Found used atlas 10” for 600$ is it worthy

[jwmay]

The 6” Atlas could be purchased with Timken taper roller bearings too. The one pictured in this thread has sleeve bearings.
As far as I know, the only thing you couldn’t get on the 6” model was a qcgb.
Also, the OP expressed interest in a 10” model. Pretty sure most links others have posted have been 6” machines.
I recommend the OP spend some time reading in the Atlas and Craftsman machines sub forum, if an Atlas is what you’re looking for.

ATLAS, CRAFTSMAN, COMPANION, DUNLAP & AA

Discuss any issues dealing with Atlas & Atlas-Clausing lathes, drill presses, mills, etc. in this forum.

www.hobby-machinist.com

 

[great white]

This is my Atlas 10” (10f) TH42:



Thats after several years of rebuilding it. Was usable as it was, I just wanted it to look nice and function as close to “new” as I could get it. It would be an easy $2000-2500 around here if I were to sell it. Might even be able to stretch it to $3000-3500 if I were to sell it with all the attachments and tooling. That's Canadian dollars and I have more into it than I could sell it for.

As purchased:



The PO actually had it stored in a chicken coup. Not the little shack style ones, the big, long 2 story type. Was still humid and dirty in there, even if chickens weren’t roosting on it.

Was the basic lathe with a 1/4 hp motor, face plate and dogs, worn out 4 jaw indp chuck, 3 jaw chuck (useless, broken scrolls), some brazed cutters, all the change gears, steady rest and various other bits of shrapnel. Cost me $1000.

The point of this is condition matters for pricing, but location matters just as much if not more.

I might have paid 1G for mine originally, but thats because this is not an industrial area. There are some machine shops, but nothing to do with manufacturing.

Mist guys on here would probably say it was worth somewhere around 400-500 bucks if they were to buy it in the condition I did, but thats in a location where they may have more options (ie:can shop around more).

In an area where you have/had manufacturing, you’ll probably pay less. But the flip side of that coin is theres likely to be more wear.

An Atlas 10/12” is a capable machine, for a home hobbiest. But theres the rub; they are all old now and the lathe is likely to be as much a project itself as making projects on it.

Lastly, I will say a “cheap” lathe is seldom ever really “cheap”. Lower priced ones on the market are usually lower priced for a reason. Wear, missing parts, broken parts years of neglect, minimal to no tooling, etc.

You’re better off paying more for something that is mostly complete than a “cheap” one that is missing parts/tooling.

And don’t get anxious. Theres lots of them out there. The right one at the right price will come along eventually.

 

[Nutfarmer]

A quick change gear box for threading is something I would wait for. It sure made using a lathe much more enjoyable than having to change gears all the time. Then again any lathe is better than no lathe

 

[markba633csi]

Notice the "swirl/ribbed" pattern on the 10" headstock- an easy way to ID it
The 12" has a smoother look, but the tipoff is the tall compound compared to the 10"
Once you see it you'll know the difference

 

[tim81]

I will not get that one. Will wait and look for a better deal. Probably will try something bigger as many have said that 6-10 inch are limited and will outgrow them, now I have to save the money for the bigger ones. Also cannot afford the place for two lathes.

 

[great white]

10” lathes are only limited depending on what you want to do with it.

I build all sorts of things on my 10”. I mainly do motorcycle and automotive stuff, with the occational special tool or jig tossed in the mix. I infrequently do something a friend needs done, which can be any number of odd projects.

Are there times I wish I had a 12”? Sure, but not very often. Maybe once or twice over the last 4-5 years.

There are times you’ll wish a 12” was bigger.

Before you write off a size, you need to sit down and honestly assess what type of projects you want to do.

There has been very few projects over the years that I haven’t been able to do on my 10” lathe and 7x21 benchtop mill.

Also consider that sometimes “big” can be too big.

Making small parts on a big lathe is certainly possible, but not always the easiest way to go.

I find it really is about matching the lathe size to 90% of the projects you want to do. Theres always going to be that 10% thats going to be too big (or small) to do on whatever size lathe you have.

Something else you may want to consider depending on your space (and the accessibility to it) is the bigger the lathe, the more space it takes up and the heavier it is.

My 10” Atlas is somewhere around 400 odd lbs. A relatively easy 1 person move with a simple engine crane.

A bigger 15” lathe is going to be somewhere around 3000-4000 lbs range. Thats like parking a small car on its side on the floor. Ie:lots of weight in a pretty small footprint. That needs something solid to sit on (like a concrete floor) and certain skills, knowledge and equipment to move into position…doable, but not always easy.

Something that heavy falls over while you’re trying to move it and you better get out of its way….and damned quickly! That much weight can break body parts at best, kill you at worst. Big equipment like that can be extremely “unforgiving”, either moving it or using it.

Don’t get me wrong thinking that smaller equipment is safer, its not. My 10” Atlas will rip your arm off or drag you into the chuck just as easily and fast as a bigger 15”+ lathe. The only real difference there is your ripped and torn body may eventually stall out a 10” Atlas (you’ll still be dead or horribly maimed) whereas a more powerful lathe will just keep spinning even after its sucked you into the chuck. Not tying to scare you off, but these sorts of things can (and sometimes do) happen when running a lathe. They’re not to be taken lightly or a place to loose your focus. Youtube has many gory lathe accident videos….don’t go looking for them unless you have a strong constitution.

Even if you do get your soft, squishy body out of the way of a falling lathe in time, that much weight falling over on its side is gonna break things…expensive things. You only have to move it once (hopefully), but it is a point for consideration.

 

[MrWhoopee]

I also have a 10" lathe (SB Heavy 10), only once has it been too small. A South Bend is a significant upgrade from an Atlas.
Since you are continuing your search, pay attention to whether the lathe has a quick change gearbox. They are a great convenience and there is frequently little price difference. Be patient.

 

[pontiac428]

I also have a 10" lathe (SB Heavy 10), only once has it been too small. A South Bend is a significant upgrade from an Atlas.
Since you are continuing your search, pay attention to whether the lathe has a quick change gearbox. They are a great convenience and there is frequently little price difference. Be patient.

Since you are in the decision phase, pay double attention to MrWhoopee's post. Planning for the reality is important, even if it means saving and searching a little longer. Patience and pounce.

I wanted to loop back to your power concerns from earlier. For lathes under 2 horsepower, you will not have any! All of the Atlas lathes topped out below half that, making them like big sewing machines as far as appliances go. Just pick any old 110 volt, 15A household receptacle available in your work space, and go. You can run a 3/4 horse motor on a really long extension cord without heating up the wires too. Lathes sold for the home shop consumer are not demanding machines for power until they get really heavy, like 1.5 tons, before you need to plan for power requirements.

 

[tim81]

Thank you so much guys. I will rethink the situation. Certainly I don’t want to hurt myself. Is a south bend 9” 4 foot long good enough to do axels for small feeder. The axle will be ~1” “20mm” in diameter and 10 foot long, but I was thinking on doing it in sections. That the main project I have now. And I will use the casted parts to make the rest.

Tim

 

[great white]

For a drive axle length of ten feet, I’d probably do it in sections and ise pillow blocks to stabilize it and some type of flexible coupling to join the sections. U joints, lovejoys, thomas coupling, etc.

I’d also probably forgo trying to turn something that long on a home lathe and instead go with a structural tubing and welded ends. Structural tubing isn’t cheap though. I bought a 5” length for a motorcycle frame head/neck and it was nearly 100 bucks. In all fairness, the diameter was a lot larger than 1”.

You can probably get by with a more standard wall thickness if its just transferring power, like a vehicle driveshaft does. If its the actual screw mechanism that moves feed, you need to re-evaluate if tube is strong enough for the task. The problem with tube at 1” is thinner walls won’t have a lot of strength.

A feeder is probably a low speed shaft so you likely can get by without balancing them.

Even if its in sections, I believe you’re going to have trouble turning to consistent tolerance (Ie: tapering) across the shaft on a home sized lathe. Longer lengths can “deflect” in the center of the span unless a follower rest is used. Most home lathes are limitied to around 24”-30” between centers and not many are going to have a 1” spindle hole to accept longer lengths. Keep in mind that a 36” lathe won’t fit a 36” piece between centers. The legth is the total length of the lathe bed and you loose working length for the headstock and tail stock. so a 36” lathe might inly do 24” between centers. My Atlas TH42 tops out somewhere around 30-36” (i’ve never used it to max length).

If you want to use solid turned shafts, I’d suggest “farming out” the work to a fully featured shop and have them do it. They should have proper gear to turn long lengths to tolerance and Have machines big enough to pass 1” stock through the spindle hole.

Just my .02….