Atlas 10” lathe I.D. Help.

[Sportsterparts1]

Hi all,

New to the forum and new to machining in general. Just picked up a 10” atlas lathe. Very excited about it considering I deal with 40 to 60 year old motorcycle parts it will be nice to have this on hand. The model number on the tag reads TV42 serial number 055263. There are many parts stamped with 10D. After researching more I thought I could be a 10D, but it has the cross power feed which I thought came out with the 10F. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sportsterparts1]

More pictures

 

[Z2V]

Welcome to the forum first off. There is a Atlas section here also, you might look there. Many knowledgeable people here and all are ready and willing to help.
Congrats on the lathe

 

[Sportsterparts1]

Thanks for the heads up. I’ll look around for the atlas section. I’ve been to the lathes.UK site many times and still haven’t come up with anything that matches. Thanks

 

[RandyM]

I moved this thread to the Atlas section. I think you'll have better luck with it here instead of the beginners section. Welcome to HM. We are glad you are here.

 

[yendor]

The 10F was an upgrade to the basic 10D Model.
Many of the original castings were kept the same so you will see 10D in many places.

But you are correct the Power Cross Feed was introduced with the 10F so if you have it you have a 10F

 

[Sportsterparts1]

The 10F was an upgrade to the basic 10D Model.
Many of the original castings were kept the same so you will see 10D in many places.

But you are correct the Power Cross Feed was introduced with the 10F so if you have it you have a 10F

Thanks, very much appreciated. Trying to narrow it down to an exact year now. So far Looking up the model number and serial number hasn’t turned up much. I gave her a good cleaning and she’s running smooth.

 

[wa5cab]

Welcome to H-M

As Rod said, a lot of the parts on the 10F Series have 10D- part numbers. Some also still have 10- or 9-. My Atlas 3996 made summer of 1980 still has a few 9-, 10-, 10D- and 10F- parts on it. Unlike a lot of companies, especially car manufacturers, Atlas originally only changed a part number if the part was different and not backwards compatible to earlier models. If a part was modified, but still at least provisionally backwards compatible, it got a suffix letter. That remained true from 1932 until into the 1960's, when the Clausing contingent began to get the upper hand and started changing things.

If you ever have reason to have to pull the spindle and bearings, you should find dates engraved on the Timken bearings. It isn't clear whether the engraving was done by Atlas or Timken but whichever one is the later sets an earliest possible date for the machine. From the usually different dates on the two original bearings, we know that Atlas did not practice FIFO (First In First Out) in their inventory control but the later date is as good a way as we have for dating the Timken equipped machines. Clausing (bought by Atlas in 1949/50 but later managed to change the company name back to Clausing) over the years lost or destroyed all of the production records. On the plus side, Clausing, unlike most companies, still provides some parts and technical support for the older equipment. Prices may seem high compaired to what you probably paid for the machine, but they simply reflect the fact that you can't still make parts and sell them for what shows up on the old price sheets.

Your machine was probably made in late 1944 or early 1945. The model number is a 10F number and translates as follows

T = Timken (blank would be Babbit spindle bearings)
V = Vertical Countershaft (the more common one is H for Horizontal)
42 = 42" bed length. Other choices are 36, 48 and 54. 42 means that the size classification is 10x24.

The vertical countershaft (which is why your machine lacks a top cover on the headstock) went out of production in late 1945.

 

[Sportsterparts1]

Welcome to H-M

As Rod said, a lot of the parts on the 10F Series have 10D- part numbers. Some also still have 10- or 9-. My Atlas 3996 made summer of 1980 still has a few 9-, 10-, 10D- and 10F- parts on it. Unlike a lot of companies, especially car manufacturers, Atlas originally only changed a part number if the part was different and not backwards compatible to earlier models. If a part was modified, but still at least provisionally backwards compatible, it got a suffix letter. That remained true from 1932 until into the 1960's, when the Clausing contingent began to get the upper hand and started changing things.

If you ever have reason to have to pull the spindle and bearings, you should find dates engraved on the Timken bearings. It isn't clear whether the engraving was done by Atlas or Timken but whichever one is the later sets an earliest possible date for the machine. From the usually different dates on the two original bearings, we know that Atlas did not practice FIFO (First In First Out) in their inventory control but the later date is as good a way as we have for dating the Timken equipped machines. Clausing (bought by Atlas in 1949/50 but later managed to change the company name back to Clausing) over the years lost or destroyed all of the production records. On the plus side, Clausing, unlike most companies, still provides some parts and technical support for the older equipment. Prices may seem high compaired to what you probably paid for the machine, but they simply reflect the fact that you can't still make parts and sell them for what shows up on the old price sheets.

Your machine was probably made in late 1944 or early 1945. The model number is a 10F number and translates as follows

T = Timken (blank would be Babbit spindle bearings)
V = Vertical Countershaft (the more common one is H for Horizontal)
42 = 42" bed length. Other choices are 36, 48 and 54. 42 means that the size classification is 10x24.

The vertical countershaft (which is why your machine lacks a top cover on the headstock) went out of production in late 1945.

Thanks a ton for the info, very much appreciated. Figuring out the power feed now. Came with a lot of change gears but can't seem to find a diagram of the proper set up for power feed. There’s only a few gears on it now but they’re not engaged with the main drive. I have the threading chart inside the change gear cover (if that’s what it’s called).

Also having trouble finding a chart for spindle speed for each belt setting. Other than that she’s running smooth and very happy I picked this up.

 

[wa5cab]

The answer to both questions is get a copy of the appropriate Atlas Manual Of Lathe Operation (AKA MOLO). They are fairly plentiful on eBay. Prices mostly run between $25 and $35. However, unless the edition that you are looking for is 16 or above and the latest year shown on the Copyright Page is 1954 or later instead of 1937, you will in almost all cases have to write the seller and ask whether the first printed page in part 7 - Threading (or for a few years, Thread Cutting) mentions the Atlas F-Series Ten Inch Lathes , the Sears Master Craftsman Lathes (which is the Craftsman 12" with the later A-suffix gears), the Atlas Six Inch or the Craftsman Six Inch.

Note that the first two are common. The third one is rare (I have the only one I've ever come across there) and I have yet to find the fourth one. So if you have a 6", your best bet is probably going to be a Sixteenth Edition. eBay sellers almost always include a photo of the Copyright page. Also, 80% of them think that if it says Copyright 1937, it's a First Edition. I have yet to find an actual First Edition. According to a photo of it that I found in one early Atlas catalog from late 1936, the First Edition was Exact Bound (glued and stapled). If the cover is blue and the binding is full length wire, it's for the 10D and works for the 101.07401 and lower Craftsman models.

There are in the Atlas/Craftsman/AA category under Atlas MOLO two files. One is a MOLO history and the other is a MOLO edition selection chart for the various model lathes.