Craftsman Lathe questions

[Joelfke]

I recently inherited this Craftsman metal lathe from my great uncles basement (man is this thing heavy!) I was wondering if anyone has any information on it and if it is worth anything. I didn't want to let it get thrown out but I have no use for it.

 

[930dreamer]

I'd love to buy the lathe but shipping from NJ would be a killer.

http://shdesigns.org/Craftsman-12x36/

 

[A_Pmech]

They're very lightly built and incredibly frustrating to use.

 

[darkk]

I recently inherited this Craftsman metal lathe from my great uncles basement (man is this thing heavy!) I was wondering if anyone has any information on it and if it is worth anything. I didn't want to let it get thrown out but I have no use for it.

All the info you will ever want right here...
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/

 

[TruckJunkie]

That is a 12" Craftsman/Atlas lathe, I have the same model here at home for some of my light duty work. They are not heavy duty lathes, but at least as good as some of the import stuff available. If you check out ebay you should find out plenty regarding it's value. The more tooling and support equipment you have for it, the higher it's potential value. There is an active group for these on Yahoo and lots of information available online, including manuals.

 

[Jim Johnstone]

I've only laid eyes on one before, and it was pretty light duty. It may seem heavy, but when you talk about heavy machine tools, you're usually talking in tons, not pounds.

 

[woody 73]

Too the op don't sell it rather have some fun with it. Start by putting some wood blanks in it and making some nice wooden handles for your files, or better yet make some nice ink pens (buy the kit first).

Woody

 

[A_Pmech]

All the info you will ever want right here...
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/

I recommend homeshopmachinist.net first.

PM is a forum primarily for shop owners. Discussion of import machines or Atlas / Craftsman stuff is against the rules and a good way to get banned.

 

[larry_g]

There is value to that lathe. I would highly advise you to get back to the basement and scour it for any more parts and pieces such as a follow rest and change gear set. You should also be able to turn up cutters and tool holders. Then any measuring tools that may be floating around. Also find the drive motor and pulley.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[ndnchf]

I've got the exact same lathe, had it for over 25 years. Sure its light duty, but fine for home use. I've made hundreds of parts on it over the years - its like an old friend.

 

[spongerich]

The steady rest (on the far right) is worth at least $100.

The Atlas/Craftsman lathes do sell for decent money if they're not all used up. Yours looks like one of the rarer long bed models.

If you don't mind dealing with shipping and you're patient, you should have no problem getting $600 for it.

 

[darkk]

I recommend homeshopmachinist.net first.
PM is a forum primarily for shop owners. Discussion of import machines or Atlas / Craftsman stuff is against the rules and a good way to get banned.

I stand corrected. I have several pieces of vintage machinery and (no lathe yet) belong to a few forums. I guess I never noticed, I suppose that's what happens when you don't pay close attention.

 

[Outlawmws]

Yahoo groups:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/atlas_craftsman/

And since it is an Atlas/Clausing made unit for Craftsman:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/clausing_lathe_and_mill/

Condition is everything on these and I'm not talking mere cosmetics. Wear on the ways, wear on the lead screws and nuts, bearings are less of an issue as you can replace those, but it's still $$, and last but far from lease is wear on the gears and/or any breakage. (those gears are Zamik, which is a high grade pot metal. can be good but can also sometimes disintegrate...)

From the pics it looks like it could be a winner, but only close inspections by someone knowledgeable can prove that out.

 

[m0ondoggy]

That's actually not a 12" lathe, it's a 6". They are incredibly handy; I use mine 2-3 times a week. Once you have it set up and working they make themselves useful for just about everything.

I have a slightly different vintage Craftsman/Atlas 6", and I love it. It was actually my grandfather's. My dad refurbished it for me and gave it to me about 7 years ago. I would clean up that lathe, replace the bearings in the headstock, and get a Phase II QC toolpost for it and use it. They really don't take up that much room.

They are not frusterating to use unless you don't know what you're doing or you are trying to do more than you should with a 6" lathe. For turning small stuff they are fantastic.

Here's mine:

If one gets creative enough it can even be used to headspace a barrel for an L1A1.

For reference here are my dad's 12" lathes, you can see how much larger they are (look at the chuck for instance)

 

[Outlawmws]

I think it is in fact a 12" lathe, possibly 10", but certainly not 6".

take another look at his first pic and use the 2x4 as a point of reference for the distance from the center of the chuck to the ways.... X2 and you get way more than 6".

Remember, here in the US its the Diameter of the part you can swing, not the swing radius.

 

[m0ondoggy]

You're right, it is a 12, the width of the headstock threw me. THat's a pretty light 12", but my sentiments above still apply.

 

[opie11]

Go to the following website for information regarding your lathe.

www.lathes.co.uk

Hope this helps.

 

[Joelfke]

thanks guys. I would really like to sell it, but don't know what channels to go through. Id like to see it go to someone who will use it.

 

[Outlawmws]

Yahoo groups:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/atlas_craftsman/

And since it is an Atlas/Clausing made unit for Craftsman:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/clausing_lathe_and_mill/

thanks guys. I would really like to sell it, but don't know what channels to go through. Id like to see it go to someone who will use it.

Check in with the groups above, and let them know what you have, and where you are. those are people active with the tools adn are often on the market...