Crouzet-Valence VM125 metal lathe

To kick off the "workshop" series, here are a few photos of the latest addition... 😁

I'd been looking for a metal lathe for a long time, but on the one hand, they're highly sought-after machines (prices are skyrocketing), and on the other hand, while there's a good supply in the north of the country (due to its industrial past), that's far from the case here in the Southeast. And since we're talking about heavy machines, distance is an important factor.

After months of monitoring classified ads, I finally found what I was looking for on eBay: a Crouzet-Valence VM125 lathe, from the mid-1950s!
And you know the best part? The seller was only 10 minutes from my house, and he kindly delivered it to me (thanks again, Fabien!) with his trailer towed by his 1944 Jeep (!)... All for €200! 😁

A center height of 125mm (therefore a 250mm diameter over the bed) somewhat limits its range of applications; no drums nor flywheels. The 400mm distance between centers isn't enough for a propeller shaft, but more than sufficient for my needs. It can thread and turn thanks to a leadscrew drive and a Norton gearbox; it even has an automatic stop system, very handy for threads that need to stop abruptly. Time will tell how it performs.
A beautiful baby that still weighs close to 400kg on the scale (big thank you to my friends for unloading!), but with a footprint limited to 120x50cm on the ground: the little lathe I've been dreaming of for years!
Aaaaaaaaah, if only I'd had it to build my submarine...😉

So here's the beast. A lot of cleaning to be done, but so far only good surprises under the layers of grime; overall it's in very good condition (the bench rails have suffered from corrosion, but nothing irreparable).
I haven't tried running it yet; I need a 380V frequency inverter for that... More to come soon!