My Craftsman Atlas 12 inch lathe and questions. (see moderator comment)

Hello! New member here. I am a full time law enforcement officer but I am discovering my love for metal working. I am building a hobby metal shop in my garage with the possibility of turning it into a retirement job (many years away).

I have recently fell in love with my Craftsmanship Atlas 101.07403 12 inch lathe. I picked it up with a good amount of tools for what I believe to be a good price. Appears to be well taken care of and was owned by a professional metal worker. This will compliment my Langmuir Pro CNC plasma table, MIG, TIG, press brake. Hopefully a small mill soon too.

I added an Accu-Link belt (took a lot of vibration out), Shars AXA tool post, and spent more money on accessories than I paid for the lathe!

Hopefully you guys can answer some questions about my lathe.

Serial number is 16439. When was it manufactured?

I suspect I have Timken bearings and not Babbitt. Is this correct?

Has anyone threaded rifle barrels with the craftsman? What about concentric threads for suppressors? I suspect I need a jig to do it.

Can I get a faceplate for this lathe that I can clamp work to? For example, something that I cut with the CNC plasma cutter that I can clamp to the faceplate and do boring work?

Thanks guys!

Post questions/comments about hobby machines like your lathe at a site like this one:

Home - Home Shop Machinist

The Practical Machinist site is more for professionals and commercial machines. Had you read the rules for posting here you would know that machines like yours are banned from discussion.

Thanks. Now I know

Not seeing the moderator's comment here for some reason.

For the record see the moderator's comment here, post #33, on this subject: https://www.practicalmachinist.com/...tionable-brand-391788/index2.html#post3772672

David

Q OP: [Has anyone threaded rifle barrels with the this kind of lathe? What about concentric threads for suppressors? I suspect I need a jig to do it.]

A lighter-duty lathe will likely cut decent/good threads in a rifle barrel. It is possible that a 3jaw chuck may run out so picking up a 4 jaw might do a better job... *Oh, I see you might have a 4 jaw.

Often one can run a bolt-action gun action or a barrel between centers to do a very fine job...perhaps a soft head stock center turning as a runs with the chuck center. If a center is turned in a (and) chuck it will run dead true.

Likely need a micrometer and a set of 3 wires to measure threads.

Tool bit geometry (shape) is important, and High-speed bits can be sharper to do a mild steel job better.

Good to buy a book "How to Run A Lathe.

https://littlemachineshop.com/images/gallery/instructions/grindingtoolbits.pdf

Get a length of round stock and practice: OD turning to size, facing the end, and turning various threads until it becomes easy out of a chuck and between centers.

This thread may get locked so in the future just ask the lathe question with not mentioning the brand.

But it is your duty/responsibility to read a few books and do some learning on your own.

You might buy a used set of tool bits and with them see how they might be used.

Good to have a bench grinder so you might practice tool bit sharpening.

Deleted off-topic, argumentative posts.

But I do see the confusion about moderation- I had put this reply below, after the OP's first post:

Hi, I am moderator on the Antique machinery forum. There is a long standing policy given by the site owner proscribing discussions about Atlas/Craftsman machines (see the sticky threads in the top of the antique forum), however recently we have been experimenting with relaxing that rule in some respects. If discussion can be focused on the workholding and tooling questions and not on the lathe I will leave the thread open.

Thanks!

mod


But it was for some odd reason marked as a "moderated post" and so perhaps invisible despite the thread being otherwise open for replies. Having cleaned up a number of other posts, I copied the text to this one. I apologize for the confusion.

As I recall this thread started in the General Forum and was moved to the Antique Forum. So is it now the policy that Atlas lathes are allowed here but not in other forums?

Post #1 asked about using the lathe for gunsmithing, so I will comment. In 1965, I replaced my new in 1954 6" x 12" metal lathe that had made a number of gun parts over the years with a used, circa 1941, Craftsman 12" x 36" metal lathe with Babbitt bearings. I did make a small gun barrel with the big lathe. In 1975, I bought a brand new Craftsman 12" x 36" lathe and an engineer at work bought my old one to do gun work. He seemed to be happy with it. In 1980, I replaced the new Craftsman with a new Jet 12" x 36" which had a spindle bore of 1.4" or so. In 1985, the Jet was replaced with a nice used Clausing 5914 12" x 36" lathe that I still use. The local newspaper company bought the Jet for their repair shop.

A local gun shop owner bought the Craftsman in 1975, which was still like new. He soon complained about the tiny spindle bore which would not allow a rifle barrel to go through. I explained that his new lathe had a steady rest included. When I need to use a steady rest on a finished part, I wrap it with steel shim stock held with a worm hose clamp to keep the steady jaws from marking the part. The shim stock is cut to length so that the ends leave a very small gap with no overlap. It works.

If I need to turn an approximate radius, like a barrel crown, I usually use a HSS or carbide wood-working lathe chisel on a T-rest. Atlas sold a long and a short T-rest for the 12" lathes that were simply made from angle iron and bolted to to the T-slot in the top slide. It is perfectly easy to hand turn steel and other metals that way and metal lathes have been equipped with T-rests for hundreds of years.

Larry

L Vanice said:

Post #1 asked about using the lathe for gunsmithing, so I will comment. In 1965, I replaced my new in 1954 6" x 12" metal lathe that had made a number of gun parts over the years with a used, circa 1941, Craftsman 12" x 36" metal lathe with Babbitt bearings. I did make a small gun barrel with the big lathe. In 1975, I bought a brand new Craftsman 12" x 36" lathe and an engineer at work bought my old one to do gun work. He seemed to be happy with it. In 1980, I replaced the new Craftsman with a new Jet 12" x 36" which had a spindle bore of 1.4" or so. In 1985, the Jet was replaced with a nice used Clausing 5914 12" x 36" lathe that I still use. The local newspaper company bought the Jet for their repair shop.

A local gun shop owner bought the Craftsman in 1975, which was still like new. He soon complained about the tiny spindle bore which would not allow a rifle barrel to go through. I explained that his new lathe had a steady rest included. When I need to use a steady rest on a finished part, I wrap it with steel shim stock held with a worm hose clamp to keep the steady jaws from marking the part. The shim stock is cut to length so that the ends leave a very small gap with no overlap. It works.

If I need to turn an approximate radius, like a barrel crown, I usually use a HSS or carbide wood-working lathe chisel on a T-rest. Atlas sold a long and a short T-rest for the 12" lathes that were simply made from angle iron and bolted to to the T-slot in the top slide. It is perfectly easy to hand turn steel and other metals that way and metal lathes have been equipped with T-rests for hundreds of years.

Larry

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You mean these pot metal flimsy lathe shaped child's POS toys CAN DO ACTUAL acceptable WORK???????

dundeeshopnut said:

You mean these pot metal flimsy lathe shaped child's POS toys CAN DO ACTUAL acceptable WORK???????

Click to expand...

A good machinist can do accurate work with a hammer, chisel and a file so yes, a good lathe hand can do accurate work with a Craftsman lathe.

As for can you get a faceplate for that lathe, the first thing to do is identify the spindle nose size and thread. While certainly there are used C*******n ones for sale out there there may be other lathes that used the same thread and there may even be newly made ones for sale.

As for those who choose to make snide comments, while the 12" A***s is far from a tool room lathe it is much more heavily built than the cheaply made six inch unit that used a lot of die castings. As enginebill said, in the hands of a skilled worker it's capable of decent work and the type of machining the OP intends to use it for is craft machining, which is very different from production or tool room work.

Greg Menke said:

Deleted off-topic, argumentative posts.

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Thank you (still have not worked out feedback system...)

enginebill said:

A good machinist can do accurate work with a hammer, chisel and a file so yes, a good lathe hand can do accurate work with a Craftsman lathe.

Click to expand...

Good to know as I have spent countless hours making/modifying parts on my 6-18. Even internal threaded spindle retaining rings for my Hendey Still damm handy [and quick] for small jobs.

It seems popular to pick on the poor Atlas / Craftsman lathes as being nothing but junk.

I have owned two Craftsman lathes. A 10" x 36" and a 12" x 36". Do I miss them, no! But they can do accurate work, it just takes longer than on a good lathe. The biggest problem with them, is they wear out very fast. The bed and saddle are not hardened and any grit that gets in there makes a mess of the bed. My last one would cut a .0015" per inch taper which was a problem but could be fixed with a file after turning. The pot metal gears also wear out fast.

And for those who don't have a big workshop, you can fit one in the garage. I could not have have fit my current lathe which I would guess is about 10 feet long in the house I used to live in. They can also be had for little money sometimes. I paid $500 for the 12" x 36". And had to spend $8,000 for the lathe I have now.

For occasional home workshop use they are fine. For using on a daily basis, after a few years they are scrap.

Scottl said:

As for can you get a faceplate for that lathe, the first thing to do is identify the spindle nose size and thread. While certainly there are used C*******n ones for sale out there there may be other lathes that used the same thread and there may even be newly made ones for sale.....

Click to expand...

The spindle nose thread is 1-1/2"-8, which was also used on South Bend 9 and 10 inch lathes, so there are lots of old and new tooling items with that size thread. I never had any South Bend tooling, so I don't know if their stuff is a perfect fit on Atlas/Craftsman lathes. And Chinese chucks and stuff did not exist back when I had my A/C lathes, so I can't say if they are a good fit or any good at all. I had A/C and Jacobs tooling that all fit well and was well made.

Larry

It seems popular to pick on the poor Atlas / Craftsman lathes as being nothing but junk.

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I don't believe that is the point of the exclusion. Rather the point is to concentrate on machines/machining from which the board derives the lion's share of advertising - namely - American made "industrial" quality machines - those machines for which considerable is paid and considerable made in return.

The "Big Dog" in practical machining.

Still, being the "antique" board this is not a money - maker for the board. Rather put here more to "attract." And as a "you can't tell where you are without knowing where you've been" sort of attraction.

Most of us here retain a "sympathetic" view of antique machinery we've used and own.

And - yes - this may include "those who must not be named" to include in my case a lathe prefixed with "109."

The point is that even problems experienced on as poor a lathe as a "109" CAN be applied to machining on much larger machines. And the point of the non-exclusion for technical matters is to address these problems and their solutions since these MAY be applied more "industrially."

Knowledge is knowledge - and one can't help but have their life made easier, the work done cheaper, machining practice done BETTER with knowledge. Excellence in machine work is the point.

Just don't mention the name but stick to the problem/solution.

In the case of certain machine bearings - almost ALL roller or ball bearings have been "number coded" on one or more surfaces of the bearing. Disassembly CAN reveal what these numbers are which make ordering new bearing quite easy. Or with the bearing in hand, type and actual dimensions may reveal what you need to order from a catalog.

There is no need to mention a brand, a parts diagram, a part number (which may or may not agree with the actual bearing number and likely isn't available from the machine maker anyway), or even use a picture.

So the "non-commercial" exclusion is there and as some have said "homeowner" forums exist as an alternative - but knowledge should never be spurned however it comes.

The trick is to work "smarter" - not harder.

Joe in NH

You can find various different sizes and weights of faceplates with 1 1/2-8 threads on eBay. I found one that looked to have been made from an old rotary table that was quite heavy and a bit over 10" in diameter. The thread was wrong but I was able to sleeve it with an 1 1/-8 thread. I also built an angle plate that indexed in the slots. It has worked quite well. I can guarantee there are some light duty ones on there right now and if you wait you can probably find a larger/heavier one in time.

enginebill said:

A good machinist can do accurate work with a hammer, chisel and a file so yes, a good lathe hand can do accurate work with a Craftsman lathe.

Click to expand...

The new guys and the tool salesmen like to say:
"A mechanic is only as good as his tools"

The experienced guys and the old time toolmakers like to say:
"Tis a poor mechanic who blames his tools"

That tidbit, and $2, still won't get you a Starbucks.

Good sayings, although they were coined long before chicrap tools, especially the hand ones that could make even the most patient, skilled, benevolent mechanic or machinist throw them across the yard towards the scrap bin in a fit of rage.