Just joined, also recently got an Atlas TH 42 lathe

[Dave G in upstate New York]

Just joined yesterday. Great site. And I acquired an Atlas bench lathe last year. Slowly but surely progressing on getting it running. First, my nephew and I built a stand for it. That was the weekend before Halloween. Then spent about a month with back issues. This getting old is not for the faint of heart!

And I've finally gotten out in the garage and sorted out the bits and bobs that came with the lathe. The only thing still needed is the banjo. I found the idler studs and spacers, or whatever you want to call them. And the lathe came with a full set of change gears. I might have to get a replacement banjo, but it seems they are available online and relatively inexpensive.

And it turns out that the lathe is a larger model, a 10 inch I believe. Just looking at another post about the 618, and the poster mentioned the spindle thread size, 1-8. And I said to myself, hmmm! Mine is 1.5-8. Whaaaa?

So I just popped into the garage and measured and also wrote down the model number. And now I have a bit more homework to do...

The model number is: TH42. So what I thought was a good deal, looks like it became a great deal! Any information is appreciated. I'll be posting more as time goes on...

 

[shadetreedad]

Nice looking 10” lathe.
Welcome to the group!
Mike.

 

[OTmachine]

Looks Good! Welcome to the group!

 

[verbotenwhisky]

Just joined yesterday. Great site. And I acquired an Atlas bench lathe last year. Slowly but surely progressing on getting it running. First, my nephew and I built a stand for it. That was the weekend before Halloween. Then spent about a month with back issues. This getting old is not for the faint of heart!

And I've finally gotten out in the garage and sorted out the bits and bobs that came with the lathe. The only thing still needed is the banjo. I found the idler studs and spacers, or whatever you want to call them. And the lathe came with a full set of change gears. I might have to get a replacement banjo, but it seems they are available online and relatively inexpensive.

And it turns out that the lathe is a larger model, a 10 inch I believe. Just looking at another post about the 618, and the poster mentioned the spindle thread size, 1-8. And I said to myself, hmmm! Mine is 1.5-8. Whaaaa?

So I just popped into the garage and measured and also wrote down the model number. And now I have a bit more homework to do...

The model number is: TH42. So what I thought was a good deal, looks like it became a great deal!View attachment 481246 Any information is appreciated. I'll be posting more as time goes on...

Welcome to the forum, your lathe is very nice.

 

[Eddyde]

Welcome to HM, Nice looking lathe and bench!

 

[Nutfarmer]

What you have is way better than a 618. A 618 is only a 6 inch lathe. The TH 42 as you discovered is a ten inch lathe with a much larger spindle. Parts are still available. There are many on this forum that have similar lathes and most are very helpful if you run into problems.

 

[shadetreedad]

Dave,
I have a spare 10-25 banjo that should fit & is yours for the shipping costs. $20 should get it anywhere in the US. Let me know if you’re interested.
Mike

 

[Dave G in upstate New York]

Dave,
I have a spare 10-25 banjo that should fit & is yours for the shipping costs. $20 should get it anywhere in the US. Let me know if you’re interested.
Mike

Thanks, I'll let you know if I need it. My nephew has what we think is the correct one, unfortunately he's about 2hours away from here. It's on his desk, just waiting for his next trip this way.

 

[Dave G in upstate New York]

I think joining this forum has already been fortuitous. 1st, figuring out what model lathe I purchased, 2nd, being welcomed by everyone. Once I get the hang of posting on the site, I'll get a couple of pictures of the lathe, and the stand my nephew and I built a few months back. It's mostly just leftovers and scavenged materials, with only a few things purposely purchased for the project.

I'm really looking forward to seeing all of the interesting stuff on this site, machine restorations, custom made items, and the other projects everyone is/has done. (I know, bad grammar there, you'll get used to my misuse of the english language...).

Meanwhile, I've got more homework to do just since this morning due to this site and learning from it. Thanks for the support!

 

[Dave G in upstate New York]

A couple of pictures before I go to sleep tonight.
He 1st and 2nd pictures are the stand before I mounted the lathe, and the 3rd was during the process of getting it mounted. Interesting story about wood top. It's a piece of glue lam. I went to my favorite hardware store Allerdice Ace Hardware in Saratoga Springs and was talking about getting a piece of butcher's block counter top for it. And the guy says to me, yes they could get it for me, but it would be a little bit spendy! Like probably over $100. Then he suggested a piece of glue lam, and said hang tight he might have just the thing. Off he goes in the rain to one of the out buildings, and comes back with the one on the stand, only it's soaking wet and not finished. I asked him how much. Take it, it's a miscut and this way it won't get thrown out.

And that's why I shop there, and have for the last 26 years. So once I got it home, I put it in the basement to dry out. I have 2 dehumidifiers and keep the moisture level below 35 percent because of the stuff stored down there. Then a few weeks later (okay, so I'm not that fast at getting a round tuit...), I took a plane to it and smoothed it out. Then to the garage and a propane weed burner to toast it. Knowing that it's going to get oily, I figured that an oil finish of sorts would be appropriate. I rubbed it with mineral oil, and viola, you can see the results.

Mounting the lathe was relatively easy, and the only thing left is to get it level once its in its final resting place. You may have noticed the bags of ready mix. Look at the 2nd picture, that pn at the bottom is now filled with a bag of concrete. It adds a little bit more weight down low to help keep it from dancing around. Cheap ballast.

I've since acquired a rotary drum switch andmade a support mount for it, and gotten it wired. And what a project that was. The diagrams with the switch didn't match what it needed. But I persevered, and got it wired. And it even works!

So that's all of the story so far. I know there'll be more as time goes on. For now, I'm going to peruse the site and see what I can plaigerize, er, that is learn from. And thanks again...