Atlas Th48 or Logan 200

I would say more than .003 is too much. The Atlas, if it is in fact a TH48, will have Timkin roller bearings. I would want to check it the same way as TQ60 suggested checking the Logan. The Atlas does have an adjustment for spindle bearing preload, and I would guess that the Logan has a similar adjustment. I would worry more if the spindle is really tight or if you can feel or hear grinding type noises when turning the spindle by hand (or when running under power).
 
Gotcha. Ill likely just pick up the logan. Comes with a rest, about 13 extra gears, but I don't see tooling. Suppose ill upgrade to a QCTP with the extra $$$ I save.
 
The Logan will have roller bearings. It appears to be an early one (that's neither good, nor bad). Hard to see much more than that. But with all gears, and a steady rest (I think that is what you mean by rest) $600 might be a pretty good deal.

Maybe get them to throw in some rags and degreaser.:congratulate:
 
Yep, as long as it moves well, no noises, bearings are good, etc. Ill go with it. I appreciate all the help guys!
 
I would go with the logan...much more solid.. has roller bearing that last forever if you have to replace them .
Lack of Gear box on either is something I wouldn't consider... Changing gears can be a pain and is necessary for Controlling the speed of the cutting tool which will affect the finish you get on the work piece( slower provides better finish... faster provide faster work time while " roughing out" I've refurbished about 12 lathes of which 2 were Atlas/Craftsman and two were Logan' one Very Old ( antique) Seneca falls one Southbend heavy 10 and a half dozen South Bend " workshop" 9". My preference is South Bend over Logan but they are very similar.
Most importantly... If there is any way you can afford it get a Logan 820 or a South bend 9" work shop or a South bend " Lite 10" but do yourself a favor and get a lathe with a quick change gear box....Trust me on this one !
Joebiplane
 
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I'm in the process of "rebuilding" a Logan 200, so I can answer a few of your questions. The bearings in a Logan 200 are ball bearings, not roller bearings. Unlike many lathes, they are not adjustable: the preload
is "built in" to the bearings. The front bearing is a double row bearing that, while not available from bearing houses, is still available from Logan. (I just bought bearings for mine.) This brings up a good
point: the Logan is one of the easier older American lathes to support. Because they were build in large numbers, there are lots of eBay parts available, and parts are still available from Logan as well. (http://www.lathe.com). In general, Logans are considered a better lathe than an Atlas: more robust, better ways etc. joebiplane's suggestion to find an 820 is a good one since the 200 didn't
have a quick change gear box, but really you should focus on finding a lathe in the best condition you can find, with as much tooling as possible. All these old machines have wear, especially to the bed,
and of course many were abused. Changing wear items like bushings, bearings, belts etc. can always be done, but avoiding a completely worn out machine will save you headaches later. You may want
to learn a bit about evaluating a lathe, and then take the time to find a good one. My machine is in pretty good shape, and I didn't overpay for it, but I've still spent more on parts and tooling than
I spent buying it, and I'm not done yet.

I would start by checking the FAQ on Logan's website, and check out the
"LOGAN ENGINEERING CO. & LOGAN WARDS " discussions elsewhere
on this site. LOTS of useful information that will help you make a good
choice.
 
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Nogoingback is correct on the bearings being ball bearings..... My mistake... BUT They ARE available through bearing houses and at a cost of about $75.00 for the set they may not be the name bearing in your machine but they are the right size just bring your old bearing with you to the bearing outlet. I have gotten them at a small distributor here in South Jersey ( Vineland ) as well as a large supplier in Blackwood N J both shops had them in stock. It has been about 10 years since I bought the last set
 
I have the Monkey Wards/Logan 10"er and I am very happy with it. I got it dialed to within .0005 with a 3 jaw chuck. It took some hand scraping and then rotating the jaws around in the body to find the "sweet spot" but its pretty darn close. I haven't done any super close tolerance type stuff with it yet
but it's not bad for a $3oo lathe.
 
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