Philip Whitehead

The live centre completes the line-up of six tailstock accessories for the #Rivett608 lathe. Left-to-right, they are: 4-way turret, dead centre, half-centre, live centre, Jacobs chuck and die-holder. The turret and die-holder were made by the lathe's previous owner (Eric Watson).

I fixed the Rivett tailstock adaptor to the live centre 1MT taper using Loctite 263. A small brass cap was pressed on to extend the end of the taper so that the tailstock ejector pin would function correctly when the tailstock feed was turned to maximum withdrawal. It all works. Amazing! #Rivett608

Here's the 1MT live centre and machined adaptor. The taper turning attachment on the #Rivett608 made this a straightforward job.

I bought a 1MT with a blank end and a 1MT/2MT adaptor. Set the blank ended 1MT to run true in the 4-jaw and fitted the adaptor with 'weak' Loctite. Using the taper-turning attachment, I machined the adaptor outer to match the Rivett tailstock profile. The taper-turning worked very well. #Rivett608

The tailstock of a Rivett 608 lathe has a taper that differs from those of modern lathes. In size, it lies between Morse Taper 1 and 2, but the angle is not so different. I like using "live" (rotating), rather than the fixed centres that came with the lathe, so I need to modify one to fit.

After a long break, I have started work on the lathe again. It has many accessories (chucks, collets, tools, etc) that are stored in a large open cabinet. The equipment is in superb condition. There are many parts made by the previous owner, including dividing plates with large prime numbers.

Rivett headstock oilers during cleaning. There is a ~2mm dia breather hole in the top. The previous owner (Eric Watson) ysed the lathe from around 1975 until 2005. A surprisingly large amount of debris can find its way through such a small hole in 30 years of turning.

The Rivett lathe bed and headstock are now in place. I was about to screw in the sight-glass bearing oilers when I saw that they contained debris as well as oil. Will require thorough cleaning. The lathe hasn't run for about 15 or 20 years and was coated in oil, but this has attracted dirt too!

Currently assembling a 1944 Rivett 608 lathe in my new workshop. The legs and tray were heavy but I manage singlehanded. The bed is the heaviest single part of the assembly. I'm inching it up on blocks of wood but I may chicken out from trying to do it alone and ask my neighbour to help.

My father (96yrs) lives in a care home. His short-term memory is very limited. In the poor daylight, when he wakes up, he doesn't know whether the clock time is morning or evening. I've made him a one-handed clock with a 24hr movement and a face marked as 2 x 12hr to help with this. He likes it!