tool score

[damnesia]

Recently a friend of mine was moving and gave me some tools. I took a bunch of pictures to night but in the process of renaming them I deleted the majority of them. I'll post the ones I missed and get pictures of the rest of the stuff tomorrow of the next day and rest of the week.

1. Craftsman/Atlas 101 12" x 36" lathe
2. Old Craftsman Critchley Tyler ( stamped Cross Country on each ) reamer set
3. Starrett precision level ( one of my favorite things I own for some reason )
4. My partner in crime for the trip
5. Lincoln bearing packer

On the way home I stopped by a friends to show him and he ended up giving me a bunch of Starrett and Mitutoyo internal and external calipers, Union and General scales, squares, dial indicators, lots of lathe/machinest tools I'm not sure what they are, more drill bits than I'll ever need, etc.

Some other stuff that is now all mixed together so I don't recall which one of the two it came from: a ton of old Bonney, Wright, a few Snap-on, SK, Craftsmen, Challenger, Proto, Barcalo Buffalo, Williams and a few old USA tools that I haven't heard of and some that weren't marked. Also a bunch of import tools that I gave a friend of mine's 3 year old son who already likes to wrench.

 

[larry_g]

Looks like a great haul. Curious on the level, is the base cast or is it wood? It doesn't look like any -98 I've seen before.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Zeke]

That's a good ol' lathe if it has been taken care of and not used to death. The price was right so you get a...

YOU ****!

 

[damnesia]

Looks like a great haul. Curious on the level, is the base cast or is it wood? It doesn't look like any -98 I've seen before.

lg
no neat sig line

The level base is cast and very heavy. It has the original box too. I was wondering if it had been painted but I'm pretty sure it has the original paint ( I haven't seen a yellow one before ). There are no scratches on the stainless part or the bubble/glass area.

 

[damnesia]

That's a good ol' lathe if it has been taken care of and not used to death. The price was right so you get a...

YOU ****!

The lathe is in great shape. It needed cleaned up and lubricated but was very lightly used. The deal was I could have it if I let the old owner use it if he needed it. My answer was "of course". Now I need to figure out how to sharpen and/or shape lathe bits.

 

[Rileysan]

You have some amazing friends! Congrats on acquiring an instant machine shop!

Brian

 

[woody 73]

Yes indeed you have some very nice friends be sure and take them out for dinner and drinks.

 

[damnesia]

We're a tight bunch. Basically they were given lots of tools, took what they needed/wanted and passed the rest along. Tt definitely works both ways. Now if they'd just pass along some ball peen hammers and long breaker bars ( I broke all of mine ) I'd be set

 

[cgrutt]

Sweet! Congrats.

 

[Murphy4570]

Check for wear on the lathe bed. Those low end ones didn't have hardened ways, and would wear quickly. You're not going to be able to do precision work. For home hobbyist/farmer roughing work, it'll do OK. Chuck up a piece of stock and take a cut, see how bad the taper is.

 

[damnesia]

The lathe bed is in good shape. A friend, who is a machinist by trade, checked it out for me. He said it was the perfect starter lathe. I've only use it to create sleeves and for modifying wheel spacers. Anything I need to be precise I have him do for an 18er of Rainer and a couple of cheap cigars. I'd like to eventually upgrade to a better one but can't justify right now.

 

[Murphy4570]

You're golden then. For small stuff like that it'll work fine. Congrats!

Just don't go on Practical Machinist and ask questions about the thing. They are elitist snobs on there, and despise Craftsman/Atlas lathes. Me personally, any lathe is better than no lathe!

Make sure to work slowly and follow safety procedures. No loose fitting clothing, short sleeve shirts only, no loose chains, etc around the neck.

 

[OCD]

Cool looking dog!!

 

[damnesia]

Cool looking dog!!

Thanks. She loves to ride in my Scout.

 

[damnesia]

Looks like a great haul. Curious on the level, is the base cast or is it wood? It doesn't look like any -98 I've seen before.

lg
no neat sig line

I see what you mean now. The barrel on top that contains the level is stamped Starrett but looking at precision levels online and this one doesn't look like any of them. Tomorrow I'll see if there is a part number on the barrel. Maybe someone married two together.

 

[Provincial]

The level looks like either a Starrett No. 97 or 98. The No. 98 has a ground and graduated main vial.

The No. 98 is commonly used for setting up machines (including machine tools) by us mortals. The Master Precision Level is used by real experts for that task, since it is far more sensitive, hence more precise.

I see from further inspection of your photo that the main vial has graduation marks, which means that the vial is ground to give it a more precise reading.

On further research, inspired by larry g's comment, I found the answer in my 1938 Starrett Catalog 26:

Adjustable Bench Levels, No. 95 and 96. The No. 96 has a ground and graduated main vial. The illustration shows no cross vial on the 12 inch size, but the text says it has one cross vial. The No. 97 and 98 listing in this catalog states "In additon to the regular parallel vial, the bases have a cross level which enables one to place or hold the base on a shaft level on its cross section, not canted sideways....." This makes me think that the level in question may be an early version of a No. 96, made before Starrett started putting cross vials on the No. 95 and 96. I believe from the product descriptions and illustrations in this catalog, that Starret started putting cross vials on the 95 and 96 in the late 1930's.

My comments about the No. 98 apply to the 96, as well. It will work fine for setting up the Craftsman lathe.

 

[leg17]

Check for wear on the lathe bed. Those low end ones didn't have hardened ways, and would wear quickly. You're not going to be able to do precision work. For home hobbyist/farmer roughing work, it'll do OK. Chuck up a piece of stock and take a cut, see how bad the taper is.

I wouldn't worry too much.
You can do as good quality of work as you want to with some thought and care.
A lathe is just a tool. Like a hammer.