Craftsman Commercial (Atlas) Lathe

[bajones238]

Greetings, and thank you for allowing me to participate on this great site.

I have a Craftsman Commercial (re-branded Atlas) lathe which I believe dates from the 1970s.


The headstock (spindle) carrier bearings have gotten very noisy and I would like to replace them. Clausing shows them as still available - at a price tag $350 and $150, for the two bearings. Yikes!

I wondered if anyone has an interchange number from either Timken or SKF, or any other bearing manufacturer, before I take the headstock apart and get some measurements. Clausing's part numbers are 045-026 and 045-027.

Any help and advice would be appreciated.

 

[Nogoingback]

The best place to buy your bearings is an industrial bearing supply place, but to do that you need the part numbers off your bearings,
and preferably the bearings in hand when you walk in the door. You also need to know what class of bearings you need, which defines
the level of precision. The cost from Clausing may, in part reflect the fact that they're supplying a higher precision bearing. I would think you
would want at least an ABEC5 (better than standard) bearing for your lathe. I bet a bearing supply house could beat Clausing on price, even
for an equivalent bearing. Be sure to buy bearings from a quality manufacturer: the cheap Chinese stuff is often junk.

 

[bajones238]

After a little more searching it looks like the Timken numbers I need are:

16150 and 16284B (bearing and race, Clausing P/N 045-026)
14125A and 14276B (bearing and race, Clausing P/N 045-027)

Sorry for posting in the wrong forum - belongs in the Atlas/Craftsman sub-forum.

 

[bajones238]

The best place to buy your bearings is an industrial bearing supply place, but to do that you need the part numbers off your bearings,
and preferably the bearings in hand when you walk in the door. You also need to know what class of bearings you need, which defines
the level of precision. The cost from Clausing may, in part reflect the fact that they're supplying a higher precision bearing. I would think you
would want at least an ABEC5 (better than standard) bearing for your lathe. I bet a bearing supply house could beat Clausing on price, even
for an equivalent bearing. Be sure to buy bearings from a quality manufacturer.

Thanks for the reply. I will see what I can find in higher-grade equivalents for the Timken numbers I found elsewhere.

 

[Nogoingback]

Those Timken numbers should get you going. My experience with local bearing supply places is they're generally helpful with this
sort of thing.

If you want the post over in the Atlas-Craftsman forum, you could PM one of the mods and they can switch it for you. RandyM is a
good guy for that kind of stuff.

And, welcome to the forum! Don't hesitate to post some more pics: we like 'em.

 

[Bob Korves]

I would not buy bearings based on what you read on the internet SHOULD fit your machine. I would take it apart and get the actual numbers off your existing bearings. If you are going to change the bearings you are going to have to take it apart, might as well get started and motivated.

 

[markba633csi]

Don't overlook the possibility that the bearings might still have some life left and just need re-greasing and re-setting of the preload.
Any bearing will make noise if if it's dry
Mark

 

[Bob Korves]

Don't overlook the possibility that the bearings might still have some life left and just need re-greasing and re-setting of the preload.
Any bearing will make noise if if it's dry
Mark

Another good reason to take it apart before ordering the bearings.