I'm a craftsman/atlas 12" lathe owner (101.28910, late 1960's) and while I am overall very happy with the machine now that it has been refurb'd there are a couple of issues I have with it and I'm wondering if the Clausing 4803, or something like that might be what I'm looking for.
I want to stick with a bench lathe due to the setup I already built with drawers, etc. Here are some thoughts that I wanted feedback on:
1. my craftsman's slowest feed is .004" per rev, would prefer something the bottoms out at half that or lower. the 4800 I'm pretty sure starts at .0017" or so
2. as mentioned the craftsman isn't that rigid--it's a blast on aluminum, but if you don't stick with light cuts on steel you can actually see things start to torque and/or chatter. If the internet is correct it looks like the 4803 is about 550lbs vs my craftsman at about 300lbs. I know heft isn't the same as strength, but the 4800 looks to be much more stout. Is it?
3. I don't know why, but I love the 4800's clutch/brake arm. Reminds me of a 'real' lathe and would certainly make for a better flow when working.
4. one potential minus is that it looks like the 4800 tops out at 1600 RPM or so. If so that might be a negative for aluminum.
5. The one 4800 I have seen in person had very tiny and almost unreadable dials on the feed handles.
If someone here is familiar with both the Clausing 4800 and the atlas 12" am I wrong to thing this would be an upgrade or are they more similar than I am thinking. Are there any pros/cons you can think of?
I want to stick with a bench lathe due to the setup I already built with drawers, etc. Here are some thoughts that I wanted feedback on:
1. my craftsman's slowest feed is .004" per rev, would prefer something the bottoms out at half that or lower. the 4800 I'm pretty sure starts at .0017" or so
2. as mentioned the craftsman isn't that rigid--it's a blast on aluminum, but if you don't stick with light cuts on steel you can actually see things start to torque and/or chatter. If the internet is correct it looks like the 4803 is about 550lbs vs my craftsman at about 300lbs. I know heft isn't the same as strength, but the 4800 looks to be much more stout. Is it?
3. I don't know why, but I love the 4800's clutch/brake arm. Reminds me of a 'real' lathe and would certainly make for a better flow when working.
4. one potential minus is that it looks like the 4800 tops out at 1600 RPM or so. If so that might be a negative for aluminum.
5. The one 4800 I have seen in person had very tiny and almost unreadable dials on the feed handles.
If someone here is familiar with both the Clausing 4800 and the atlas 12" am I wrong to thing this would be an upgrade or are they more similar than I am thinking. Are there any pros/cons you can think of?