608 Lathe High-definition 608 Photographs 608 and 8" Precision Accessories 608 Stands
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The
Rivett 608 was available on a wide variety of stands, each designed
to compliment the particular task for which the lathe had been
selected. Nearly every unit was available in several forms - with
cast iron or sheet-steel legs, with a combined two-speed motor and
clutch drive, with rear-drive, under-drive and overhead-drive
flat-belt countershafts and even with different speeds ranges
according to the type of collet fitting selected for the headstock.
Usually twelve speeds were specified, but occasionally a unit is
found where 24 can be selected and, very occasionally, special units
with variable-speed drive systems installed. The "Steel Cabinet",
illustrated immediately below, was probably the most useful and
functional stand it was possible to buy, but unfortunately is rare,
being introduced relatively late in the machine's life.
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The steel
"Knee-hole Cabinet" underdrive stand was the most modern looking to grace
a Rivett 608. The motor countershaft unit, which ran entirely on ball
bearings, was contained within the base on its own adjustable mounting
plate. When fitted to this stand the headstock spindle was driven by a
double V belt from a two-speed motor; a total of twelve speeds were
available: 45, 60, 85, 100, 140, 195, 300, 405, 565, 680, 935 and 1290
rpm. Machines fitted with English 50 Hz 1425 rpm motors would have run as
much as 25% slower - unless given a more powerful motor and
correspondingly larger drive pulley.
from 45 to 1300 rpm. Like many
examples of the 608 mounted on a maker's stand, the lathe feet doubled as
jacking pads which allowed tension of the flat belt to be adjusted over a
small range.
"Oak
Cabinet with Horizontal Safety Drive." This was a
substantially-constructed stand, built from quartered wood with a 5-ply
laminated top of 57" long and 24" wide and fitted out on the
inside for the storage of accessories and collets. Fitted with a
single-speed, 1700 rpm motor, twelve spindle speeds were available. To
reverse the direction of rotation the motor could be left running and a
"crossed-belt" mechanism operated.
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A
stand similar in size and construction to the Oak Cabinet above, but
fitted with the "Speed Box" drive. This consisted of a beautifully
built two-speed gearbox held within the cabinet and driven by a
single V belt from a motor carried on a hinged plate behind
it. The gearbox contained upper and lower shafts, each carrying
pairs of helical-cut gears, of different ratio and arranged so that
the two shafts were connected by the gears in constant mesh.
Either pair of gears could be selected through a two-way, multiple
steel-disc clutch operated by a hand lever moving through a lateral
quadrant (marked Rivett in the picture). The unit incorporated an
automatic brake, activated when the lever was moved to its
spring-loaded central position. The gearbox, in which all moving
parts were dynamically balanced, was fitted with heat-treated alloy
steel shafts running on roller bearings. |
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The "Oil
Pan Mounting" stand with a "Speed Box" drive. This unit was a very sturdy
affair, intended for heavier work in an industrial
location.
The "Speed
Box Motor Drive on Unit Bench with Auxiliary Drive" was an alternative
mounting for the two-speed gearbox unit and designed to provide greater
bench space when the lathe was used for tool making and experimental
machining in a laboratory or toolroom setting. The 72" x 26" x
21/4" top was made of maple, shellacked and
waxed. The cast-iron legs, braced with steel ties were finished in
machine-tool grey.
Mounted at the back of the lathe was a 1/4 hp 1750
rpm motor which drove the overhead countershaft - this was designed to
power slide-rest mounted grinding and traverse-milling attachments and was
able to provide speeds of 6000, 8000 and 10,000 rpm.
Various other combinations
of motor drive were offered with this stand, including the Horizontal
Safety Drive and the rear-mounted Motor Jackshaft Assembly ,with final
drive to the headstock by V belt.
608 Lathe High-definition 608 Photographs 608 and 8" Precision Accessories 608 Stands
Rivett Home Page Rivett Watchmakers' Lathes Rivett Factory