Thread: McPherson Lathe Information

G'day
A friend of mine is looking for any information on the mid forties McPherson's lathe he has. I have looked on the internet but have not turned up anything.

Thanks Hugh

Wow it needs a clean up .. my neighbour has one similar

I would be embarrassed to post a picture like that.

In any case it looks like a plain old Macson lathe from that era. Doubt you will find any information at all on them.

Well I look at it this way some people are "doers" and the equipment they use lets them get the job done. Could it do with some love I do not disagree. However better I think to use a machine for its purpose than to have it reflect your image in it when you look at it. My friend asked for assistance I thought this would be the best forum to look for it.

Cheers Hugh

Here's a video about McPhersons. Lathes get a mention at 7min, 30sec.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H43Hd_PS2sE

G'day Fargo and welcome to the forum.
Thanks for posting the photos of your mates lathe, for what it's worth I like to see old machines in their working clothes, and this old girl certainly has some character.

As mentioned, McPhersons manufactured lathes in Melbourne and sold them under the name Macson.
The Associated Machine Tools Australia (AMTA) moniker was used between 1939 and 1965 but I suspect your mates lathe would date from the earlier end of this timeframe.
Many were produced during WWII for war manufacturing and it would be a fair bet his is probably one of them.

Unfortunately I can't offer any real help with documentation but McPhersons produced a large number of workshop practice booklets as well as an extensive annual catalogue for many years so your best bet might be to track down some of these. The National Library's online tool Trove might also be worth a look if you wanted to find some old advertising etc.
If you are really keen the archives for McPheresons from 1892 to 1987 are held by the University of Melbourne and according to the archive summary, might include some manuals and catalogues for Macson lathes , unfortunately you would need to check them out in person I suspect.

And remember, the world is full of stem beaters, don't let them scare you off.
Cheers,
Greg.

This is from the 1949 McPhersons catalog and looks pretty close.

Ray

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