The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Atlas/Craftsman lathe

Do any of you guys have or know of a stash of parts for an Atlas/Craftsman 12 inch metal lathe?

A COMPLETELY disassembled one was given to my son and I'm assembling it for him. He is a Marine Corps vet and is now pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering using the GI bill. His school and family obligations take up 100+% of his time so he dumped the lathe project on me.

My email is [email protected].

Thanks!

Do a search on Ebay for Atlas, Lots of parts there all the time.Good luck to your son. PM me if you need any help with your project.
Larry

Ray,

Do you already know about these websites? http://vintagemachinery.org/home.aspx and http://owwm.org/

The old woodworking machines site includes metal working machines as well. It has a section called BOYD (bring out your dead) for buying and selling.

I hope you have a great time restoring the old lathe. I also love to work on old tools.

also check out http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/

Larry, thank you for the offer to help with this project. I have no computer skills so I don't really know what "PM" is. Is it the "EmailPost" option?

The lathe my son was given is a Craftsman Model 101.28940, and it really was disassembled down to the tiniest screw and roll pin and then all the pieces thrown in a big box.

The challenges are that a casting that bolts on the back of the quick change gearbox and supports the quadrant is missing and the front bedway within about 18 inches of the headstock is gouged about 0.008" deep. Finding a useable bed is probably the solution to that part.

There are some other challenges but most critical seems to be the bedway damage. Somebody did not keep this machine oiled and ran it very hard.

It even has the old fashioned cast iron legs that look like they are from the industrial revolution days. Very cool!

Sincere thanks to all who responded, Camsore, Eileen and Grigg. Like antique car parts, the parts this lathe needs are out there someplace rusting away or gathering dust or being used as a doorstop or other ornament. The challenge is finding them.

Thanks again!

Hi Ray,
I have a Craftsman lathe in good working condition. I don't know what model it is. It has a 6" swing and a 4' bed, and a quick change gear box. I'm in Marin Co.
Chris

The bed ways on most of those lathes are reversible. The end with the tailstock usually does not get much wear, and you can assemble it with the worn end away from the headstock. Unless you spend a lot of time working on very long stock that's supported by the tailstock, the worn area doesn't get used much. I am in the process of changing out the gearbox on my Atlas/Craftsman 12" lathe, and I might have an extra one of the part you need. I was able to buy an entire gearbox and reversing gear assembly on Ebay about two weeks ago. Email me at [email protected] and I might be able to help you get your machine assembled. I can take pictures of mine as I rework the gearbox and email them to you. There are also operator's and parts manuals for that lathe available on ebay all the time.
Jerry

Edit: It would also be possible to get a machine shop to set the bedways up in a long-stroke surface grinder and take a few thousandths off the top of the ways, eliminating the wear. There should be enough adjustment available in the gibs on the carriage to compensate for several thousandths of refinishing. I don't believe that lathe has flame-hardened ways or a V-shaped guide for the carriage that would interfere with a regrind.
Jerry