# Wadkin RU



## burnsyslad (28 Mar 2013)

Hello All,

hopefully someone out there can help. I have acquired a Wadkin RU in pretty reasonable condition and have just about completed installing it (I had to have it craned in and built a workshop around it !!). I have a few questions and wondered if anyone out there has another RU and could shine any light on things:

1. Shaft/thread information. I have measured mine and it comes out to 1 6/8" diameter with a thread of 4 1/2 UN. 
I have been told that they were all custom made with a variety of thread/shaft sizes as specified by the customer but this could be just a myth.

2. Does anyone have any other information or a manual, again I am not sure if they even existed.

3. Any other owners out there willing to send photos of the toolpost/holder and traversing mechanism as mine has at some point in time been separated from it and I would like to reconstruct something of the sort.

3. If there is anyone else out there mad enough to own one of these things please get in touch as it would be useful to compare notes!! Heck we could even start an RU owners club....its guaranteed to be a pretty small club.

Cheers


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## nev (28 Mar 2013)

hi, welcome.
http://www.lathes.co.uk/wadkin/ has some basic info
hth


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## Richard Findley (28 Mar 2013)

Hi

I have a Wadkin RS8 which is quite a beast but the RU makes it look like a hobby lathe!!

Take a look here:

http://www.lathes.co.uk/wadkin/

Which I think I about the only source of info on the RU that I've seen. 

Pictures would be nice please!!

Cheers

Richard


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## wallace (28 Mar 2013)

Hi I too have a RS the 10" version. I very nearly bought an RU alittle while ago but got outbid. The only other person I know who has one is a chap called Arthur who I think is from canada heres a link to his site. http://www.owwm.net/wordpress/?p=354
He is very knowledgeable and is happy to help with stuff. I dont suppose you got the RUH did you, they are very very rare. I would love to see some pics of the monster. I have just noticed that your in the north east, where about. I dont suppose its anywhere near durham I would love to have a look at it.
Mark


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## burnsyslad (28 Mar 2013)

Hello All,

Thanks for the replies, I almost bought an RS 8 but saw the RU and just could not help myself. 
I have been to the site listed and taken copies of all of the information they have on the site, sadly they don't have a manual on the RU. 
I will try to upload some pics of the lathe as soon as I can, I just have to get them off my phone and onto the PC.
In answer to your question the lathe and I are based in the North East, not too far from Durham

Cheers


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## Bodrighy (28 Mar 2013)

There is one in the workshop next to me with all the bits and pieces for it. I can see if I can get some photos for you if you wish? 

Pete


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## burnsyslad (28 Mar 2013)

Bodrighy":36qwix58 said:


> There is one in the workshop next to me with all the bits and pieces for it. I can see if I can get some photos for you if you wish?
> 
> Pete


That would be great thanks!!


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## burnsyslad (1 May 2013)

Hello All,

sorry it has taken me a while to update this one but here are some pics as requested:

The lathe itself prior to delivery:






















Its concrete plinth in preparation:











The "wee house" growing up around it:











Next up is insulation and boarding followed by wiring....then the real fun starts.

BL


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## jurriaan (1 May 2013)

Aren't you worried that the lathe is going to stand too close to the wall to use it's full capacity?

Also, the toolrests/banjos don't look original to me, the banjos actually look flimsy compared to all that cast iron. 

Lovely lathe!


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## Dangermouse (2 May 2013)

Are you going to turn 12 foot table tops then ????


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## burnsyslad (2 May 2013)

Hi Charley,

I did measure up and even with the largest diameter work which would not foul the foot of the headstock it will work, though I think the likelihood of getting a bowl blank that size is pretty slim....not to mention having the nerve to spin it up to speed.

As to the tool rests its difficult to know about their provenance as I have not really got too much to compare them with, the images available on lathes.co.uk are not really clear enough and as yet I have do not know of anyone in the UK who has been daft enough to buy one. I am however sure that I am missing the traversing carriage and the likelihood of me finding a one lying around is slim, still if anyone happens to have one I would be interested.

I did get in touch with someone at the current owners of the Wadkin brand and he promptly informed me that Wadkin had never made anything called an RU .... so obviously the 2 tons of cast iron I have outside is a figment of my imagination.

I wondered about setting up an online register for owners of RU lathes as it would be nice to know how many have survived the scrap man and where they are, the last one sold on ebay was shipped off to Holland (or so I was told by the seller).

I will try to add some more pics later when I have completed the interior and added the speed control to it.


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## Bodrighy (2 May 2013)

My apologies, I was going to get some photos of the one next door for you. I'll see if I can get some tomorrow. There is an electric motor for the bed which can be moved away from the headstock to allow you to turn larger diameter. Max. diameter on the outside is eight foot apparently and fifteen foot max. length along the bed. The banjo is also electric and can be moved along the bed using the motor. Crazy piece of kit overall. 


pete


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## burnsyslad (3 May 2013)

Hi,

the pics would be much appreciated. Mine has a bed which rolls out but it does not have a motor to do this, you just crank a blinking big handle and off it goes, it seems to give a maximum of about 15' 6" between centres. I figure this would be big enough for pens, lace bobbins and such like.

The moving tool post/tool rest sounds interesting, the images I have show the lathes were shipped with a tool holder and carriage similar to a metal working lathe, if mine had one then its no longer around.

Please ask the owner if they would like to help start up a register of these dinosaurs, I am happy to build a site and put up the machine registration details and maybe even some photos of it/them. It might be interesting to see how many could be found and what state they are in.

Cheers


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## Richard Findley (6 May 2013)

Looks like a real beauty!! What is the serial number? Sometimes you can tell the year of manufacture from this. 

I think a website for RUs would be a bit sparse, if you include RSs it may have rather more content, even more if you include BZLs and some of the others. Stick on Graduates and you'll have a hell of a site, real lathe porn!! :lol: 

Keep us informed!!

Richard


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## Cbromber (12 May 2013)

Hello burnsyslad,

I own a Wadkin RU, too (lovely beasts, aren't they?) and I'm enchanted by your idea of an old-iron owners' club. 

How to get into contact? Forum-ping-pong is a bit annoying...

BR,

Christoph


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## Richard Findley (12 May 2013)

Hi Christoph

Now that is a lathe!!!! :shock: :shock: What a beauty!!!

Can you tell me more about the base? it looks to be on some sort of special feet mounted into the floor?

Thanks

Richard


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## boysie39 (12 May 2013)

Wow , that is a serious piece of machinery . Christoph you say you are not fond of flitting back and forth on forums , so could you show or tell me what type of work you do on your lathe please . Maybe a little history of your lathe as it looks to be almost new to me . I didn't think they made lathes that size anymore .


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## burnsyslad (14 May 2013)

Hi Christoph,

I have sent you my email address via the pm system of the forums.

B


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## burnsyslad (14 May 2013)

oh and just to be a real anorak.

The machine itself bears two brass plates with information on them, the first is on the lathe itself and carries this detail along with the Wadkin name:

RU: 161
Test: 11454
Voltage: 440
Phase: 3
Cycles: 50
Motor Number: 5K27011
Starter Number: 161821
Speed: 1410
HP: 3
Amps: 48
Volts: 400/440
Phase: 3
Cycles: 50

The second plate is on the motor and reads as follows:

The English Electric Motor Company Ltd Induction Motor

Serial: 5K2701/1
Size: Alk1
HP: 3
Volts: 400/440
Amps: 48
RPM: 1410
Phase: 3
Cycles: 50
Rating: Cont

Best

B


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## Cbromber (15 May 2013)

@ Richard,

she's lovely, isn't she? 

The base was, so to speak, on an experimental footing: 'Maschinenschuhe' those things are called in German, manners to finely adjust they height of each support individually (double-U double-U double-U (I do not have permission to post links. See, do you know why I love forum small-talk?) fixatorenbau <dot> de <slash> 2-engl-fixatoren <dot-h-t-m-l>). Beneath, I did use some kind of foam to damp bed oscillations (manufacturer webpage: double-U double-U double-U getzner <dot> com <slash> en <slash> solutions <slash> materials <slash> sylomer; an excellent supply in even the tiniest quantities isd ouble-U double-U double-U gummitechnik-klein <dot> at <slash> index.php?id=27). The foam I used first was too soft. Next, it did turn out that with the foam, the 'Maschinenschuhe' cannot accomodate the horizontal force applied when shifting the bed. Since I do not often shift, I left it as it was.

And, my workshop was a former meeting room of a christian congregation, so there is an isolated screed floor. I had to cut the screed open and put the 'Maschinenschuhe' directly on the concrete - this also makes the height perfect for me!

@ Eugene:

New? - no, it's an honest piece of old iron, just mocked up a bit with paint. The machine as-is seems to be rather indestructible, but there are a lot of details I'll have to look for: It is a geared machine, like they use for metal, and splash-lubricated. Some joints are loosing oil. Maybe I'll scratch the machine bed some day, or re-do the motor-winding: I have to use it without earth-leakage trip, and so on.

@ burnsyslad:

Great idea to set up a RS and RU machine directory! I'll send you details on my lathes off-line

C.


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## Richard Findley (15 May 2013)

Thank you Christoph, very interesting, I have never seen such a thing before!

http://www.fixatorenbau.de/2-engl-fixatoren.html

Sounds like they need fitting before the machine arrives though. My RS just sits on 5" thick plywood pads which seems to work well. The good thing about these machines is that they are heavy enough not to wonder too far on their own :lol: 

Cheers

Richard


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## Richard Findley (15 May 2013)

B, if you decided to set up this website just let me know and I will send you details of my RS. There is some on my website here

http://www.turnersworkshop.co.uk/wadkin

Keep us informed

Richard


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## Islander (16 May 2013)

Greetings from the colonies, all. Burnsylad and Cbromber, I'd be happy to be in touch more directly somehow since I don't often visit forums. I stumbled across this thread while looking for others with a Wadkin RU in their shops. I've had an RU-15 for a few years. It's been sitting idle while I complete a new workshop building but I'll soon be putting it into service and exploring its capabilities. The new building has a reinforced 12" thick concrete slab. I've assumed that it would be sufficient to epoxy some stout mounting bolts in place to secure the machine, but am open to opinions on that. And being a rather tall person I wouldn't mind raising the lathe to a more comfortable working height. It's been very interesting to read about how others have gone about this.

The lathe came out of the old pattern shops at the National Research Council in Ottawa, Canada where, I believe, it was used to turn patterns for various airfoils when the NRC was in its heyday in the late '50s and '60s. It came with a trove of tooling including a detachable outboard indexing plate, faceplates ranging from 36" on down, a massive 4-foot extension for the cross-slide and the original documentation and engineering drawings.

Cheers,
Greg.


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## boysie39 (17 May 2013)

Welcome Greg , that sounds like a massive piece of machinery you have . As you can see there are quite a few members on here with a Wadkin lathe of some series or other .Hope you are up and running soon enjoy your time on here .


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## burnsyslad (10 Nov 2014)

Hello folks,

sorry this has taken so long but I have been off sick for a good while. Now back and have made some progress with the RU so I thought I would send you some pics to update you.

1. Motor and speed control. I took the old motor off and set it on the shelf, I replaced it with a new 3 HP motor and hooked this up to a nice shiny new Hitachi speed control/inverter supplied by Tesla Newton in the UK (thanks to them for putting up with my really stupid questions). In my haste to get things going I temporarily slung the speed control up on a wooden board suspended from the ceiling ...honest I will make something a little more substantial if I can stop myself from using the lathe for turning all day. Pics are below.

2. I wanted to be able to use a chuck on the thing and funnily enough none of the standard chuck fittings seemed to be made in a 2" x 4.5 tpi thread ....I cant understand why. So a local engineering firm volunteered for the pain and we now have a Wadkin RU with a Oneway stronghold chuck .... big thanks to Graham at Penshaw Engineering. 


I am available to set up the Wadkin owners site, I have some server space we can use though I still think its going to be a pretty small club.

I think I may try some pens next, provided the lathe is big enough that is.


Best

B


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## Dr_Aldory (6 Mar 2015)

Hello burnsyslad! I hope you are still on this forum, and have been enjoying your lathe..
I too have just bought a Wadkin RU, and was hoping to gain from your experiences so far and see if you did manage to find manuals spare parts insights etc..if so, I'd really appreciate some help!
Thanks


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## burnsyslad (6 Mar 2015)

Hello,

yes still here. In terms of spares and documentation I think you are probably pretty much on your own, if you have any questions I can try to help. I also have a contact who used to work on one of these in a pattern making shop and he has provided quite a few pointers.
I have added a hollowing jig recently, see attached.
Lets have some pictures then!!!


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## Dr_Aldory (6 Mar 2015)

Ha Ha! It arrives Tuesday, lets hope for some dry weather, pictures will have to wait till then...as will I!

I also have to wait to see what bore/thread size etc its been fitted out with, by all accounts Wadkin used to make it to whatever specification was asked for rather than a standard so I can't start the hunt till next week for a rear faceplate and chuck and I don't even know if the tailstock will come with any centers...


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## burnsyslad (6 Mar 2015)

Hi,
yep as far as I know the final specifications varied depending on what the customer wanted. I have even seen one that was missing the freestanding rear pedestal and had a significantly shorter bed. 
If you pm me on the site I will get back to you next week.


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## Dr_Aldory (6 Mar 2015)

Thanks! You'll have explain the pm system to me, I'm new on here and can't see any links...?


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## Dr_Aldory (10 Mar 2015)

Hello again..
Lathe arrived today, it's lower slung than I thought it would be isn't it? But an impressive machine nonetheless...
Ok question one..I can't seem to dislodge this center from the headstock, is it just jammed and needs more time & WD40 or am I pullling on the wrong part? Did your adaptor (for the chuck) go straight onto the thread all the depth of the center?
And it's not come with the faceplates, did you get yours made custom or do you use your adaptor to fit generic ones? Thanks!


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## burnsyslad (10 Mar 2015)

Hi,

the drive centre on mine was stuck in, I soaked it with plus gas and then applied a little heat and that seemed to help with working it free. 
My spindle adaptor screws onto the spindle nose and then steps down to 1 1/2" x 8, I bought a Oneway Stronghold with the appropriate insert to fit. As far as I can tell it is running true, though it took a little bit of work to get the adaptor onto the spindle nose as I had to tidy the threads up a bit.
The lathe came with a faceplate and up to now I have not needed a second one, though I am looking at making some Cole Jaws for the chuck.
I sent you a PM with my contact details in it.

B

Any more pictures??


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## Dr_Aldory (10 Mar 2015)

Thanks! I did get your details thank you, I posted my question here because I couldn't attach the photo to the PM and I also thought maybe someone besides you and Christoph had some advice to give me...
Not too many pics yet, while the haulier was unloading I couldn't really be zipping around with my mobile like an excited teenager (I mean, you gotta pretend to have SOME dignity, right?) and then the problem of getting into my workshop without bashing the walls became the overriding concern; we just about managed it dangling from my forklift, and I mean JUST -we measured 5cm of clearance!- after which we were too exhausted with relief to take any photos.
I'm itching to start using it, but like you I intend to fit it with an electronic speed controller to save messing around with levers and pulleys and it can only turn between centres at the moment anyway, so I'll be posting some pics when it's all been cleaned up & polished ready to work if people are still interested!


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## burnsyslad (10 Mar 2015)

Hi,

rushing around like an excited teenager...now that sounds familiar. 
It looks like you wont be winding the bed out very far then!
I still use the gears a lot when turning as they alter the torque you get significantly, I can recommend John over at Newton Tesla for help with the variable speed, he was really good and patient with an electronic silly person like me. The motor was just a one from ebay but it does the job and has so far proved reliable enough.
I had one horror story from someone who used to operate one of these, apparently he had something very large (3 feet by 15 feet) on it and was in a rush so wanting to check progress he powered off and tried slowing it down with his hand....he recommends avoiding that as an approach.
Oh and if you want to sell that traversing carriage ....  

B


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## Dr_Aldory (10 Mar 2015)

Selling bits?!! Not a chance!

I've already got a DirectDrive converter for when I used to run my Wadkin PK off my house 240v supply, I intend to use that, it may seem strange to run a 3phase motor via an inverter from 240v single phase in a workshop with 3phase already wired (whew! Try saying that quickly!) but it was a really great unit, infinite speed control plus reverse function and overload cutoff & DC braking and I don't really turn much anyway, I'm more of a carver/joiner to be honest so it will be getting an easy life in its old age now..I just couldn't resist it! 
My main goals now are faceplate/chuck/extra toolrests, in that order, while I do a repaint & polishing of the whole thing..oh, and I realized from your comment the pic is misleading, the workshop extends another 20 meters beyond the end of the tailstock, what you see that looks like an end-wall is actually just a railway sleeper I use to cushion the steel forklift tangs while lifting some of my cast iron machinery around, so there's plenty of space to extend the bed! ;-)


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## Dr_Aldory (10 Mar 2015)

The limited clearance was on either side of the lathe trying to get it through the door, as I couldn't twirl it round (to go in small-end first) so it had to go full length across the doorway...swinging...bumpy forklift...one inch either side of two tons of metal...sweaty palms...


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## burnsyslad (16 Mar 2015)

Well I had to try for the traversing carriage!! :lol: 

As for the "I don't really turn much anyway" that's a classic, I only went out for something a bit bigger than my coronet major and came back with the RU ..... funnily enough I have been told I am not allowed to go back to the place I bought it without a responsible adult.

When mine arrived it had to be lifted in over the hedge and through the workshop roof, I could hardly bear to look.


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## Dr_Aldory (16 Mar 2015)

Any ideas how it's meant to be fixed?


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