Welcome to Jeff's Old Iron Site

Introduction. This site documents my principal hobby of acquiring, restoring, and researching antique machine tools, an affliction known as Old Iron Disease. My fascination with things mechanical goes back as far as I can remember. In 2004, I attended the annual show at Tuckahoe Steam & Gas Association and fell in with a disreputable crew of would-be machinists who were restoring some late 19th and early 20th century machine tools. I've been a regular volunteer at Tuckahoe since then, and also have the beginnings of a collection of my own

"Is this the same thing as the drill press, or are you telling me you drove 650 miles to buy a ton of metal that cuts other metal? Can it double as a hurricane or bomb shelter? i can imagine the house collapsing and only the milling machine and drill press surviving." -- a family member, commenting on the arrival of the Rockford mill.. .

Why Old Iron? I find it very satisfying to work on and with these old machines. Having no machine shop training or experience prior to starting this hobby, I initially looked at old machines as a cheap alternative to new machinery, and if I did something stupid and trashed some gears or caused other damage, I would not loose a large investment or be faced with a huge parts bill. The South Bend, which was the first machine that I really dug into (to clean all the oil holes and replace the wick oilers in the headstock) gave me a new respect for the quality and "feel" of older machines, and for the ingenuity of the men who designed and built them.

The "Machine Shop" now includes:

South Bend model 9A lathe, 48" bed, 1950
Royersford Excelsior 21-inch "camelback" drill press
Leblond 14" quick change lathe, 9' bed, 1919
Van Norman model 1/2 duplex milling machine, 1911-1912
Rockford model 2B universal horizontal mill with original vertical head, patent date 1911
Champion "camelback" bench drill press, flat-belt drive
Hendey 16" "tie bar" lathe, 8' bed, 1915
Cincinnati model 1-1/2 tool and cutter grinder, 1915-1921
Brown & Sharpe #2 Surface Grinder, s/n 18906, 1947 wiring diagram
Keller model 5HD power hacksaw, 10"x10" capacity, motor drive
Delta/Milwaukee 14" wood/metal bandsaw, 1941-1946
Walker-Turner "Driver Line" bench drill press, 1930s
Oliver of Adrian Model S-1 die filer
LeBlond Regal 15" geared-head lathe, 1944 (sold Jan 2009 to make room for the Hendey)
I also have a modern bench knee mill.

Contact Me. I'm always happy to discuss old machinery or to respond to questions. Please feel free to email me at jegreenblatt (at) comcast.net.

Last Updated January 2009