Restored J.H. Rosberg Mfg Co Watchmakers Bench Before and After

Oh, wow! Absolutely amazing job on the refinish / restore! Thanks for the color mention of Red Chestnut. I’ll consider it in my work for a reddish tint that I’ve been pining after because this example looks great!

-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. -- OldTools Archive

That looks like a nice piece of machinery and furniture. Have you slapped a new belt on it to try the lathe?

Great job

-- Clay - I love free tools

Great recovery! I love seeing old tools and furniture come back to life!

-- "Man's ingenuity has outrun his intelligence" (Joseph Wood Krutch)

Most impressive. Are dabbling with watch making and or repair?

-- Superdav "No matter where you go - there you are." http://chiselandforge.com

I love seeing old stuff like that given new life. Great restoration!

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Mmmm… Stella.

-- "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do... Explore, Dream, Discover” Mark Twain

I LOVE what you did with the little baby lathe. Does it want to be a JET when it grows up?

David – Mmmm Stella, Mmmm Weekend, Mmmm sun is shining in Ireland. Eeeeeeyow.

-- A family man has photos in his wallet where his money used to be.

Usually when I hear (or read) about an old piece of furniture being stripped I cringe just a little bit thinking of the lost value by not keeping the original finish…..in your case it was a slam dunk decision to strip it (love the ‘alien spit’ reference) and refinish it. The end product is probably in better condition that when originally made! You’ve given this old bench many decades of new life again! Congrats!

-- I don't know what this is going to be like, but there's only one way to find out..........

Very Nice !!!

-- Pat - Worker of Wood, Collector of Tools, Father of one

awesome!

Dave,
Nice job on the bench, I once did a similar restoration. Only I didn’t have the good sense to take the before pictures.
I looked in my books for a Hopkins lathe, the only mention I could find was a Hopkins model made by Waltham Watch Tool Co. but no photos. If this is the case, then you have a nice lathe worth restoring properly. You did a great job of cleaning the exterior but the headstock needs to be disassembled and cleaned before you run it too much. The Modern Watchmakers Lathe And How To Use It by Archie Perkins is a good reference that covers maintenance and repairs as well how to use the accessories. I’m not sure if it is still in print, perhaps an inter library loan would be a good way to examine the book before you part with any cash.
Next, while you did a great job on that motor I think you will find they are awful on these lathes. You have two speeds, off and too fast, they have little torque at low speeds, not to mention they are really loud. I never understood how noisy they were until I used a lathe set up with a treadle. Unfortunately, lathe treadles are hard to find, expensive, and even worse you would have to modify your beautiful bench. Not very practical. A Sherline lathe motor (they sell them separately) is great solution, quiet and excellent torque at all speeds. This is how I have my watchmaker’s lathes set up.
Finally, (yes there is an end to this) most likely you have an 8mm lathe. This is good news as it will make finding additional collets much easier.
Troy

-- Troy in Melrose, Florida

What do you use the lathes for?

In answer to a couple question/commentss;

Q1. Have I spun the lathe up with a belt ? Yep (runs true and smooth)/ but it’s still a work in progress

Q2. Am I dabbling in watch/clock repair ? Just started exploring them ~ I’m a hobby gizmo guy and find the inner workings of windup timepieces are interesting, and the building/repair seems like (another) great hobby

Q3. What do you use the lathes for? well these are watchmaker (Jewelers) lathe and the purpose is to turn and machine very small precision pieces used in a variety of applications; clocks, watches, compasses, phonograph needles, hypodermic needles, etc… Think very small parts.

http://www.lathes.co.uk/watchmaker/

Thanks for the comments and advice… I enjoy restoring old tools and gizmos ~ some I keep others I sell to maintain this as a self funding hobby. As for the lathes I’ve 3 keepers (4mm, 6mm and 8mm with tooling).

Future project is to machine machining some vintage looking lathe pulley with brass and wood. We’ll see

Excellent job on the restore – very beautiful and interesting piece.