Atlas Craftsman Lathe Questions

cbrims

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I've found an old Atlas Craftsman lathe that my dad had for a lot of years that has a lot of rust and is missing a lot of things: motor and associated mounts, all the covers for the change gears and main belts, lead screw, and possibly other things/ I'm looking for opinions as to whether or not it's even worth trying to restore. I posted to another machinist forum before I even knew what kind of lathe it was, I didn't see any name and couldn't find the serial number plate, and apparently this type of lathe is banned there so I got no useful information out of them. I've uploaded a picture of the rust that's on the bed and the tailstock. Should I try to get this lathe into working order or look for a later model used lathe?

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Need better pictures and a sense of scale. Atlas made 6, 9, 10 and 12" lathes. On the inside of the bed will be a number that is cast in. For example 9-54. This will give us a bit of information right there on the type of lathe you have. All the parts will have casting numbers on them and they tell their story. Never fear there are no dumb questions here and we try to help everyone out.
Depending on what is left, it come down to selling off what you have but maybe there is that hidden box with what you need to complete the build.
Pierre
 
I'll do some more sleuthing tomorrow and look for numbers and see if I can find anything else. I'll post some more pictures and information afterwards. Thank you for your help.
 
I saw your post over on the other site (PM)...you have additional photos there and also describe that you seem to have parts from at least 2 different lathes...one looks like a relatively recent (1960's-1970's vintage) Craftsman 12 x 36 lathe, likely a model 3983 from one of the pics you showed the other forum, and the other is a Trucut armature lathe as you already know. It looks like your Dad was using the trunk of an old car for his parts "rat-hole" and there are lots of goodies in there for folks like us.

With all due respect you should provide full disclosure (all relevant detail + all photos) and then try to ask with some precision just what it is you are after. It's OK if one question leads to another. The quality of responses will be proportional to the investment you make in setting the thread up. Now, back to the mission at hand....

That is a big lathe in the overall Atlas suite of offerings. Most were much smaller and less robust. The rust you highlight on the parts is minimal...it will clean up well and pretty easily. The portion of the headstock in your one photo looks to be in great condition. The main issue is what all you have vs. what may be missing IMO. Here's a couple of pictures of what that lathe looks like in complete form (if my deduction is correct);

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Here's a good site with lots of detail on that lathe > http://www.lathes.co.uk/atlas/page4.html

In addition to researching that specific Atlas model you seem to have I also recommend you spend some time here searching various metal lathe re-build project threads and reading them to see what is possible and just what is involved. Also, if you rip that trunk apart and gather the Atlas parts you do have together and spend some proper time organizing them and laying them out for a series of photos you will get a host of educated responses as to what possibilities lie ahead and the cost/benefit and effort involved...until then it is mostly speculation.

Atlas lathes are pretty ubiquitous and were common machines. The parts you have are actively being sought by others so at the very least your efforts will be rewarded by getting you ready and educated on those for marketing purposes prior to any re-sell attempt if you choose to go that route (selling off the parts you do have).

I suspect that trunk is full of other surprises too from the teaser photos and that your Dad was squirrelling them away with some good purpose in mind. This forum and others will be invaluable to you in getting the baton passed over to you if you are willing to put the effort in to fulfill the potential that lies therein. Good luck on your quest.
 
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I do have other pictures, I was going to wait to post better quality pictures, there was a lot of junk on the parts. Here are the other pictures I currently have. I didn't know about the casting numbers or anything. The cross slide controls seem to be in pretty bad shape, I didn't take a picture of that. I'll get some better pictures tomorrow.

The handles that change gears seemed sticky which is an easy fix, paint is an easy fix. I don't mind taking the time stripping the lathe down and building it back up, just going to wait to until I get more pictures up and get feedback before I do anything.

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Ahhh....the slow reveal. No worries, it will come together over time . :encourage:

I see you have the quick-change gearbox. That is a nice addition and if you can't rebuild it in totality it will be easy to move on and will pull in some good coin for you. It's puzzling why the lathe was disassembled so much. They often get torn down a bit to lighten the load and facilitate a move but yours seems to be really broken down beyond the norm. You will need to pull everything out, get it organized, and do an inventory. Take some new pics of that and post them up here with your thoughts on it all...

The pics I posted earlier showed a model without the QC option. This pic taken from the site link in my last post upthread shows the lathe with that.

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The gray parts seem to match the 12" model. The red piece is a lathe bed from a smaller model, probably a 6". Pictures of all the parts lined up would be helpful in identifying what you have and what you need.
 
I see lots of parts in those few pictures. Yes an inventory of what there is important.
Pierre
 
Looks promising to me! If we were closer, I would love to help you get it together (or take if off of your hands if you don't want that much of an involved project). As it is, I and many others here who know much more that I do would all like to help you from a distance.
 
I've got more pictures. I found the lead screw in a pile of steel to be junked, it has some surface rust but cleaned up with a wire brush, I put some light oil on it to keep it from rusting again. The bed is 54" long without anything on it. The plate on the end of the bed states it is model number 101.28910. There's a box I didn't take a picture of that has a few loose bolts, some wrenches, the chuck keys for the 3 and 4 jaw chucks, and a flat plate that can be bolted on where the chucks normally go. Sorry, I'm still not up on the terminology.

I've thrown in a picture of the Trucut with everything I've got for it.
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