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.
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 5C collet fitting 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 r.p.m. - though one catalogue has the maximum at 1500. 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.
"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 belt-driven underdrive stand (above) this version was fitted with the "Speed Box" used on the cast-iron and open-frame stands (shown below). The drive system involved the use 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. At the headstock end of the stand a cut-out was arranged that allowed an endless belt to be fitted without any dismantling. Additional pictures of this stand here |
The "Oil Pan Mounting" stand with a "Speed Box" drive. This unit was a very sturdy affair, intended for heavier-than-usual work.
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, shellaced 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 8" Precision Lathe Nos. 3 & 4 Lathes No. 5 Lathe 507 Precision Lathe
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