Finally! I own a metal lathe!

[Fyrme]

Actually, not just one. I bought two the other night for $200. I couldn't pass them up. I know these are not big bad production lathes, but It is way more than I've had. Can ya tell I'm excited?

This one is a complete 18"ish, Crown Top Craftsman.

And I also got this Old 48"ish Atlas as well. It needs a motor, but other than that, I think it's all there.

I'll probably clean up the Craftsman first and start using it. Then restore the Atlas after that. Once the Atlas is up and running, I'll do a resto on the Cman.

 

[Fretters]

Nice. Once you get one up and running, you'll find no end of little things you can do which were awkward or nigh on impossible before. Lathes are one of the most useful pieces of equipment in the workshop, IMHO.

 

[PFSard]

There will be no stopping you now. LOL I cannot wait to see what creations you post.

 

[454ragtop]

Good score, might even say "you ****". The Atlas is far more capable than the Craftsman, which is the infamous AA 109 lathe. Make sure the spindle isn't bent on the AA before investing too much time in it, a common ailment. a 1/2 HP motor of 1725 RPM shouldn't be too hard to come by to get the Atlas up and running.
Good luck, Jim

 

[larry_g]

Great score and if you want good macines the first thing to learn is do not pile stuff on the ways! The ways are the precision of the lathe, nick, dent, or damage them and the precision the machine is capable of goes out the window.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[zkling]

I wouldn't put much effort/time/money into the craftsman 109. They are barely a passable metal lathe. Focus on the Atlas, if you have the space to keep the 109 as a toy great, but I wouldn't invest much time or effort into the machine.

 

[Fyrme]

Thanks for the reply's fellas. I'm looking forward to learning to use them. As far as their uses go, The Cman will be used almost exclusively for polishing small stuff and very limited small projects. It will be mounted to a flat board of some kind and stored out of the way, and only pulled out when needed. I may even sell it after I get the Atlas done. The Atlas, will find a permanent home somewhere in the shop.

 

[nine4gmc]

The Atlas is a great lathe, you know the score already, YOU ****!

 

[RivennHewn]

Can't wait to see what you turn out on your new toy!

 

[Bill Ramsey]

SWEET.

 

[PETE14]

CONGRATS!!

Any lathe is better than no lathe.

Soon, you will wonder how you ever survived without one.

If you're a newb to lathes, search out MRPETE222 (Tubalcain) on youtube.

 

[raf0419]

Sweet! Congrats.

 

[Mr. 360]

A definite YOU **** on those for 100 each. All you have to do is clean the rust off the Cman and you could sell it for what you paid for both or more. Owning a metal lathe is one of those things, you don't often use it (or, I don't use mine all the time), but when you need to, nothing else could possibly come close. I never would have bought a metal lathe if my uncle hadn't sold me his Myford ML7 for $50 (which is what he paid for it in the 90's). Given the quality of work I've seen you do, I'm sure you'll have both those machines in top shape before long. Let the chips fly!

 

[Fyrme]

Thanks guys. I wish I could say that the chips are flying already, but not quite yet. I hope to get the Cman up and running pretty soon though.

 

[nine4gmc]

The Craftsman is a simple machine with sleeve bearings, as long as their okay, you could easily knock it out in one day if you tried. I've seen your work!

 

[Outlawmws]

Nice finds! Personally, I like having a mini lathe around for those little almost non machining jobs. sometimes it's just not worth the hassle on the big one,. And you can't take the big one in the house or to someone else's house if you want...

I gave a little Unimat away some 25+ years ago, been a bunch of times I wish I hadn't.

 

[bczygan]

2 lathes for $200?

That's a hell of a TURN of events!

 

[Hingebird]

Great finds! Enjoy you new additions to your garage.



-Conrad

 

[Shadowdog500]

Congradulations!

After you get used to using it, you will find that it becomes a magic tool for getting you out of a pinch when working on other stuff.

Whenever i hit a roadblock and need a quick tool or unabtaniable part, my wheels start spinning on how to make something that will work.

Chris

 

[jkherd]

Great finds, please keep us updated on them.