeks of hard work, I had this:
Tailstock
Tool post
Headstock
Gearbox
Spindle w/ chuck
How much?
Initial purchase price: $1,000
Parts: $1,303.36 (spreadsheet of parts + costs here)
Grand total: $2,303.36
How long?
Bought: 10/27/20
Sold: 2/28/21
Total time: 125 days (.342 years)
Where is it now?
After finishing the restoration, I listed it on Facebook Marketplace and a gentleman from east Arkansas ended up buying it for his hobby machine shop. I believe he paid $2,972, which was honestly a steal.
Final thoughts:
I am really proud of this restoration. I was able to source all the parts I needed, the color ("Baby Seal Black") turned out really nice, and after I was finished, the lathe ran as good or better than it did coming off the assembly line. Definitely one of my favorite projects.
Helpful resources:
ebay.com; Used to buy OEM replacement parts if a part was broken or not repairable
lathe.com; The website of Logan Actuator Co., a great resource for new Logan Lathe parts
littlemachineshop.com; Good website for lathe accessories
vintagemachinery.org; Tons of reproduction manuals for old machinery products
