WWII hand-powered lathe from Liberty Ship - photo

[mklotz]

The more I look at it , the more it looks like a Cole drill mechanism. The boring bar on the end, once adjusted for depth of cut, doesn't seem to have any mechanism for moving it into the work, presumably held in one of the collet like cups on the end of the shaft. This means that the shaft itself has to provide the feed motion.

Note the mechanism with the handle between the two shaft bearings. I can't tell from the photograph but it looks as if the section of the shaft under this mechanism is possibly threaded.

If it is, then the use would go something like this... Mount packing nut in suitably sized "packing chuck" on end of shaft. Adjust boring bar for depth of cut. Lift handle to disengage the "feed nut" from the threaded shaft and push shaft forward until packing nut contacts boring bar. Drop handle to engage feed nut with threaded shaft. Turning the handwheel will both revolve the packing nut against the boring bar as well as driving it forward as the threads on the shaft turn against the feed nut.

The fact that a "spare feed nut" is supplied with the unit further points to this concept of use.