First lathe

[nana1962409]

I have always had an interest in machining and almost went to school for it but didn’t really want to deal with college I wasn’t a very social person back then. I was talking to a friend last week about how it would be nice to have a lathe and mill to play with and teach myself how to use them if I could find them cheap enough. A couple days later he sends me a message that one of his coworkers is moving and is selling a bunch of stuff and has an old lathe in the barn he will sell cheap. Went and looked and it and it needs a good cleaning but the motor and headstock turn on and move. Brought it home tonight and just brushed the heavy dust and dirt off it from sitting in the barn. I need to disassemble it and polish up the sliding surfaces but it was cheap so I can’t complain. Found out after I got it home the lead screw doesn’t turn. Found the pin that drives it is sheared after disassembling the selector box. So I will find a new pin for that. Haven’t decided if I will paint it all up or just clean it up and leave the finish as is being it will be a tool that will just be used. Had some extras that came with it as well and the original manual. It’s nothing fancy just a old atlas th54 with change gears but figured for just hobby stuff it will work fine.

 

[63 dream'n]

Congrats, be safe ...........and whittle away.....!!!!!......cool

 

[Jim Sullivan]

Nice score Nate. Pretty soon you'll wonder how you got along without it for so long.

 

[Junky]

Clean it up, and leave it original. You might just have a collectors item there, and not know it. Go slow, and take your time learning how to use it. It won't be long before you will be able to do lots of thing on that lathe. I remember when I was in shop class. We had 15 minutes of instruction, 15 minutes on the machine, and 15 minutes of clean up. I thought that if we could have a full day in shop class, we could learn a whole lot more in one day than in one month. Still have a few things that I made on the lathe and the milling machine. Never learned enough to want to become a machinist.

 

[bobs409]

Holy heck, no sense starting out small I guess!

I'll trade you my 16 x 7 mini lathe for it.

 

[Iowa 409 Guy]

Any idea of the date of manufacturer Nate?

 

[bobs409]

Oh yeah, youtube is how I learned machining. But be warned, watching machining video's is addicting!!! Won't be long until you're buying a mill now.

 

[64ss409]

Atlas made lathes for Sears under the Craftsman name which is what I have. It looks just like yours. My Dad bought it in the early 50's. Atlas later was bought out by Clausing. Parts for these lathes were then available through Atlas Clausing and maybe still are. I haven't needed parts for quite a while. You will enjoy it, they are a good lathe. It looks like you have all the attachments you will need.

 

[wristpin]

Awesome find Nate! Cant wait to see what great stuff you make up!!

 

[ROYALOAK62]

Passed a plum bob that I made in 9 grade Machine shop.
It was just sitting in my tool box and my son said he was looking for a good pointed plumb bob.
he said most in the stores were junk.

 

[IMBVSUR?]

They knew how to make things back then. As long as the ways are level and straight, and you don't expect that machine to make perfect tollerances below .000, you will have a great machine. Purchase the best tooling and cutting bits you can afford. Tooling and cutting tips are very important for doing a great job, and it makes it so much nicer. You can practice with the cheap stuff though. Don't be afraid to grind your own tooling either, although making your cutting tips takes some practice to be really good. I miss my lathe.

 

[La Hot Rods]

Looks like something to get you started Nate, I have been having fun making curls with mine. Just remember to take off half of what your after.

 

[Junky]

One thing that I remember so well from shop class, is to always wear a face shield, and to always remove the key from the chuck before starting the machine. Yes, before anyone asks, I did forget to remove the key once, but one of my classmates reminded me before I started the machine. We all make mistakes, and as long as you learn from them, you will continue growing mentally.

 

[nana1962409]

Thanks everyone I’m looking forward to learning how to use it. I went to the hardware store after work and found a pin the same size so should be good to go. I took a bunch of parts with me to work so I could clean them up in the cabinet washer. Tomorrow or Monday I will work on it again. Dave as far as age there is no date on it but the pic-o-matic feature was only available from 1944-47 so its somewhere in that date range. I also found that timpkin scribed the date on the bearings for the headstock so if I pulled that apart I could get a closer idea on age. Bob I would feel bad trading you you have made so many attachments and tool holders for yours already and if you got mine you would have to start all over. And yes I imagine some YouTube time will be in the future. 64ss409 from my research clausing still makes some stuff for them. Imbvsur? Thanks for the tips the ways seems level and in decent shape besides the surface rust so I will polish them up and check them over. I’m not expecting a extremely precise machine but would like to be somewhat accurate and I imagine some of that come with getting a feel for the machine. I noticed it feels like the crossfeed and compound slide both feel like they have play so I will look into that when I have them apart for cleaning. I think they have a bronze or brass but the screws run through and probably have some decent wear on them. Junky my school at one time had machine shop classes. When I went through high school we didn’t have any teachers that knew how to use the machines. There was a lathe and mill there. I made my first sbc oil primer on the lathe. The mill someone bent the spindle shaft so you couldn’t change the bit and someone ran it on a piece of steel so long that it self welded itself to the steel.

 

[55Brodie]

I sold Timken bearings for over 45 years and never saw a date scribed on them. Your headstock might have a spacer bearing assembly which would have the bench end-play scribed somewhere on it.

 

[38Chevy]

I bought an old Atlas lathe about 35 years ago. made many parts and special tools with it. Its a keeper

 

[Phil Reed]

One thing that I remember so well from shop class, is to always wear a face shield, and to always remove the key from the chuck before starting the machine. Yes, before anyone asks, I did forget to remove the key once, but one of my classmates reminded me before I started the machine. We all make mistakes, and as long as you learn from them, you will continue growing mentally.

THEN........how do you explain Wristpin??????

 

[wristpin]

Im going to HF later to buy one of their small lathes. I figure to machine everything to make a 1962 Convertible Corvette. I have Krylon© to paint it red and lots of nogahyde from seats out of a closed up stripper bar for interior.

 

[nana1962409]

55brodie I had only read that online as a guideline for finding the date the lathe. But we all know how reliable online info can be sometimes. After wheel bearings and brakes on my work beater I got the gear box cleaned up and reassembled. Now it functions like it should.

 

[Junky]

THEN........how do you explain Wristpin??????

There is no accounting for other peoples mistakes, and Wristpin is in a league of his own. There is no explaining Wristpin, after all, he has been married 3 times by his own admission.