LeBlond Regal lathe

Le Blond Regal lathe.

Here's the latest workshop arrival, an early fifties LeBlond Regal lathe. Sixty years old but still going fine and willing to work. Now just got to learn how to use it properly.....

Le Blond users manual.  Delivered by
mysterious cosmic forces.

The LeBlond is a beast of a machine and the traumas endured to transport it the twenty miles from workshop to workshop were many fold. I'm pretty much too embarrassed to repeat them to print. Suffice to say many golden rules of health and safety were not just broken they were positively smashed and then stamped on in the dirt. Key findings of the manoeuvre were: 1. Don't underestimate how heavy a lathe like this can be. 2. Always find out the size of the lorry delivering your machinery before the day and if it will fit down your driveway. 3. Have lifting gear on hand regardless.4. A small box trailer will carry a big lathe for about 100 foot before surrendering and 5. Two inches is a big drop for a ton and a half....

Despite the shenanigans the LeBlond is in place and working. By wonderful coincidence just a couple of days before delivery I found a users manual on ebay with just twenty minutes left on it and bought it for 99p. Our postlady dropped it through the letterbox just minutes after the lathe was installed in position. Such events happen only at rare alignments of heavenly bodies.

Enough waffle, the reason I've put this post up, rather than to gloat over my new baby, is that previous owner John went through considerable effort to replicate the 'feed plate chart' that had worn away. Seems like it is providing a public service to post it up for other Regal owners.

Finally, here's a link to the lathes.co.uk site where there is further info on the Regal.

LeBlond Regal threads and feed chart.