Picked up an Atlas 10” lathe

[TownDawgR50]

Hi all-
Just came across this Atlas 10" lathe by chance. I've been in the market for a benchtop lathe for some time and was open to a variety of options from new units to used, antique machines like this Atlas. Stumbled across an older gear head who sold me the lathe and a fair amount of tooling including 2 more chucks with multiple sets of jaws, a big box of various taps, some kind of motorized burnishing attachment, a complete set of change gears, all kinds of MT2 tools like drill chucks, dead/live centers, an engine stand and an engine hoist to get it out of the back of my truck for $400. Only issues I can see are that the reversing gearbox casting is broken right at the lever, the shift collar is broken in half and the motor/wiring need to be replaced. I have both a modern 1/3hp AC motor and a 2.5HP DC motor but I haven't decided which I'll use. I like the idea of the space and weight savings from the DC motor but the simplicity of using the AC motor is appealing. The old craftsman motor that came with it may also still be good so we'll see once I dig into it all.

He claimed it was in working order last time he used it ( 10-15 years ago) but the machine was unsafe to energize as the motor lead had exposed wires. Found replacements online for the broken bits which should arrive soon but thought I would join the forum and share the start of my refurbishing project with you all. I assume its an earlier machine due to the oval on/off switch and appears to be mostly complete with some home made guarding as well as a fair amount of dings and dents from the years of usage.

 

[wa5cab]

Welcome aboard. Looks like a reasonable number of gadgets for the cash outlay. I would, from the S/N, guess the MFG year as 1939. Most people would consider it a little too young to be classified as an antique yet. As you mentioned, it will be pre-1942 because of the oval motor switch bezel.

What is the bed length (choices up until 1947 were 36", 42", 48" and 54" corresponding to 10x18, 24, 30 & 36" swings.

On the "extra chuck jaws", most if not all 3-jaw chucks with one-piece jaws came with two sets of jaws, one for gripping smaller diameter parts and the other mainly for larger parts. They are not interchangeable. Each will be stamped with a 1, 2 or 3 but in my experience not stamped with anything else to ID which chuck they belong to. About all that you can do if they are mixed up is to mount each chuck and try all of the jaws on it and check the run-out on something pretty accurately ground like a wrist pin and try to sort them out that way.

Should you ever for some other reason pull the spindle out, please report any dates that you find engraved on the bearing cups and cones. And whether the dates were on the left or right-hand bearing.

 

[TownDawgR50]

What is the bed length (choices up until 1947 were 36", 42", 48" and 54" corresponding to 10x18, 24, 30 & 36" swings.

Thank you for the info! Bed length is 42”

 

[wa5cab]

Thanks

 

[TownDawgR50]

Chuck side
Bearing race date of 3-8-1939
Bearing roller date of 3-3-1939

gear side
Bearing race & roller date of 3-1-1939

 

[wa5cab]

Thanks for the dates. I added them to the database and updated the copy in Downloads. They are consistent with what we had and/or expected. Or they were after I figured out that after I widened one of the database fields I forgot to turn the filter back on and the two 1945 dates that kept insisting on showing up just before and after your 1939 dates were on two Craftsman 101.07403's! GIGO will get you if you aren't careful.

Minor point - Although most anyone would understand what was meant, "Race" or "Bearing Race" are terms commonly applied to ball bearings, as in "Outer Race" and "Inner Race". The terms normally used with tapered roller bearings are "Cup" and "Cone".

 

[TownDawgR50]

With the lathe cleaned, reassembled and lubed I started going through the boxes of accessories that came with it. Quite the haul. I'll have to see if a rust remover bath will help with the drill chucks as they seem to have the most oxidation. Lots of neat vintage tooling that seems to be in usable shape. Not entirely sure what all is missing from the Dumore tool post grinder but all rotating parts are free with no obvious issues other than needing to be cleaned from the decades of stagnant life on a bench. Tapping head works well and all taps are sharp with collets present and in good shape. Overall I'm really happy with the lot of it, especially considering the price I got everything at. Next time I spend some time with the lathe I'll be sorting out the motor. Not sure of the state of the old Craftsman motor yet but I have both an AC and DC replacement ready if its not up to the task.

 

[JPMacG]

Nice haul! The tool post grinder is worth almost what you paid for the lathe, although it may be missing a shield. The tapping attachment is valuable too.

One of the first things I recommend that you get is a quick change tool post, size AXA. Latern tool post holders require patience and skill.

 

[TownDawgR50]

Nice haul! The tool post grinder is worth almost what you paid for the lathe, although it may be missing a shield. The tapping attachment is valuable too.

One of the first things I recommend that you get is a quick change tool post, size AXA. Latern tool post holders require patience and skill.

Thanks! I figured it was missing a gaurd, belt and maybe the arbor for the accessories but I’ll need to locate a print or info on what it should have come with originally to confirm.

Already picked up an AXA QCTP and a small selection of new indexable tooling. I just need to mill the t-nut to size.

I’m amazed that all this tooling appears to be as old or close to the same age as the machine and in fairly good shape. Just dirty and in need of some attention