Unusual Craftsman lathe - flat ways and no lead screw - who made it?

Found a link to the lathes.uk page (it's under craftsman wood lathes)

http://www.lathes.co.uk/craftsmanwood/

From the site

935 - 1939 121/4-inch swing by 36-inches between centres Craftsman Universal Heavy Duty Lathe.
The Universal was the best wood-turning lathe to be offered by Sears, Roebuck during the 1930s and designed by Atlas to be not only a very strong machine (it weighed 140 lbs) but also the basis upon which the 1936 Craftsman backgeared and screwcutting metal-turning lathe would be constructed. (For more details of contemporary Atlas lathes, especially the basic 1042 models on which, in turn, the Craftsman wood-turning lathe was based, click here). The Universal could also be converted, by the addition of various parts, to a proper backgeared and screwcutting metal lathe, the makers claiming that: It grows with your shop!
 
I have one of these lathes. It is in really rough shape. I bought it from a fellow who advertised it on Craigslist for a very decent price which included a tremendous amount of lathe parts for all sorts of lathes. This included a bunch of 1 1/2 " - 8 face plates which don't fit my South Bend. The reason I bought it was I thought that I could repurpose the headstock as a vertical milling attachment for my horizontal mill. The bed is far superior to a Gingery bed and would make a great start for a homemade lathe. Any junk lead screw can be retrofitted.
 
It's a Craftsman "Universal" lathe as advertised in the 1936 Craftsman & Companion power tools catalog. The options included a carriage with cross slide, and a lead screw. Note there are 2 holes at each end of the bed for mounting a lead screw. There were other options like a set of change gears, face plate, and a speed reducing counter shaft along with many others
No, it isn't the Universal. Note that the legs are cast integral with the bed. You will find it on pages 22 and 23 of the 1936 catalog. The Universal is on pages 24 and 25. The following year (1937), most of the parts on the Universal appeared on the 101.07400 Deluxe. Some of the parts on the 1936 Universal except for the headstock (which had Timken bearings instead of babbit) are the same as those on the 1936 101.07360 (no back gears) and 101.07380 (with back gears). The tailstock may be the same on all four.
 
No, it isn't the Universal. Note that the legs are cast integral with the bed. You will find it on pages 22 and 23 of the 1936 catalog. The Universal is on pages 24 and 25. The following year (1937), most of the parts on the Universal appeared on the 101.07400 Deluxe. Some of the parts on the 1936 Universal except for the headstock (which had Timken bearings instead of babbit) are the same as those on the 1936 101.07360 (no back gears) and 101.07380 (with back gears). The tailstock may be the same on all four.

I see the difference in the beds now, the universal has the separate legs and I can see the holes for lead screw brackets. The lathe I am showing the picture of has integral legs and no apparent provision for lead screw brackets.
 
Right. It was advertised as an up-scale wood lathe with some metal working attachments. Given the similarities of the tail stocks, the way dimensions are probably the same as on the metal working machines.
 
Looking on eBay and online, I see at least 4 different head stocks on the same bed. I am guessing they were transitioning/improving the head stock.
 
Back
Top