Atlas TH42 freshen up

J

JustTrimitaLittle

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Picked up this Atlas TH42 last week. I’ve started assessing what I’ve gotten myself into and probably shoulda waited for something less needy. But I’m in it now so let’s see where it goes. This is my first lathe and my first attempt at taking anything like this apart to clean up and refresh.
Off the bat I know I need a new motor, belts and some wiring. And a lot of cleaning stuff.
 

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Looks like most everything is there, should clean up nicely
 
A 56 frame 1750 RPM (nominal) motor between 1/2 to 3/4 horsepower would be sufficient.
I’d lean towards the 3/4 hp, but 1/2 should be enough.
 
Clean it, lubricate it, find a motor and run it.

Even if you do have to work on it you'll want a baseline, and some knowledge of what works and what doesn't.

IMHO, too many newbies start off by disassembling a working machine to "fix it up" and end up with an incomplete project.

Did you pull the carriage and lead screw, or was it like that when you bought it?

John
 
I pulled the lead screw and carriage off to clean it. Lead screw was caked with too much crap to leave on and clean. And the carriage had some issues with moving freely. Partially it was just really gummed up and I also found a bent gib. That’s about as far as I plan on taking it apart. Everything else seems to move just fine. I’ll just clean up the gears and stuff with a brush and some wd40. Oh and the wiring. I just can’t run it with the old wiring it has. I atleast have to go through and test it if not replace it.

I’ve seen too many completely dissembled machines on marketplace and know that’s where I’d end up. Before pulling it apart I downloaded and studied the parts list manual thing. So I think I have a ok baseline of how it goes back together. Hopefully anyways. It seemed like anything I pulled apart was kind of unique to that part and location which helps.

Found a nice 1/2hp gp craftsman about 45 minutes away I might go grab. It’s actually on an old craftsman table saw. Not sure I have any use for the saw but the motor looks clean and is shielded from saw dust. For an old
Industrial area my area sure sucks for machinery. People who do have anything want crazy $$ and it just sits on CL or FB for months.

I have a bin of… “stuff” that was thrown in the drawer on the table. Ill probably post a picture of it once I get it all laid out to see if I can get some help identifying what some of it is. Some things I know like a faceplate, change gears, knurling tool, steady rest and some various cutting tools. But there is just a bunch of it, some must just be scrap from cut jobs but idk. This lathe came from the tool room of an old newspaper that is out of print now so who knows what it made or how hard it was used.
 
Yea I’ve set my goal with the 1725. I have several 3450 actually. And I don’t like them in general. Have them as grinding wheels. And even for that they are too much.

Am I out of line thinking $100 for an old 1/2 horse gp motor is too much? If it were restored or something I can see that being justifiable. But these things are all rough
 
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