Atlas Craftsman Lathe Questions

So far you are not missing too much. All the extremely hard or impossible to get and thus expensive ones, you have.
Pierre
 
Based on the parts and operation manual I downloaded, it looks like I'm missing the guard assembly, the motor and associated brackets, and the horizontal countershaft assembly. Please, correct me if I'm wrong. I found a countershaft assembly on eBay for $150, does that sound reasonable?

Also, would going with a variable frequency drive be adventageous? I've heard of mills and lathes getting equipped with VFD, I don't know if that's all around a good thing to go with or some units work better with it than others.
 
Now it's coming together for you.

I don't know your model all that well myself but I can see from the photos of other similar model lathes I posted upthread that there seems to be 2 drive system options. In the first set of pics you can tell that particular model has a bench-mounted countershaft drive assembly, although you can't see much of it at all...just the a portion of the one knob if you knew what you were looking for (instead it is easier to infer it because there is no drive system visible underneath the headstock in those photos so that is effectively ruled out.).

From the 2nd photo I copied from the weblink upthread you can see the cabinet style and the resultant undermount motor and drive assembly that you know is there. In that weblink the site describes that drive situation this way:

The stand-mounted lathe sat atop a neatly-constructed, 190 lb cabinet...that held a simple but robust under-drive countershaft with its pulleys overhung on 3/4"-diameter shafts from each side of bearings contained within central plumber blocks... Strangely, although the bench model had a single V-belt drive to the headstock, the underdrive model used two - a design that can often lead to trouble when worn or unmatched belts are used. If your 12-inch underdrive suffers from a noisy headstock, vibration or a poor finish on turned work, look first at the final drive to the headstock spindle and check (by putting a chalk line across them and running the lathe) that the two belts are exactly the same length. A solution - and one that saves having to dismantle the headstock and countershaft to replace the belts - is to use a modern T-link type.

I look at your nicely organized parts photos and I see what appears to be the described under-drive assembly. If so, you have what you need but for the motor choice and cabinet. If for some reason you want to go with a topside drive system then you know where one is and what it will cost you. That price doesn't offend me...when you decide to part out a lathe sometimes the decision is driven by the sum of the parts is worth more than the overall value of the machine itself. That's reality, and it presents a set of options for you if you were to decide on a different sized lathe or a different model altogether. Someone out there will be looking for most of your disassembled parts and you stand to get a good chunk of $ going that route if you were to so decide. I don't sponsor that (in fact I suggest it would be a shame in your situation now that we see just what all you have) but you can't ignore that potential monetization either. This is not a rare museum piece after all, and if that is your way to get you into a better suited machine faster then that may be the right call. Also consider completing this one and getting it up and running and learning on it and then flipping it on also. With the QC gearbox and those nice new looking chucks you will have some very desirable features to lure in a potential buyer. You could package up what you have now and list in here for sale online and get plenty of informed interest. That potential new buyer might want to make the call on the motor, going VFD or not, and other such decisions.

Do some more study online and you'll get lots of ideas...do some searching on the merits of VFD systems and let that research that will flow forth influence you as to motor choice. What you asked in your last post has been asked many, many times before and those searched threads will re-emerge as a study guide for your own application here. Ask yourself what you want to do with a decently large screwcutting metal lathe and also read up on how to run a lathe and all the accompanying tooling that you will need and how much space you will need for this machine in complete running form, etc., etc.

You're well on your way now and have the wind at your back it would appear. Before you mostly lies choices, not problems that must be solved. Self-education will guide you and we are here for you as a sounding board. Keep us informed, take your time (things are moving very fast for you now at the moment), share your choices and why with us to take us along vicariously with you on the ride and ideally bring us some ultimate closure in due course if possible. Most importantly remember to pay it back someday to someone in in a similar situation to you down the road. :encourage:
 
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With 16 speeds available a VFD is not really required. 1/2 to 3/4 hp motor will do fine.
Pierre
 
Also, you might want to park any further discussion on that armature lathe for now and someday start a separate thread on that...just a suggestion.
 
LeakyCanoe, thank you for the information, it's helping me put together this lathe mentally. I saw the T-link belts somewhere else and I'm pretty sure I'll be going with that for the speed change belt as taking apart the headstock to change a belt sounds like more of a pain than it's worth to use a straight V belt.

I was a little confused with how the spindle gears were driven but then saw the part listed in picture 20170406_083336.jpg above and see what you're talking about with the 2 different drive systems. I have a feeling my dad may have purchased this used and did a little rigging, that would explain why I'm missing the guard assembly, motor, and the countershaft assembly. This would make it an 8 speed lathe instead of the factory 16 speed. I'm not really sure where the substitute countershaft assembly would have been mounted, possibly some bracket that was misplaced like the lead screw was. For safety, I'm thinking I should revert this lathe back to factory with the guard assembly.

I'm interested in rebuilding this lathe and learning machining as a hobby. I realize this is a pretty large lathe for home machining, but beyond that, (I realize this is a pretty general question) is there anything this lathe lacks that I might regret not looking elsewhere?

I just posted the armature lathe for posterity, I'm not really into woodwork so I probably won't be doing anything with it. At some point I'll probably post another thread and see if there's interest in it.

In the mean time, I'm going to start looking at lathe rebuild threads and see what all I'm getting myself into.
 
Yikes..squirrel alert ! you are hi-jacking your own thread now with the side-bar on the armature lathe and I can't put that genie back in the bottle so I'll chime in before someone else does.

That machine has nothing to do with woodworking...it was used for rebuilding electric motors !

Here's the link for another self-education journey...

http://www.lathes.co.uk/frankwood/

Slow down please...read up more...as I've said repeatedly here I suggest you now proceed to learn about what features makes each lathe different...learn about lathe processes and tooling..less general advice questions until you feel tapped out yourself in the search. Keep them as specific as possible, and preferably related to this machine itself in this here sub-forum. There are new threads you can start about general intro machining under appropriate sub-forums...study the way this site (and the others on machining) are structured and why and respect that and the members who frequent them.

With all due respect, how is anyone who has not met you or know you supposed to anticipate your later regret when you don't even know yourself yet what you might want out of a metal lathe ? Will you be turning long stock and need rests, for eg. ? Do you need collets and a drawbar for smaller turnings ? What kind of cutting tooling and toolpost are you going to want to use ? Will you be doing threading ? What is your budget for all this ? Those answers are all online for your own self-discovery and will overlay the choices you have ahead as to this Atlas and it's fate.
 
Sorry, I looked up that Trucut lathe and apparently came across the wrong site and it mentioned woodworking so I put it aside. The entirety of my last post wasn't about the Trucut lathe, it was a mistaken side comment, but the response was all about that.

I was asking for general thoughts/opinions anyone might have on this lathe. Maybe it's great for threading but sucks at absolutely everything else for 1 reason or another. Or they work better in one area than another.

This is an inherited lathe to which I have no knowledge of why it's missing major pieces or what it might or might not be capable of. I'm trying to learn because I know there have been projects I've done in the past that I've needed to cut something down to a smaller rod and my only option was a file or grinder.
 
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The Atlas/Craftsman lathe are good lathes! Don't let bashers taint your thoughts. There are people out there that make stuff on even lighter lathes! To find a comparable look at PM-1030V, it is the closest lathe that has the same basic features and it is smaller than what you have. Forget about the variable speed for the moment. The PM-1030 is missing the full feed/thread capable gearbox and to get that you have to look at a much more expensive lathe. You might not take a 0.100" depth of cut in steel like a big 1660 with 10 hp and a dull bit, but neither are you trying to make money!

Just remember that you don't have a lemon so you don't have to make lemonade!
Pierre
 
I restore vintage woodworking machinery both as a hobby and occationally a money maker. To me, a metal lathe is one of those " I don't use it often but when I need it I really need it" machines. Some enjoy restoring old iron, some get a lathe and spend most of their time making accessory items for the lathe. Some actually are productive with them.
Restoring it not only results in a nice machine ( as long as you don't wind up with a box of parts you forgot where they go) but also you know your machine inside and out. Atlas is a nice machine for learning and some pretty nice work can be done on them so dig in, get your hands dirty and enjoy. Good luck.
 
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