Can anyone ID this 10" Atlas?

[BellyUpFish]

Currently searching for a lathe. Trying to decide between something like a Grizzly 602 or something else..

Will be a hobby only lathe.

 

[pdentrem]

It is a 10F series? Model number TH54 I believe. T=Timken, H=Horizontal counter shaft and the number is the bed length. Started out with powercross feed once the leadscrew is reinstalled. I see a milling attachment on the shelf below as well.
Pierre

 

[wa5cab]

Nice stand under it, too. I would find out why the lead screw is off of it. Otherwise, there are two ways to look at this. If you want something that's plug-n-play and that you can run once or twice a month for four or five years and then discard when it quits working, the Grizzly is fine. If you want something that after you get the consequences of decades of neglect fixed will likely outlast you, and if a 10x36 is large enough for what you want to do and if you don't expect to be doing a lot of various size thread cutting, buy the Atlas.

Robert D.

 

[VSAncona]

Looks to me like the bearing supporting the lead screw at the tailstock end of the bed is broken. That probably explains why the lead screw is not attached to the lathe. The bearings were designed to break in the event of crashing the lathe under power. You can buy replacements from Clausing.

 

[BellyUpFish]

I'm thinking the efforts/cost of rebuilding a run out 50 year old piece may be better put into taking an "upper tier" Chinese model "kit" and turning it into a workable piece.

I have a fairly stout aversion to used equipment as I'm fairly picky about how items are maintained, etc.

I've never operated a lathe, and have no idea what should be there, what shouldn't, etc.

Breaking down a relatively complete new one versus gathering bits for an item made 20 years before I was born may prove to test my patience. LOL

 

[pdentrem]

Being new to the game that is a realistic view. Go new.
Rebuilding any machine is something for people that are keen to do it. Based upon the picture I can not see much being wrong with the lathe but .......


Just some notes
The Atlas will turn 2000 rpm and as slow as 28. Carbide tooling requires the top end while HSS does not. With a full change gear set, you can thread everything within reason and with a few extras metric as well. Compared to the Grizz, the Atlas will likely outlast it with proper maintainence and parts are plentiful as they were sold for decades just like SBs. Not knocking the Grizz but they are dependent on the Chinese suppliers for spares and the modern business model is replace not rebuild, so parts will be an issue in the far future for many off shore units.
The other side of the coin is how much longer Clausings will support the Atlas/Craftsman machines. I am sure they are not big money makers for them.
Pierre

 

[wa5cab]

All that we can do WRT Clausing is hope. And continue to buy what parts we need from them. The problems with the Chinese built machines are two fold. First their quality control standards run the gauntlet from excellent to egregious. The more that you pay the US supplier for the same machine, generally the more likely it is to have been built decently. Secondly, they seem to have bought into the auto industry's new model syndrome. Which includes making sure that as many parts as possible do not fit older machines. Back when Chinese made usually meant Taiwan, that didn't seem to be so often the case. I have an Enco drill press that I like. I bought it new around 1980 or so. Up until about 2000 I could still get any part for it. Then the factory burned and wasn't rebuilt. A year or so ago I bought from Enco what was supposed to be the replacement model. I unpacked the box and discovered that everything in it is lighter, smaller, thinner, or all the above. I put it back in the box but had waited too long to send it back. If anyone needs a new 15" 2MT spindle bench drill press contact me off list. Anyway, my second point was that parts availability will cease much sooner than in the far future.

However, if you want something that you can use out of the box, then you are probably better off going Chinese. Just don't buy it from the cheapest source and don't put off making sure everything on it works properly as soon as you get it.

Robert D.