New to me: Craftsman 101.27440 lathe.

Hey Rob,

Thanks for getting back to me.

That is one thing I want to get after I have the Lathe running. Is a QCTP, I know that Shars sells the AXA and heard that it will fit on my Lathe. Right now I have a bunch of the old style (Rocker tool post) tool holders. And when I bought the lathe and mill they both came with a bunch of tooling. Some of the stuff for the Lathe I'm not even sure about what they are used for. Because like I said, the guy who owned the lathe and mill supposed to be a gunsmith. So there is some weird looking tooling.

I also have the dilemma of which motor I want to put on the Lathe. The motor that was on the mill is a Craftsman 1/2hp at 1725rpm. And the one that was on the lathe is a 1/3hp at 1725rpm. But the old 1/3hp motor is really old and the 1/2hp motor has a forward and reverse switch on it. Don't ask me why they put a forward and reverse switch on the mill, because it doesn't make sense to have one on the mill.

But I am thinking about putting the 1/2hp motor on the Lathe. Do you think that is to much HP for the Lathe?

Also, here is a couple of pictures of the Atlas mill.1104170102.jpg1104170101.jpg

And of the Lathe before I started working on it 0620170155.jpg

Some of the tooling. 0620170158.jpg
 
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I think 1/2 hp would be just about perfect for the lathe. And I agree with you about the QCTP. My lathe came with a rocker and I hated it. I installed the AXA and am very happy.
 
Hello Jon,

Yeah, I haven't even tried to use the old style Rocker tool post yet. But I can imagine that they are a nightmare to setup, at least the first time. LoL Only reason I want to try out the rocker tool post. Is that I have a bunch of tooling for it that came with the Lathe when I bought it. And I know some of those QCTP can get expensive. Where did you get the AXA at?
 
Where did you get the AXA at?


Import models from Shars, sometimes their eBay pricing is lower than direct purchase from them. All industrial is another supplier of import models. I buy my Aloris directly from them when they have sales promotion.
 
I purchased my AXA from CDCO Machinery Co. It is branded "Bostar". It is the wedge type.

By the way, my lathe has an Atlas 1/2 HP 1725 RPM motor. I think it is the original motor that was installed when the lathe was new. My MFC mill has a 1/3 HP Dunlap motor. I suspect that motor is not the original but 1/3 HP seems to be standard for the MFC.

I found the lantern tool post to be harder to set up and less rigid than the AXA. I never did get the lantern cutoff tool to work for a deep cut. I still have the lantern tooling for some possible future need, People with more experience than me say that the lantern system works OK if you know how to use it and spend the time to shim the cutter holder properly.
 
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Steve,

By the 1950's, the 1/2 HP motor was the recommended size for both the 10" and the 12" Atlas built ways.

The reason that your keyed mitre gear that runs on the lead screw did not have a key in it is because it broke off, probably due to a crash. Atlas never made and Sears never sold a 101.27440 (or 101.27430 or 101.07403) that did not have a working power cross feed. That was a big selling point for them when the 101.07403 first came out. None of the earlier machines had it, nor did the 101.07383, whose production overlapped the 101.07403 by about 5 or 6 years.
 
Back to the interlock between power cross and traverse feed, the only three Atlas built machines that ever had it were the 101.07403, 101.27430 and 101.27440. Neither the Atlas 10F (including the QC) nor any of the later 1/2" bed machines have it. So any time spent trying to turn a 10D-38 into an L6-38 is, in my opinion, time wasted. If the machine is turning a part by running the carriage toward the headstock (which is normal) and you engage power crossfeed, the carriage will move toward the operator, not dig the cutter in deeper. It won't be a good pass but it won't hurt anything, either. Normally, if you turn a part to diameter and then need to face off the end, you have to stop the motor, switch the tumbler to the other position, and restart the motor.

However, everyone is free to do as they wish. :)
 
First off, thank you everyone for replying to this post.

Did anyone happen to look at the pictures I posted on my last post? I was wondering if I have everything in the correct place? Not so much the carriage assembly, but the gears and pulleys. I'm pretty sure I have everything where it is supposed to be, and I don't have any left over parts laying around. LoL

Okay let's start with Jon's reply about the QCTP. Once I get the Lathe back together again. The only thing I have to try out the Lathe and it's cutting ability is the rocker style tool post. So I'll be messing around with that until I can get something better. Plus I already have just about every cutting attachment that goes with the rocker tool post. I have heard that the AXA wedge type QCTP work really well with these old Atlas Craftsman Lathe's. And I have looked at a few places that sell them. Shars seems to have a good price on their AXA, so I might go with what they have.

And on a parting note Jon, if or when you have time. Please take some pictures of your Atlas horizontal mill and Atlas Lathe. I would love to see what your machines look like compared to mine.

Next is good old Robert, and if you don't know Robert. He is a plethora of information on these mills and lathes!!! This guy has helped me out quite a few times with my mill and lathe. And always goes above and beyond to help me with my questions.

Okay enough about Robert, let's get back to the Q&A. LoL About the motor issue with 1/2hp versus 1/3hp since I already have the 1/2hp motor wired up with a forward and reverse switch. I'm going to put that one on the Lathe, that is after I take it off the mill. The old 1/3hp motor will end up on the mill. Plus the 1/2hp motor is a capacitor start motor and the 1/3hp is really old and will probably be a good match for the mill. And there is no reason to have a forward and reverse switch on the mill that I know of?

Now let's get into the miter gear issue. Though it looked as if the miter gear might have sheared off at one point. I've looked at it quite a few times and to me. I just don't see any obvious area inside the miter gear were the internal key might have sheared off? And another thing that is kind of strange, is that the Scroll does not have the flat area for the Plunger to go into for the cross feed?

Just seems to me that "if" the Scroll did have a flat area. Then it would make sense that the miter gear might have sheared off at one point because of something in the carriage assembly being locked up. Or like Robert is saying, that maybe someone crashed the carriage assembly into the chuck.

Okay, now that I have talked about the above mentioned. Let's get into Robert's last post about the interlock between the power cross feed and the traverse feed. So I guess what you are saying is, that when you pull the knob for the power cross feed. That the cross feed will go in the opposite direction coming back instead of going forward when you are facing off a part. Did I get that right? I'm not sure of the 10D-38 you speak of, only the L6-38 which is the Scroll (which in the PDF looks to be round). So if you could, please entertain us with your knowledge of the L6-38 and where I can find it.

Thanks again guys for all your help. It is truly appreciated!!!
 
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