Dating my vintage craftsman 12inch . My first day on the site.

[kendion2boston]

Use a ruler and measure the threads over 1/2”. Will be 10 turns in 1/2”. The leadscrew is 8 tpi. 8 turns in 1 inch.

I'm not at home at the moment. I stopped at lowes. They only had a 1/2x13. I'll have measure later I got that for a few cents anyways

 

[kendion2boston]

Use a ruler and measure the threads over 1/2”. Will be 10 turns in 1/2”. The leadscrew is 8 tpi. 8 turns in 1 inch.

I think yr right 1/2 20. I didn't see it at lowes only 1/2 13.

 

[twhite]

I think yr right 1/2 20. I didn't see it at lowes only 1/2 13.

Is there an Ace Hardware by you? They should have them.


Cutting oil is my blood.

 

[kendion2boston]

Welcome to the forum. We are a friendly bunch. Don't be afraid to ask any question no matter how simple you may think it is. You will get good answers to your questions.

Lathes are referred to by the distance between centers. Not bed length. For example my Craftsman lathe is a 12x36. The distance from the headstock to the end on the bed is just short of 47." The overall bed length on my lathe is 54." Beds are measured by the total length of the bed. Not from the headstock to the end of the bed. Based on what you have provided your lathe is probably a 12x30 or 12x24.

You should donate to the forum. That will give you access to the documents section. Well worth the nominal cost. I was making the annual donation and then realized that in a few years I would have donated the same amount as a life membership donation. So I paid the extra money and am now a life member.

Our resident expert should chime in here shortly and can answer all of your questions about your lathe.

I use mineral spirits in a spray bottle to keep my lathe clean. Different parts require different oils and grease for proper lubrication. The MOLO acronym for Manual of Lathe Operations is a must have. It will tell you how to maintain, setup and care for your lathe. It is available in the downloads section of the forum.

There are lots of good sources for learning how to use your lathe. IMHO Mr. Pete aka Tubalcain is the best of the best. He is a retired high school shop teacher and knows how to teach. If you haven't been to his you tube channel here is a link. https://www.youtube.com/c/mrpete222/videos

I measured it is 42 long and 24 between centers seem correct. My friend had a 109. And I recall him using it. Everytime I consider mine his size parts cone to my head. Then when i get hone I realize how much bigger mine is. So with a tail stock on 24 is about dead on fornthe centers.


I found the 1/2 20 nut for the end of the lead screw. So I hope it fits. I'll be home in 30 to try

It bigger than 12x 36. The bed from under the tail stock to the end is 42 I belive. I measured when I bought it a few weeks back I'll remeasure when I get home tonight. It definitely larger than 34 or 36 inch

Is there an Ace Hardware by you? They should have them.


Cutting oil is my blood.

I found a 1/2 20. I tried to put it on and it went on like 1.5 turns then was very hard to twist. There a 'key way' cut through theead screw I think that is stopping it. I didn't want to force it. But I'll going back down stairs to mess around with it. I may put washers on to build up the space between the nut and the braket if needed.

I also need a nut for the screw that is used to lock the carriage. I only have the bolt. I have pic. I forgot to look for that size I think it 5/16 not sure on thread or size. Here a couple pics. I think the unit is early 40s. It has the old craftsman logo with the c underlining the word. It has the blue paint which I think they used grey after. Plus I belive I have the tenkin bearings, rather I DONT have babbitt bearings. There no screws for the shims behind the headstock. I could be wrong. Let me know what you think please.

Thanks

Ken

 

[kendion2boston]

12x36 is the swing, 12", by the distance between centers, 36". The bed is longer because there has to be room for the head stock and the tailstock. Beds are measured for their total length. Measure from the far left end of the bed that is under the head stock all the way to the far right end that is under the tailstock. This will give you the bed length. See picture below of my lathe. Put centers in the head stock and the tailstock. With the tail stock at the far end of the bed measure the distance between the centers. This will be the distance between centers. I don't have a picture of my lathe with the tail stock at the far end of the bed.

In any hobby the terminology can be confusing. Hope this helps you understand the difference between bed length and the distance between centers. The distance between centers is the important distance because it denotes the maximum length that can be turned on the lathe.

View attachment 429754

12x36 is the swing, 12", by the distance between centers, 36". The bed is longer because there has to be room for the head stock and the tailstock. Beds are measured for their total length. Measure from the far left end of the bed that is under the head stock all the way to the far right end that is under the tailstock. This will give you the bed length. See picture below of my lathe. Put centers in the head stock and the tailstock. With the tail stock at the far end of the bed measure the distance between the centers. This will be the distance between centers. I don't have a picture of my lathe with the tail stock at the far end of the bed.

In any hobby the terminology can be confusing. Hope this helps you understand the difference between bed length and the distance between centers. The distance between centers is the important distance because it denotes the maximum length that can be turned on the lathe.

View attachment 429754

Nice. I'll send a pic of mine. I also got some tooling if u want to call it that. Its pieces of hss cut. Aome.looks like.mistakes. others are large ? I'm kind of confused on what is what. Mayne u can make some sense out of it? I also got these two items. I think they are just junk.. but I've never turned or had a lathe and I'm very new to this... I have a later tool holder. But the 4 large cutters won't fit the others are 2 different sizes.

 

[kendion2boston]

I'm not at home at the moment. I stopped at lowes. They only had a 1/2x13. I'll have measure later I got that for a few cents anyways

Thank you for the help , I found a screw it fits. Am I supise to screw it tight?? Or should there still be play?? This unit had alot of use bit seems decent enough to get going. I already have 8pkus hrs of taking the carriage,compound ect off and cleaning and oiling .. I need to do the tail stock next but need to see if I can even get it to turn. My next mission is all the scrap thing I got. It just pieces of hss. Can u make anything out of it?

 

[kendion2boston]

12x36 is the swing, 12", by the distance between centers, 36". The bed is longer because there has to be room for the head stock and the tailstock. Beds are measured for their total length. Measure from the far left end of the bed that is under the head stock all the way to the far right end that is under the tailstock. This will give you the bed length. See picture below of my lathe. Put centers in the head stock and the tailstock. With the tail stock at the far end of the bed measure the distance between the centers. This will be the distance between centers. I don't have a picture of my lathe with the tail stock at the far end of the bed.

In any hobby the terminology can be confusing. Hope this helps you understand the difference between bed length and the distance between centers. The distance between centers is the important distance because it denotes the maximum length that can be turned on the lathe.

View attachment 429754

Yrs looks good. Is that like 60s? Here is my new baby., im thinking early 40s. Definitely post industrial revelation she is starting to clean up nicely. I'm still trying to get used to this platform. I use my phone and often don't have my glasses. So I mix up the people I'm talking too. Are you folks in a Facebook group as well? I'm thinking of finding some for this hobby. I need alit of help but I'll pay it forward once in innthe know. There always a new person getting into the hobby.

 

[mickri]

The thing sticking up along the right side of the first picture is a lantern tool post. The 3 things right below it are tool holders that fit into the lantern tool post. The two things in the 2nd picture look to be some type of center that should fit in the headstock which takes a #3 morris tapper or the tailstock which takes a #2 morris tapper. Morris tappers are often referred to as MT2, MT3 or 2MT, 3MT. Morris tappers range from 1 to 5 with 1 being the smallest and 5 being the largest. Your lathe should have an adapter so you can put a MT2 into the headstock's MT3.

Don't throw any of the HSS tool bits away. They may be useable as is or can be reground to another shape.

You should read Mikey's thread in the beginners forum on how to grind HSS tool bits. It is a very long thread but the basics are in the first 5 to 10 pages. I have read it in its entirety several times. And start watching Mr. Pete's videos. He has play lists. Start with the first one.

I am not on Facebook so don't know if there is a Facebook group worth joining. To be honest this forum is the best that there is for hobby machinests. You will get all of your questions answered quickly by really knowledgeable people.

 

[kendion2boston]

The thing sticking up along the right side of the first picture is a lantern tool post. The 3 things right below it are tool holders that fit into the lantern tool post. The two things in the 2nd picture look to be some type of center that should fit in the headstock which takes a #3 morris tapper or the tailstock which takes a #2 morris tapper. Morris tappers are often referred to as MT2, MT3 or 2MT, 3MT. Morris tappers range from 1 to 5 with 1 being the smallest and 5 being the largest. Your lathe should have an adapter so you can put a MT2 into the headstock's MT3.

Don't throw any of the HSS tool bits away. They may be useable as is or can be reground to another shape.

You should read Mikey's thread in the beginners forum on how to grind HSS tool bits. It is a very long thread but the basics are in the first 5 to 10 pages. I have read it in its entirety several times. And start watching Mr. Pete's videos. He has play lists. Start with the first one.

I am not on Facebook so don't know if there is a Facebook group worth joining. To be honest this forum is the best that there is for hobby machinests. You will get all of your questions answered quickly by really knowledgeable people.

Thank you Again!!. I should have mentioned that I knew about the lantern and the tool holders. Also Mr Pete and several others. All were the inspiration of me trying this hobby. It's awesome mr pete has basically put his 20 yrs of shop teaching on youtube . What a freaking bonus. I have a favorite tab under his name and im saving all his videos .. it was the mess if HSS. Was my biggest question... there several thickness, shapes , some looked damaged even 4 large cutters that didn't fit in the lantern at all.
I was considering buying a cheap set of cutters so I have a defined tools?? Then address the heap of HSS when I get some skills. I watched a " this old tony" video on cutting hss tool.. I'm interested in that alot. I feel learning more before I start making my own would be better. Making turning as easy as possible would be the best. This has been a great resource and I'm thankful for all of you. I need to finish securing the unit and the table as well as a few other items before I start. But I'll will watch all the links you folks offered to me. Thanks again for all the info. Let me know if buying a fresh pack of cutters would be good. Whst size and kind should I get?

Ken

 

[mickri]

We will gladly help you spend your money like a drunken sailor on 24 hour shore leave.

For us newbies, and I am still in that category, reading Mikey's thread on grinding HSS tool bits is a must. I started trying to grind HSS tool bits with a hand held high speed grinder. Didn't work too well. Then got a typical bench grinder for cheap at a garage sale. This helped but I was still struggling. Then I picked up a 1x42 Delta belt sander at a thrift store. 1x42 refers to the size of the belt. Wow. What a difference. I could now easily and quickly grind any shape tool bit that I wanted to. Like I said before don't throw any of those HSS tool bits away. As you gain experience you will understand how they were ground and what they may have been used for. And you can grind some to suit what you want in a tool bit for a particular task.

A lot of beginning machining is learning motor skills. The basics of lathe work is internal and external turning and threading. I practiced on pvc pipe just to learn the motor skills. I spent hours doing this. Next comes a project where you actually try to make something. I had a lantern tool post and a 4 way tool post that I was using. Wanting to upgrade to a QCTP (quick change tool post) and not willing to spend the $$$$$ for the commercial ones I stumbled across the Norman style QCTP. A lot of members on the forum have made these. Easy to make at a fraction of the cost of the commercial QCTP. So I made a Norman style QCTP. All you need is a lathe and a drill. This was a great learning project.

Keep plugging away. You will gain valuable experience with everything you do.