Pittler B3 pattern lathe
The Pittler B2 number 3 was seemingly the most popular as far more of these appear to have survived, the problem is that they are rarely complete and often missing the very means to operate them such as the worms and gear wheels. How could previous owners be so careless as to lose the parts included with the lathe when new? I was lucky to find this lathe complete with all it's original accessories plus a few additions including an rare type of compound slide. Both the the overhead countershaft and the tailstock drive mechanism differ from the usual type offered by Pittler & George Adams but where it was manufactured is a mystery. The lathe was painted blue-grey by a previous owner, Dismantling a lathe can sometimes provide evidence of the original colour, this one may have been cream. Original colours appear to include cream, Black, a Brownish black and I have another B2 in an orange brown colour, it's makers nameplate can be seen on the nameplate page.
It is possible to replicate missing parts such as worms and gear wheels via 3D printing and experiments show they actually work very well although how long they will last is another question. Other sections of this website show the various parts of the B2 in more detail on the accessories dropdown menu.
See Accessories drop down menu or click here for details of every part of a B2 lathe
Above is my B2 No3, serial number 1253. The drive pulley is shown fitted with a modern V belt from the 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. Right: the lathes overhead drive, not made by Pittler, possibly by George Adams. Go to the video section to see the countershaft in use for milling a spiral.
The headstock of B2 number 1253 showing the reversing gearbox and mandrel with drawbar. The leadscrew can be reversed whilst the lathe is running
Left: the headstock showing the mandrel with worm and drawbar fitted. Below it shows the unique Pittler 'banjo' which contains the screw cutting spindle and quick change reversing gear operated by a lever. By using a Tommy bar in one of the holes on the locking disks so as to loosen the banjo it can then swivel and lock to allow different sizes of gear wheel to fit on.
On the right is the tailstock fitted with a drive mechanism from the overhead, this can be used for turning spirals by driving the leadscrew slowly via a worm and gear, then up through the gearbox to the chuck. The belt has to be slackened off the mandrel pulley when using this so the chuck can turn without hindrance.
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, usually have serial numbers matching the plate on the headstock, these were machined, fitted and tested on the actual lathe they were to accompany. Pittler lathes also have a unique type of swivelling coss-slide which is fitted in a rotating casting on the saddle, you can see this in the photo above and also in the video section.
Tailstock with indexing mechanism