Atlas 7B Disassembly and Teardown! Pic Heavy!

frugalguido, one of my machines has the same style of lock that uses the gib adjustment hole for mounting. I use this machine when cutting parts that require a long stroke and the clapper gets to "clapping". Not sure if two locks are better than one but using the existing gib holes is an option and works well for me. On the final cut, when critical, I also take the backlash out in the raising feed direction until snug.
 
Hi Weldo,

Thanks very much for posting such a comprehensive teardown document.
Your efforts just saved me a pile of time .... specifically, my issue was removing the ram easily and your information about punching out the pin on the bevel gear saved me a lot of messy work.
Now the fix/upgrade to my Atlas shaper will go smoothly.... ! (My fix is to the threads on the ram adjusting block... one is stripped... :) )

Jeff Booth
Oakville, Ontario
Canada
 
I'm glad you found it helpful! That was my inspiration behind all the work of creating this thread. I've not seen a similar comprehensive teardown with pics and such. I suppose this is my contribution to the community!
 
Weldo said:
My motor bracket had this ball stud on it. It's not in the schematic and it looks shop made. Not sure what its use is/was.

Here's a question to anyone with one of these old Atlas motors. In the picture below, am I meant to lube this motor with grease or has someone replaced the old oil cups with grease fittings? Seems like they should be oil cups, and I know that most of the other cups on this machine were erroneously replaced with grease fittings. There's no lube info for the motor in the manual I have.
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My 7B is not as far along in rebuilding as yours, but close. My motor bracket had the threaded hole in the same place as where your ball stud is located. The threaded hole is not in the drawings I have either. My guess is a running change to add support for the motor, but I really don't know. Given that two machines have the same hole, I think it is safe to say it was a factory deal.

The motor bearings are shielded on one side deep groove roller balls. Grease could not flow through the bearings and I think it would run hot. However, there is a relatively water tight cavity for oil dripped through these openings to bath the bottom half of the bearings. I replaced mine with double shielded prelubed bearings so I don't have to deal with lubing them. The oil cups are now cosmetic.

If someone has used grease, I think you may need to tear it down and replace the bearings. You should also check for a leaking cap that contains pcb's and look over the fabric wire insulation that might need attention.
 
The ball stud almost looks like it is designed for a spring, for what purpose I don't know. I would not think you would need it given the tensioning method for the drive belt.

Maybe as a way to add some dampening to the motor plate to allow for the jumping around of the unit when used. I know these units can be quite violent if run at full speed due to the inertia.

Or maybe it is just a way to keep the motor plate from dropping down too far onto the bench or stand when changing belt.

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A rubber foot pad would make sense. Motor vibration can affect finish on lathes, so I would think the same applies to a shaper.
 
Weldo this is a brilliant thread. Thanks for sharing. I am busy in the midst of my shaper rebuild and have consulted your thread numerous times.
Just one question I have is with your side oil port mods on the sliding block, does it not tend to drain the slot reservoir on top a lot faster to the detriment of the main bush its supposed to lubricate?
My arm sides and block are scored so this is obviously a weakness on these machines and I considering doing the same mods you did.
 
Thanks for the kind words!

You're right that the lubrication of the sides of the sliding block may indeed be to the detriment of the main pin. Perhaps if I were to do it over I would make the side oil holes very very small. Like 0.060" or less so that oil does get to the sides of the block, but at a very slow pace.
 
Weldo said:
Honestly I never even thought about it. You're right though, it wouldn't be a bad idea.

They do all seem to be in great shape, however. No evidence of heat, scoring or abuse is visible on any bearing or race. Maybe due to the relatively low rpm and load? Or maybe because previous owners had kept it well lubed.
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I just finished the same process that you have done on your machine. The bearings were all like new so why replace them really. I think that on many of these rebuilds people do more than is actually required to have a decent working machine.
 
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