Sears Craftsman 6" Metal Lathe Model # 109 20630

I have 2 AA-109 lathes. Back in the 40's when there was a filling station on every corner lots of these were sold to do small repair work on automobiles. They are what they are not made for hogging metal but good for something like small parts. As said no degree wheels on any handle and the speeds suck with no jackshaft. I have made pulleys to add a jackshaft to get better speeds. I wouldn't pay that much for one. I remember when 60 bucks was lots of money for them. I got one for free 31 years ago and 60 for the second one.

I bought a Sears/Atlas lathe, used, in 1970 for $200. It came with 3 and 4 jaw chuck, faceplate, MT1 & 2 centers, metal stand, a full set of lantern tool holders, and a full set of change gears. I have used it heavily for forty years. I have replaced the motor, the 3 jaw chuck, the lead screw, the half nuts, the cross feed nut and rebuilt the back gear assembly, the compound feed, and the jack shaft over the years.

The issue with the Atlas lathe is replacement parts. Many parts are no longer available and wear happens. While it is possible to make replacement parts, that can be difficult with limited resources.

Unless the lathe is cherry, I would think $450 is a bit much. Pricewise, you are starting to get into the realm of other options. Having said that, looking at Craigslist and eBay, I didn't see any great deals. Two years ago, I went with a new Grizzly rather than look for a used deal. The reason was I didn't want a restoration project. While the Sears/Atlas lathes were American made, they still have wear issues and buy a used lathe is leaving you open to them. While I am sure there are lathes out there owned by a little old man that only ran it after church on Sunday, many of them have seen much use and abuse.

It seems that e-Bay and Craigslist sellers have fairly well raised the bottom of the pricing range. If you are willing to wait, watching for auctions and estate sales is one of the better ways to find a real gem at a low price.

BTW, the 1/2" is the spindle bore, not the spindle diameter.

I think almost everyone is confused here.
He is asking about the Craftsman AA109 lathe not the Atlas model 101 which is a better machine for sure. The 109 lathe does have a 1/2" dia spindle...Bob

Bob is right. The OP specified a 109-20630, which is the most common 109-series lathe. They make good lathe MODELs, to restore and put on the shelf in the library. That's what I did with my two.

If you want a small US-made lathe, hold out for one of the Atlas/Craftsman 618s. IMO that is the best of the Sears lathes, and a great alternative to a minilathe. It is easily twice the lathe compared to the 109s.

Don't pay $450 for ANY 109.

Laverick said:

Any of you kind folk make a recommendation on this machine. I am looking for a med to sm lathe to support my rr hobby 1/87 to 1/8 scale. is $4.50 too much to pay for one in fair to good condition/

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Old hand ; Good one- $ 300.00 , bad one, $ 60.00 plus $ 250.00 parts, plus 50hrs.
Labor. @ . .....BLJHB

I would only buy a 109 for under a$100 dollars if it had enough parts on it to sell on E-bay for $300 ...Not to use it as a lathe. Get a 6" atlas/craftsman if you are pressed for space...If not get a 13" or up SB or equivalent. Not to belittle anyone with a 109 , I had one and didn't get far with it...picked up a 618 atlas /craftsman and things started getting made(still have it,actually 2 of them) and then found a 14 1/2" SB. for some reason the 109's do sell pretty good .....not because they are good lathes though!

109s have 2 things going for them:
1- They make nice lathe models for display in the house
2 - The change gears are the same as 618. I have bought several 109s just to get the change gears, then sold the 109 for what I had in it.

I am going to make a display AA-109 for my living room right beside my end table welder..Bob

I bought a Craftsman 101.07301 for $200 a few weeks ago and it came with a lot of tooling and accessories. It (and other Craftsmans like it) and an Atlas 618 are much more lathe. I see the 109's going for about $300 and I pass them up. If I found one in good shape for $100 to $150 I might consider it. If it had a lot of accessories I might go higher but not too much.

Parts for the Atlas and Craftsman 6" x 18" lathes are pricey but available from Clausing and sellers on ebay. Seems like guys on ebay are parting them out quite often.