Not so new metal lathe

[8man]

But it is new to me.

Dad gave me another "fix it" project. He's 83, I'm 62 and you would think by now I'd know better. You see, I have NO knowledge about metal lathes! NONE! So here I am, hat in hand posting a few pictures as I start this trek. I have not even googled this little Atlas yet. I'll do that next. However, I know from a previous post on here I'll get a lot more help here than just searching on my own. So here goes.



It's about 32" overall. Is that really small?

Here is the whole thing.

Man there is a lot of gears in there! Some will barely move as the grease has hardened to the point it won't move.

The electric motor (not shown) will start turning, but very slowly, like it is gummed up as well.

The plastic cover for the gears has a couple of broken spots on it. As you can see there is very little rust, so that won't be a problem.





It came with a number of other gears in a metal box, don't have a clue.

The Model #10100 and the Serial #001658

So now the fun begins. Trying to figure out what I have and more than that, what to do with it.

 

[Jawn]

Looks like the 6x18... has some following, was also sold as a "Craftsman" branded unit.

http://www.lathes.co.uk/atlas6inch/page2.html

 

[My Old Tools]

change gears are for cutting threads.

 

[Warrenator]

Spend an afternoon watching youtube videos on metal lathes, also there are some good old books like South Bend How to run a lathe, you can generally download pdf's of those books for free, will help you identify parts and whatnot. Fun hobby.

 

[bczygan]

Here's a link to the South Bend "How to Run a Lathe".

http://www.wswells.com/data/htral/1930_htral.pdf

Bill

 

[8man]

I plugged in the electric motor to see if it runs. It does, but slowly. It's like it has the same hardened grease in it that is gumming up the gears. I guess I'll have to learn how to rebuild an electric motor while I'm at it.

Thanks for the suggestions on the YouTube and I've started reading the 160 or so pages of the South Bend Lathe Work.

 

[WILD-BILL]

What you have there is an Atlas 618 mark 2.

http://www.lathes.co.uk/atlas6inch/page2.html

It's a 6" swing 18" between centers lathe.

The blue paint look OE so it's probably one of the later years up till they stoped making it. EarlyMK2's were greenish grey.

I have one of the earlier greenish ones. It's an OK lathe and defiantly better then nothing but it is a light duty machine. I can hold some pretty tight tollerences but I must use a magnifying light to see the tiny dials or put a dial indicator on the tool post to get a better look at how much I travel the tool into the work.

Little machine shop.com has a great little QCT and tooling package for them....

http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=3514

I got that plus the extra tool holders......

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=3825&category=

for the rest of the carbide tools and it really makes using the machine a better experience.

You just have to have patience and really pay attention to your depth of cut and feed rate and you can make some acurate parts with it.

Just work within it's limitations like any other machine.

My MK2

 

[8man]

Thank you Wild-Bill! That really helps.

Now if I just knew where to get the Heavy Duty Independent Chuck. I'm sure there will be other parts once I get into the restoration, but that is one I know I want.

 

[WILD-BILL]

If it's the same as mine it will have the 1" 10TPI spindle.

This would be the three jaw for it......

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-ATLAS-C...em25b3cb366e:g:8v4AAOSwYaFWefAf#ht_2833wt_685

 

[8man]

Thank you again Wild-Bill.

 

[mdbeck1]

But it is new to me.

Dad gave me another "fix it" project. He's 83, I'm 62 and you would think by now I'd know better. You see, I have NO knowledge about metal lathes! NONE! So here I am, hat in hand posting a few pictures as I start this trek. I have not even googled this little Atlas yet. I'll do that next. However, I know from a previous post on here I'll get a lot more help here than just searching on my own. So here goes.

I'm glad that you posted this. Last summer I bought an old 12" Atlas Lathe.At least that's what I have identified it as. It has the threading gears installed and somewhat works. There are still parts manuals available to the lathe and some of the attachments. Look up Craftsman Lathe on the Sears site. You can actually still order some of the stuff.

...and I just figured out this weekend that there is a lot of play on the main adjustment handle for the saddle. Was looking on YouTube and one guy put in a brass bushing to correct the problem. So information is out there you just have to dig for it.