# machine info needed



## emart (Mar 16, 2011)

today I bought a montgomery ward 2025A lathe and would like to know if anyone has information on this machine. after a few googles searches I havent really found ny info on this machine and owmm.com didnt have much either. i bought it because it has a variable speed which goes down to 800 rpms and figured it might work for turning bowls.


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## Wildwood (Jul 22, 2012)

Not sure if info here will help or not
http://vintagemachinery.org/MfgIndex/detail.aspx?id=657


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

edit; nm, that was for MW/Logan, I'm pretty sure yours is a Powr-Kraft.

14"? Variable speed. What are the other specs?


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

800 rpm's gonna be pretty fast for some bowls unless they're kinda small.
Just be careful.
Bill


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## emart (Mar 16, 2011)

the model is THS 2025A serial number 6517 I am not sure of the hp rating yet i will update this when i start digging into my machine more


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## emart (Mar 16, 2011)

I might look into modifying this machine so I can get it slow enough to do bowls. I'd prefer to just have a better machine but money is pretty tight right now


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

@9.5A it's almost certainly 1/2HP, as are pretty much all older department store lathes. You don't see many with variable speed though. Does the headstock have threads to accept chucks?


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## emart (Mar 16, 2011)

the head stock is threaded and i plan on taking one of the fittings off it so I can find one that work work with this lathe.

after playing with some scrap lumber it seems to be working ok but it is definitely wimpy I think I will use it for smaller decorative items until I can buy a better machine

one problem I ran into today was the switch was stuck in the off position so after opening the machine i realized the safety mechanism was being held open with a block of wood. I will probably just disable the safety mechanism altogether since i doubt i will find the key for it


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

If you're lucky the threads will be 1"x8 (most common) or 3/4"x16 (2nd most common). 1/2HP is on the lean side but should be plenty for basic spindles. The lack of power could be a slipping belt or part of the variable speed system. Is the speed control a Reeves drive?


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## emart (Mar 16, 2011)

It has just a set of standard segmented drive pulleys on it and the belt does look a bit worn so i may do some digging into finding a new belt.

I have also decided that i will relegate this machine to small spindles as I have come into contact with someone that has an old rockwell machine which should probably work better since i could easy upgrade it if i want more power or change the pulleys if i want lower rpms and more torque


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

What information are you looking for? If you can find someone with a tachometer, you can check out the speed range and you can measure the spindle thread with a caliper. I have a Craftsman lathe and the dial goes from 500 to 2000 but the tach shows it goes from 307 to 1556.

You can turn start bowls at 800 if they are reasonably balanced in the rough. Band sawing the blank round helps.
Stay close to the switch when you turn them on and have the tail stock cranked in real tight.

good luck!...............Jim


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