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Pittler lathes were made in Germany by Wilhelm von Pittler who invented and patented over 200 fascinating things. The list is long and includes sewing and embroidery machines, a steam engine for a bus and a patent for a machine for automatic folding and glueing of paper bags. He experiments with the latest thing: 'automobiles' and invents a gunpowder engine,he fits it to a bus and drives round Leipzig where the police rapidly prohibit further use due to the excessive noise !
Frustrated with the simplicity of available machinery for his experiments at his home workshop he sets about designing the ultimate machine: -
*********** THE UNIVERSAL MILLING & TURNING TOOL ***********
Please note that a newer, far more detailed version of this website is Here:- sites.google.com/view/pittler-lathes/
Starting in 1889 with his first factory, just 500 metres from home and called the "Invention works" he began producing the unique Pittler universal milling & turning lathe with just 50 workers. A machine capable of over 200 different applications, many of which required no additional equipment.
These lathes became extremely popular and many factories had whole rows of them. Pittler supplied so many machines to various industries that for fifty years German machine shops were referred to a "Pittleries". even today you can find Pittlerstrasse in Leipzig.
The "Invention Works "were rapidly overloaded with orders. In 1895 the firm expanded and became a public company "Leipziger Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Aktiengesellschaft vorm. W. von Pittler". The firm moved to a purpose-built factory at Wahren in 1899, taking two hundred and fifty shop workers, fifty salaried staff and ten apprentices.
Around 1905 the lower price of lathes suitable for the home workshop from makers such as Drummond put production of the B2 into rapid decline due to their much higher cost and by 1912 production had more or less ended.
Shown above is my Pittler B2 No3, serial number 1253, it's nameplate suggests it was made on or after 1895 when the firm changed the name from "MachinenFabrik Invention" into "Leipziger Werkzeug maschinenfabrik". the letters D.R.P. are for "Deutsches-Reichs-Patent"
It has the heavy cast table stand which would have originally been for treadle operation, the Oak drawer is original but the cupboard underneath is modern.
The lathe is 3.5 inch height and 16 inches between centres.
The drive is shown fitted with a modern V belt from the drive countershaft, as V belts were not in use in Victorian times this leads to the misconception that the mandrel pulley is not original and has been replaced. The fact is that the pulley was intended for a round leather belt driven by foot power and modern V belts adapt to this very well. The endless rubber V-belt was developed in 1917 by John Gates of the Gates Rubber Company.
All Pittler lathes were hand built and individual parts carefully fitted with great accuracy. It is said that there are so many slight differences that it's unlikely that you could find two B2 lathes that can be considered absolutely identical.
Accessories, including all the gears, have serial numbers matching the plate on the headstock, these were machined, fitted and tested on the actual lathe they were to accompany.
Pittler B2, early version from the Invention factory
The original colour of these early lathes is always a mystery, this one may be original as there is not a trace of a different colour anywhere.
Above is another B2 with serial number 792, this is one of Pittler's earliest production lathes from the "Invention" factory near his home in Gohlis and dates from around 1890
There are only slight variations from my other B2 although they are probably several years apart in manufacturing date. I discovered that the critical dimensions of some of the parts are identical, accessories such as the travelling steady fit both lathes as the diameter of the round saddle is identical. There is a noticeable difference in the length of the tailstock mandrel thread which is much shorter on this lathe. Also the screw cutting spindle is a different design.
Whether the serial numbers continued on with the change of name or whether they began a new set is not clear although it was still in the same building at that time. I would think the name change necessitating new nameplates might indicate they began a new set of numbers?
Pittler lathes have a unique type of cross-slide which is fitted in a swivelling casting on the saddle, you can see this clearly in the photo above and also in the video section.
The slide can swivel in all directions and also swivel on the saddle ring itself and thus making countless combinations of movement. Using just this slide it is possible to turn balls, sockets, spirals, threads and many other types of ornamental turning.
The lathe bed is also unusual in that it is trapezoidal and a great benefit of this is that is that it triples the bearing surface and the leadscrews are hidden inside and totally protected. This also gives a true central pull to the feedscrews and avoids tilting of the saddle. This also enables deeper cuts to be made without vibration or chatter.
Another advantage for normal turning is that the tool can be raised to the correct height without the need for packing.
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