Lathe Purchase Dilemma

[PaulG67]

How much larger is the "Much larger South Bend" and what price and did you consider it and if not why not?

[dsbock]

The much larger South Bend is at least a 12x24 if not larger and would overwhelm the space in my workshop. When I pick mine up tonight I'll get more details.

Now to find a source for a 4-jaw chuck with a 10TPI threaded base plate.

I'll post pictures when I get it home.

Thanks.

David

[Bent Ramrod]

Look under "Atlas Lathe Parts" on E-Bay. There is also an Atlas newsgroup on Yahoo for any problems you might have. Some of those people sell their surplus Atlas stuff from time to time.

[dsbock]

Here are some pictures of the South Bend Lathe Paul G67 was asking about:

[dsbock]

Here are some pictures of the Atlas 618 I bought. Pictures of the accompanying tooling coming soon.

[izzyjoe]

Those are fun little lathes, you can do a lot of work on those, just take your time and don't hotrod it! I purchased a 12x54 atlas a few years back, and I found out I had to cut barrel threads at the tailstock, cause the spindle bore is only 7/8. So i can get small barrels in there, like 22's, but I have a lot of fun with mine, just haven't used it in few months cause it's been to hot in the shop. I wish you all the luck, And have fun!

[blackbahart]

that is a nice lathe ,when purchasing used its good to get a second opinion ,if you are starting out with used ,parts accesories and support.After that buy what you can afford when it presents it self .As using it will get you experience on them and when you wish to upgrade to say a larger one or more features you now know what your abilities are and what you require

[dsbock]

Blackbahart,

When I first looked at this lathe, I brought a friend who worked as a machinist for many years with me. He pronounced the lathe acceptable. While I have a good general knowledge of machinery, I know that I don't know very much about lathes.

My next step will be to build a stand followed by mounting and leveling the lathe. I'll be using these plans (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1...WM5ZUVmY21OTkE) for the lathe stand.

After that I'll start making small pieces of metal out of bigger ones.

I'll post some pictures of the accessories that came with the lathe later today.

Any and all suggestions on how to get the most our of this lathe are appreciated.

Thanks.

David

[cheese1566]

dsblock,
rmcc justvsent me a copy of a manual for the Atlas 618. I cannot ise it as my craftsman 109.21270 is a Dunlop.
Can you use it?

[dsbock]

dsblock,
rmcc justvsent me a copy of a manual for the Atlas 618. I cannot ise it as my craftsman 109.21270 is a Dunlop.
Can you use it?

Absolutely! Which manual do you have?

I'll PM you my mailing address.

Thank you very much.

David

[SierraHunter]

I've got a older lathe I picked up awhile back. It is a 8x42 and I got it for $450 with all the extras and a couple milk crates of cutters and boring bars. I personally wouldn't get anything with less then a 36" bed. I used to work at a machine shop and the smallest one we had there was a 10x60.

[dsbock]

SierraHunter,

I'm a hobbyist. All my metal working to this point has been on my drill press and/or with hand files.

The lathe I purchased is all I could afford in both money and space. If my circumstances for both change in the future, I would certainly consider up-sizing.

Since you worked in a machine shop, do you have any suggestions for getting the most out of the lathe I have? Tooling and accessory supply sources?

Thanks.

David

[SierraHunter]

The guy that taught me how to run a lathe and mill (and I am by no means good at it..still a beginner) told me when he took an apprentice ship that the guy told him he would break $600 a week in tooling. I'm broken a fair number of cutters, and as bad as I hate to say it, I still do. I honestly buy the cheapest tooling I can find for now since I still go through it at a fairly high rate. Harbor freight has somewhat decent stuff.

[Bent Ramrod]

There's a four-jaw chuck for the 6" Atlas on E-Bay right now. A little grungy but the original box and instructions. Don't know how to copy links on this Tablet but just type in "Atlas 4-Jaw Chuck" and it should come up. The bid was 15 bucks last I looked. Keep an eye out for the milling attachment, too. Generally they go for inflated amounts, but they are pretty handy for little jobs.

You have a good machine there, and by the time you get skilled enough on it to need larger and stouter equipment you won't need anybody to tell you what you should buy next.

Get a copy of Ways and Means by A. H. Cleaves and The Amateur's Lathe by W. H. Speary. Milling Operations on the Lathe by Tubal Cain is a valuable read too. Browse up the Olde Tyme Book Store (I think that's it's name now) which is the reincarnation of the old Lindsey's Books. They reprint a lot of the old machine shop books. That forgotten skill and technique is right in there with us guys working in our basements and garages.

[SierraHunter]

There is a older book by the title of "how to run a lathe". The author slips my mind at the moment but it is a very good book.

Something to think about...no matter what modern lathe you have, it is probably better then anything Harry Pope ever dreamed of, and he built some fine rifles with what he had. The secret to a lathe is just start messing with it. Go buy some cold rolled steel and just start cutting. Doesn't have to anything in peticular. Just cut. Try different things. Watch how the cutter works and learn from it. Practice different crown styles, or building top punches. If you have marlins with the cheap plastic followers build aluminum followers. The most you run it, the better you know it, and just like with a gun, the better you know it, the better work you can do with it.

[dsbock]

I received a Harbor Freight flyer in the mail today. I'll have to see what they have for lathe tooling. I heard something similar about breaking tooling.

This looks like the 4-jaw chuck you mentioned on eBay. I asked the seller about the spindle threading. My lathe is 10TPI, some of the older lathes were 8TPI. I've seen a few of the milling attachments go for several hundred dollars. Too rich for my blood.

I've been building my machining library for a while now. Among others I have:
"How to Run a Lathe" by South Bend Lathe Works
"The Amateur's Lathe" by Sparey
"Basic Lathework" by Bray
"The Home Machinist's Handbook" by Briney
"The Starrett Book for Student Machinists" by Starrett
"Machine Shop Basics" by Miller
"Machine Shop Practice, Volume 1" by Moltrecht
I even found a copy of "TM 1-420: Lathes" from 11/29/1940 and "TM 10-445: The Machinist" from 11/12/1941

Lindsey Books continues on as Your Old Time Bookstore. I'll see what else they have.

As soon as I get my lathe bench built and the lathe mounted and leveled, I'll be making small pieces of metal out of larger ones.

Thanks for all the input folks.

David

[izzyjoe]

You have some very informative books there,also build a bench that you can park a Mac truck on!

[dsbock]

Izzyjoe,

I'm building a bench to these plans. 2x10 legs, 3/4" plywood sides, and back, double layer 3/4" plywood top. I think I'll be good.

Thanks,

David

[SierraHunter]

South Bend. That's who that book it by.

[plainsman456]

Might make the bench high enough that you don't have to stoop over when using it.

I did mine and it has saved whats left of my back.