Raglan Info

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RAGLAN LATHES
Raglan Little John and 5" Illustrations Raglan Capstan Mk 2 Illustrations Raglan Capstan Mk 2 Illustrations

Email: tony@lathes.co.uk

Copies of the Little John Mk1/2 and the Raglan "Five-Inch" Operator’s Handbooks
and Special Screwcutting Charts are available - together with a variety of interesting publicity material.
New Variable-speed drive belts in stock.
Email tony@lathes.co.uk for details
or phone: 01298 -871633

The Raglan Engineering Company company was founded by Mr. Watkins in 1942 in premises at the top of Raglan Street, St. Anne's, Nottingham. The company moved first to a disused chapel at the bottom of the street then, just before the introduction of the "Five Inch" lathe, to Raleigh Street, Radford, Nottingham. The works manager at one time was Sam Tracey, and the foreman Henry Newman.
Lathes first appeared on the market in the late 1940s and the company survived until 1971 when, having been taken over by Myfords a few years earlier, it was closed down as being uneconomic to run.
Just one model of backgeared, screwcutting lathe was manufactured which passed through three evolutionary stages; all were 5" in centre height and about 24" between centres. Three versions of a capstan lathe (one a combined capstan and centre lathe) were also made in small numbers, and a few specialist versions, for wood turning and preparing tensile-testing samples, for example, were also produced - all these machines were based on the design of the standard centre lathe.
The Raglan lathe was designed to compete at the top end of the market, and was, in its day, a seriously expensive item.
A simple, plain turning, non-backgeared 5" x 15" training lathe, the LOUGHBOROUGH, was also manufactured in some numbers and supplied widely to colleges and schools; this was supplied on an underdrive stand with an enclosed, 3-speed, flat-belt drive to the headstock. Many of the accessories from the screwcutting lathe can be used on this machine.

The "Little John"

The lathe’s most unusual feature was a mechanical, variable-speed drive unit built onto the back of the lathe headstock. One half of the expanding and contracting pulley system was mounted on the electric motor’s spindle, whilst the other end was carried on bearings beneath the headstock - with a shaft extended to hold a twin V belt pulley which drove the headstock spindle by belts passing vertically upwards through the headstock casting.
A conventional (but very robust) backgear assembly was fitted to all screwcutting models. The normal speed range was approximately 38 to 1750 rpm from a single-speed 0.5 h.p. electric motor - but a few machines appear to have been constructed with 2-speed motors and a higher top speed.
A special "High-Speed Spindle" model was also offered with a top speed of 2500 rpm; however, this lathe omitted the screwcutting facility and the power feeds were driven by V belts and "pick off gears" rather than the screwcutting gear train and power-shaft combination of the standard lathe.
The lathe bedways were hardened steel strips which can be removed, reground and replaced. Originally, the top of the lathe beds were first ground then a "dummy" bed, fitted with bed strips, was placed inverted on top and used as a "surface plate" to guide the final hand-scraping of the surface to which the bed rails would be fitted.
The earliest model had a smooth, rounded headstock and a gear-guard cover which swung open on a rear-mounted hinge. The next version (and by far the most common available second-hand) can be recognised by its flat-topped headstock with bevelled sides and a gear-guard cover which lifted off two headstock-mounted locating pegs.
All model had a headstock spindle running on taper-roller bearings and capable of passing a 1" diameter bar.
The first two models were both known as the "Little John" and could, when new, be purchased with either changewheels or a full, screwcutting gearbox. Power feeds, driven from a shaft below the leadscrew, were selected by a knob which could be slid, horizontally, into one of three positions on the apron. The leadscrew, used only for screwcutting, was engaged by sliding a gear, mounted at the headstock end, into mesh with a corresponding gear on the power-shaft below.

The RAGLAN "Five-Inch"

The final production model was called the "Raglan 5 inch" - a rather prosaic title for what was, undoubtedly, the Raglan company’s finest-ever product. The headstock and bed, even though they looked rather different, were in fact dimensionally identical to the earlier models but major modifications had been made to the saddle, apron, compound slide and screwcutting arrangements.
A quadrant arm on the apron, moving into indented positions, selected power sliding and surfacing whilst another lever was arranged to allow an instant release of the power feeds. The apron was also fitted with an automatic power knock-off facility with an adjustable bed-stop trigger. The headstock end of the lathe was rounded off to give it a more contemporary appearance, the screwcutting gearbox was enclosed and a proper hinged guard was provided to cover the modified changewheels and banjo.
The lathe was particularly well finished (lots of filler was used on the castings whilst much preparation and care went into the painting) and many have survived in their original finish. A Raglan lathe in fine condition is an impressive sight - and should perform as well as it looks.
All Raglan "5 inch" models appear to have been supplied on cabinet stands. Although strongly constructed (they are built on two girder-section steel beams) and rather handsome, these were rather strange affairs which lacked a chip tray and had an electrical switch mounted inconveniently on their right-hand side - both these little design foibles are, of course, easily corrected.A few machines were constructed with the optional L00 spindle fitting as used on, for example, Harrison "Eleven Inch" and some "L5A" models.

Final Models

The last of the Raglan lathes were assembled under Myford’s ownership and can be recognised by the use of that company’s traditional "fully machined" and chemically-blacked nuts and bolts.
An interesting change was also made to the drive system; because the variable-speed drive pulley was mounted on the motor shaft, and needed to be an exact distance from its matching pulley under the headstock, it was necessary to use a particular make and model of electric motor. In Myford’s modification the motor was replaced by a shaft, carried on a pair of simple plumber-block bearing assemblies, with the variable-speed pulley mounted on one end. At the other end was an ordinary V pulley, driven by the motor which was now positioned lower down and fastened to the back of the stand. This freed the makers (and subsequent owners) from the restrictions of a single-make motor fitment. for it was now possible to use one of almost any shape or size - providing of course that it was of a suitable rating. This modification can be made, with great advantage, to earlier machines, especially when the original motor fails - or if a conversion is to be made from three to single-phase electrics. When considering the size of single-phase motor to use, bear in mind the relatively high transmissions losses inherent in the drive system and the fact that a slightly over-size motor will have an easier and longer life than one which has to struggle for a living. Around one horse power should be correct but, for safety’s sake, it would be unwise to go above 1.5 hp.
Interestingly, Raglan themselves offered an accessory similar to the device just described; however, they rather mysteriously called it a "Single pulley drive attachment" designed to, "fit in place of motor when electric power is not available". Perhaps they envisaged it being driven by a separate power source, a stationary engine, water wheel or windmill, perhaps?

Adaptations

An interesting conversion of the "Five-Inch" lathe was the Labomill "Combination" or "Univesal" machine which could turn, line bore, end and horizontal mill and undertake both surface and cylindrical grinding. It was manufactured by Antony H. Croucher of Holybourne, in Hampshire.

Installation

All Raglan lathes were works-tested in a "free-standing" position and when bolting them down to a bench, care has to be taken not to stress and twist the bed. To aid this, the tailstock end of the bed has only one holding-down bolt and the underside of the mounting foot is made slightly convex so that it can find its own position. To mount the lathe, bolt the headstock end down firmly onto a flat surface but only tighten the tailstock end sufficiently to position it; the half compression of a spring washer under the bolt head is a good guide as to how tight it should be.

Stopping and Starting

As far as possible, especially if you want to prolong the life of the electric motor, try to start the lathe in a low-speed position. Because it is impossible, once the lathe has stopped, to change the speed setting (the pulleys cannot be moved relative to one another unless they are turning) try to get into the habit of reducing the speed to its lowest setting before switching off.

Certains spares for Raglan lathes are available from:
Acorn Machine Tool Co. (send SAE for info. Pack) 16, Mansfield Place, North Ascot, Berks. 5SL 8ND
Phone: 01344-883-417 (please mention Tony Griffiths)

Copies of the Little John Mk1/2 and the Raglan "Five-Inch" Operator’s Handbooks
and Special Screwcutting Charts are available:
Email tony@lathes.co.uk or phone: 01298 -872874

Further Notes on the Raglan Lathe
by John Stevenson
Raglan llustrations

I started work at the Raglan factory in early 1969 and left about the end of that year. I was employed to build the aprons and screw cutting gearboxes. The company had recently been bought out by Myfords and they subsequently closed it in about 1971. The factory was on Raleigh Street, in Nottingham, and was an old three-story Victorian lace mill.
The machine shop was on the ground floor and the main fitting shop was on the first floor with the spray shop. The second floor was for the assembly of the millers and capstan lathes with the Loughborough training lathe. The stores were also situated on this floor. The top floor was in the attic area and consisted of the fettling shop where all the casting came by way of an old lift. I don't know where the main castings were done but they came in aged and part machined in as much as the main bed ways had been rough machined. They were finish machined on a large horizontal miller with a ganged cutter setup. A lot of the other operations were carried out on a couple of large lathes with box jigs set up on face plates. As I didn't work in the machine shop I cannot remark on much of the operations.
Most of the machines in the factory were very old and no investment had been made in recent years. One machine I did study as being of interest was the one that made the leadscrews. I believe that this was made at Raglans, but I am not sure. It looked to be based on an old centre lathe but was equipped with two leadscrews, one right hand, one left hand. One was geared to give the correct pitch of 8 tpi and the other was geared up to give a course pitch of 1 or 2 tpi. The leadscrew was set-up in a collet chuck and supported by the tailstock and two travelling steadies. The first cut was put on and the machine started. At the end of the travel the tool was retracted and the leadscrew gearing changed over so that the carriage returned at high speed whence the new cut was applied and the process repeated. All the operations were automatic, activated by cams and ratchets.When leadscrews came off the machine they were bent like a banana due to the stress being relieved. They were straightened by being supported on vee blocks and pressed under a arbour press. This machine made the leadscrews and the cross and top slide screws. Dummy screws were made in threes and were tapered in stages, fluted, hardened and these were used as nut taps for the cross and top slide nuts.
The bed ways were hardened and ground strips with blind tapped holes in their bases; these had studs fitted to them to bolt them onto the bed. The bed castings were finished by carefully hand-scraping the way locations using a dummy bed as a surface plate. I cannot comment on the building of the headstocks as I wasn't involved with them at all – and all I can remember is that there was a jig used for setting the thrust bearings on the variable speed drive. The saddle and apron assembly was straight forward and all the bearing faces were scraped in as matching pairs. The degree markings were rolled onto the side of the topslide with a hardened circular die embossed with degree marks; the tailstock barrel was also rolled with another die.
The screw cutting box was built along normal Norton lines but employed unhardened, machine cut gears. The boxes were 'run' in on a dummy machine and this process entailed holding the selector lever hard into mesh to bed in any unevenness, followed by a thorough wash out and a re-oil. This dummy machine was interesting; it was a brand-new Raglan machine that had been dropped whilst loading and had snapped off just in front of the chuck. The decision was taken not to rebuild it but to give it to the fitters as a machine for polishing shafts / bushes for a precision fit. During the time I was there the build list consisted of centre lathes, a couple of capstans, training lathes - but no millers.
The spray shop was also on the first floor and was run by two guys who were responsible for all the paint work. The machines were only painted when they were finished and signed off. The rough castings were prepared with a thick filler paint made by a company called Trimite. The first coat was literally trowelled on, the second coat was painted on and, as it became skin dry, was repainted with cellulose thinners. This had the effect of 'melting' the top coat and allowed it to flow to a smother finish. This was given overnight to dry and then rubbed down with wet and dry paper. Two more coats were then applied by spraying with a light sanding between coats. The finish consisted of one base coat and two top coats of machine paint. All the products used were made by Trimite and were all cellulose based. Trimite also used to supply Myfords with paint and I believe they still do. The finish on these machines was first class and far exceeded anything that was available on contemporary machines at that time.

The works manager when I was there was a Mr Gibbs.

Raglan Little John and 5" Illustrations Raglan Capstan Mk 1 Illustrations Raglan Capstan Mk 2 Illustrations