Schaublin 102N Super Precision Swiss Lathe For Sale

Schaublin 102N
Schaublin 102N Lathe with 102-45.000 Screw Operated Carriage and 102-65.500 MT2 Tailstock

Late Model Schaublin 102N Super-Presicion Lathe

Updated 1 July 2018

NOTE: The Schaublin 102N has been SOLD

I have a mid 1970’s Schaublin 102 (pre-N version) with W25 Back Geared under-drive headstock, MT2 tailstock (inch) and an early 1980’s Screw-Operated Carriage (inch 3.54″ stroke).

This lathe can be mounted on a bench and driven from underneath by a VFD controlled motor. I am planning on setting this lathe up as a secondary operation machine, but I will consider offers. I also have some tooling (W25 collets, Tripan toolpost and holders) that can be packaged with this lathe.

I also have some W20 collets, inch and metric sizes, and W20 adapters (MT2-W20, etc) still available.

Please contact me via email if you are interested. 

Schaublin lathes are known for their exceptional Swiss-Made quality and super precision. The company was originally started in 1915 and began by making tools for the Swiss watchmaking industry.

Although Schaublin subsequently introduced much larger machine tools and eventually CNC machines, the Schaublin plain-turning manual lathes, the model 70 and 102 are still in production and considered essential equipment by custom jewelers, custom watchmakers and other fine instrument makers.

Late model new-style (suffix -N) Schaublin 102N lathes were introduced by 1979. They are very similar in construction and function as the previous generation of Schaublin 102 but have a more angular design, which is still being used for Schaublin 102 lathes proceeded today.

Examples of the 102N lathes built before the original Schaublin company was broken up and sold in the late 1980’s are highly sought after. They were fabricated and hand-fitted  by the original Schaublin staff in a continuous tradition that goes back 75 years.

Similar to pre-1965 Fender guitars, pre 1990 new style “N” lathes, made only in the 10 year period between 1979 and 1989 are generally considered to be better quality than machines built after the sale.

It is rare that a late-model Schaublin 102N is offered for sale in the U.S. When these machines do appear, they are often neglected, badly worn, rusty, stripped of tooling and frequently missing parts. It is often said in Schaublin lathe enthusiast circles that one has to wait for an estate sale for a Schaublin lathe with tooling to be made available for sale.

This is a unique opportunity for the right person.

Machine Applications for the Schaublin 102N

  • Watchmaking and Clockmaking (Schaublin is considered the gold standard by master watchmakers)
  • Jewelry making
  • Precision Instrument making
  • Optical components (recommended in a number of optical manufacturing reference books)
  • Prototyping
  • Medical components
  • Aerospace

Head+Carriage_Qtr_474w

Basic Specifications:

  • SCHAUBLIN Model: 102N-80,  serial No. 30043x build year 1982
  • On Cast-Iron base with Clutch and Brake system
  • W25 spindle for W25 collets or W25 standard M48x3 threaded adapters (collet closers, chuck backplates), can use W20 collets with available W25-W20 adapter and drawbar.
  • Screw Operated Carriage, low backlash,  (choice of inch or metric graduations), fixing bolt and nut.
  • Morse Taper 2 Tailstock (metric graduations)
  • 208-230V 3  Phase 50-60 Hz power (see below for details)
  • 2 HP Swiss-Made RCB AG Motor – serviced in 2008
  • Original paint in good condition for machine age
  • Runs well, without unusual noise, headstock bearings in good shape
  • NO rust, no signs or accident damage, spindle bore and threads in very good condition, no missing or broken parts, internal wiring in very good condition.
  • Tooling included in basic price: W25 Spindle Protector nut, four (4) W25 collets, MT2 Live Center, MT2 Dead Center, Drill Chuck with MT2 shank, four (4) super-heavy duty M24 eyebolts on corners of bed to facilitate transport.
  • Original electrical configuration with internal transformer (compatible with 208 – 460V 3 Phase). See below for VFD option.
  • GE/FUJI AF300G11 VFD with Keypad Extension Cable (custom install) Price TBA.
  • FOB Burbank, CA 91506 USA

SV102N_Head+Collet_Closer_474w

Buyer of lathe has first right of refusal on my extensive collection of tooling for this machine – a near complete set of Schaublin accessories. See list below.

Detailed information about my Schaublin 102 lathe:

    • Bed: For underneath drive, type 105-15.000, Length 1 meter, cast-iron, precision ground, wt. 54kg [119 lb]
    • Headstock: Closed, for underneath drive, 3 step pulley for flat belts, W25 collets, type 105-31.000, wt 26kg [57 lb]
    • Collet Closer: Manually controlled lever operated quick-closing attachment for W25 collets, type 105-30.600 wt 7.3kg [16 lb]
    • Tailstock 2 Morse Taper: 102-65.500 Adjustable screw and hand wheel operated tailstock. Metric graduations. 3.15 kg [7 lb]
    • Drive System: 1.5 Kw motor (see specs below), driving through clutch and brake (foot pedal operated), through dual V-belt pulleys with two ratios available, to countershaft (foot pedal operated) with a 3 step pulley driving an identical pulley on the lathe spindle driven by a flat belt (Habasit).
    • Compound Slide: “carriage”, 102-45.000 (90mm stroke) 12 kg (choice of inch or metric graduations)
    • Center height: 4.015 in / 102 mm
    • Swing: 8.0 in / 203mm
    • Distance between centers: 17.716 in / 450 mm
    • Length of the bed: 1 meter [39.37 in]. flat ways, ground cast iron. Undersides of the headstock and tailstock that mate with the bed are hand scraped.
    • Spindle Bore: (stepped) 28 mm / 25mm
    • Bar Capacity: .75 in / 19 mm (pass through a W25 collet and the collet drawbar)
    • Spindle Nose: Type W25, Major Diameter 47.6mm (nominal 48mm),  Thread Pitch 3.0mm
    • Collet Type: W 25 Gr. 80-5. Max diameter pass-through collet: 19mm [0.75 in], max diameter stepped collet 25.4mm [1 in] See PDF for dimensions of collet. W20 collets with adapter.
    • Weight, Basic (Lathe bed, headstock, tailstock, carriage, for bench mounting, without motor) 95 kg [210 lb]
    • Weight, Bench Mount, W/ Bench: 102N-CF with 1.5kw motor and bench with Lista cabinet 320 kg [705 lb]
    • Weight (including motor, drive system, Cast Iron stand): 560kg [1250 lbs] approximate
  • Power requirement: 208 – 460V 3 Phase, Delta or Wye. Maximum 7 Amps at 208V. See below for options if you don’t have 3 phase power. Minimum requirement with external adapter  is 208V 10A single phase.

Lathe Motor Specs:

    • Type: “33,07” 380V 3 phase 2 speed, IEC size DF100L, B-3 Foot / B-14 Face mounted (Metric standard)
    • Power: 1.5 / 0.6 Kw (2.0 / 0.81 HP)
    • RPM: 2850 / 670 @ 50 Hz, 3420 / 800 @ 60 Hz
    • Current Draw: 3.63 / 2.3 @ 380 V
    • Manufacturer: RCB Elektroapparate AG, Bienwil Am See, Schweiz (Switzerland), now Smedegarrd AG
  • Motor was serviced in 2008.

Condition:

This lathe is in very good used condition. The bed shows typical wear from light/moderate use. Paint is original and in good condition. Bearing noise from headstock is low.

The machine is offered with a Morse Taper 2 tailstock (metric graduations) and your choice of inch or metric screw-operated carriage. A copy of the Schaublin service manual and parts diagrams are included with the machine.

Schaublin 102N on wheels for transport
Schaublin 102N rigged for transport with caster outriggers, M24 eyebolts and bed cover. Plastic knobs removed for travel.

Location and Moving:

The lathe is currently located in Burbank, CA 91506. I have a set of custom-built casters that can be securely attached to the cast iron base. Along with the large M24 eye bolts at each corner, two men can easily move the machine on a hard level surface.

The lathe’s location does not have a loading dock. Any lift gate truck with a lift capacity of 1500 lbs or greater can lift the machine. Due to the machine’s low center of gravity, unlike other engine lathes, it is not difficult to move it safely.

GE FUJI Frenic G11 VFD
Control panel of GE FUJI Frenic G11 VFD. LED display shows current drive frequency in Hz, LCD display is multi-function.

Upgrades

A GE/Fuji VFD drive unit is currently installed on the lathe allowing infinite variable speed control. The addition of the VFD drive upgrades the lathe to the functional equivalent of the 102N-CF version sold in the 2000’s. The VFD drive also gives much of the functionality of the back-gear speed reduction unit without the mechanical complexity and maintenance requirements.

The VFD drive is very useful for running the spindle at very low speeds. It is possible to go as low as 5 Hz drive frequency, which gives a minimum spindle speed of 25 rpm for  low torque applications such as grinding.  At a 10 Hz drive frequency the spindle runs at 50 rpm, matching the minimum speed of the 102N with the mechanical speed reduction unit.

  • GE FUJI AF 300 G11 Variable Frequency Drive (VFD), 2HP, 460V
  • GE branded version of FUJI Frenic G11 unit used by Schaublin to power accessory drive (for milling/grinding attachments, etc)
  • Variable Frequency Inverter Drive with flux vector and dynamic torque vector control (for smooth running at low speed)
  • LED and LCD display with keypad, with Keypad Extension Cable for mounting the display / keypad in  a convenient location.
  • Settings for Motor 1 and Motor 2 for use with the dual speed Schaublin motor.
  • Line reactor for motor winding protection
  • Custom installation with shielded conduit and 1000V insulated wire

Additional Tooling

I have the following items of tooling which will be made available to the purchaser of the machine on a “first right of refusal” basis. All offers on the tooling will be refused until the lathe is sold.

It took over 10 years of diligent searching including two trips to Switzerland to put this tooling package together.

    • Screw operated carriage (90mm stroke, additional either inch or metric) – ONE CARRIAGE STILL AVAILABLE, only in conjunction with the back-geared Schaublin 102 described at the top of this page.
    • Star Wheel Drilling Tailstock: New Style “N”  drilling tailstock, type 105-69.000 for W25 collets, metric graduation, wt 14.5kg [32 lb] – rare and highly sought after item. SOLD
    • Steady rest with standard and ball bearing roller jaws 
    • SOLD
    • W25 collets, metric, near-complete set 0.5 to 25mm, some  collets are new
  • SOLD
  • W25 collets, inch fractional: 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 7/8, 1″, some collets are new – All new collets sold, some W25 collets still available.
  • W25 collets, inch fractional 16th, 32nd and 64th, incomplete set (64th inch collets are now special-order only from Schaublin and cost over $300.- each)
  • W25 Gr. 1 collet closer and machinable collets SOLD
  • W25 Gr. 2 collet closer and machinable collets  SOLD
  • W25 to W20 reduction adapter & W20 drawbar for quick collet closer  SOLD
  • 150mm 4-Jaw independent chuck for W25 threaded spindle, Pratt-Burnerd. This is not a chuck on a W25 back plate, but a chuck with an integrated W25 mount. Very rare item no longer available from Schaublin  SOLD
  • Milling Attachment for W20 collets with vertical slide (fits on carriage)  SOLD
  • Screw-Cutting Attachment (original Schaublin new old stock) for 102N. This is the “driveshaft / change gear” style which has been unavailable from Schaublin for decades. Includes change gears: 45, 50, 60, 70, 75, 80, 90, 100 (2), 125, 127T and Threading tool. Cuts inch pitches from 10 to 120 TPI, metric pitches 0.25 – 3.0 mm  SOLD
  • Various items of W25 spindle tooling, many hard to find items, some purchased new.
  •  Custom bracket to fit Waldmann Lamp  SOLD
  • 3HP Arco Roto-Phase rotary phase converter (allows lathe to be powered by 208-230V single-phase power. STLL AVAILABLE

More information on Schaublin lathes:

    • Schaublin lathe page on anglo-swiss-tools.co.uk (Dr. David Samways) Also supplier of used Aciera, Schaublin, Mikron and other fine Swiss lathes and mills, plus accessories.

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