Craftsman 618 bench and cleanup

[Squashfest81]

Finally getting around to setting up the little Craftsman 101 6 by 18 inch lathe.
Looking for some thoughts and ideas along the way.
Here she is. She was a running functioning lathe when I pulled her out of some dudes basement.

 

[Squashfest81]

And the bench progress as seen in my shed thread, see link below. Cut a solid core door down to 17.5in wide slab. Added a little maple to the end and cut some 6in square risers for the lathe to sit on. Slipped in some drawers on the end and a set of drawers from an old bench in the middle.

 

[Squashfest81]

I've got limited space, so I'm trying to keep the bench small. The current thought is to mount the 1/2 horse craftsman motor under the bench. Any reason not too? First pic shows space constraints. Second pic shows a crude mockup of a hinged mount under the bench. Thoughts?

 

[mkat1951]

Looks good.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Make sure you don't get chips falling down into the motor.

 

[Squashfest81]

Thanks Mkat, brushed some poly on the lathe bench earlier tonight. Still got to decide on the motor mounting.
Stuart, that's the feedback I'm looking for. I've only played with lathes all set up. Thinking motor below and a slot cut out of the top for the belt to pass. Thinking chips won't be a huge issue?

 

[Squashfest81]

Cut a filler piece to fill the gap in the back and added supports for it and for the motor mount. Planning to go with a simple hinge mount below. This pic shows the gap, filler strip removed, and where the hinges will mount.

 

[Squashfest81]

I need pulley purchasing help!
Tired of my non-working lathe taunting me. It would have been really useful on a recent bike project.
I decided to get it spinning before I tackle the next bike project. To do that I need to order a pulley for the Craftsman motor and a link belt to connect it all. That’s where you all come in. Specs to follow.

 

[Squashfest81]

Quoted from Finallygotit’s post in my Shed thread.
“I can do better than that, the exact outer diameter on the motor pulley is 2-1/4" and the pulley on the intermediate shaft is 3".
So, where do I find a 2-1/4” pulley for a 3/8” belt with a 1/2” bore for the Craftsman motor? Or do I change the intermediate shaft pulley like Finallygotit did? Maybe I need to look more into that.

 

[Squashfest81]

Got the motor mounted below to decide on belt lengths. To do that I had to cut a slot for the belt to pass through.

 

[Squashfest81]

She is bolted down along with the vise.

 

[bmwrd0]

Nice setup. I have one from the thirties, it has Oilite bearings and a different setup for the backgears. If you are still looking for parts, this guy specializes in these little lathes.

https://www.mymachineshop.net

 

[Squashfest81]

Good to know bmw. I’ll check that out.

Link belt showed up today.
She’s spinning! Now to start making shiny little metal shavings.

 

[Squashfest81]

 

[Squashfest81]

Haven’t updated the little lathe thread in years.
To get us up to speed I cut and tapped this plate.

 

[Squashfest81]

That was done to mount the super cheap China quick change. It’s not the heaviest duty tool post, but I think for careful light work it will do.

 

[Squashfest81]

Since that time I’ve dug up a switch to mount on the bench. I’m guessing it’s off a sewing machine setup. Wired it up to the motor and screwed it to the bench. Wired the light in too while I was at it.