Can someone ID this lathe?

Rich

Atlas

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

ohold on.... 1/2" between ways?

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

I'd been through Tony's UK site before posting this and could not find anything that looked like it. So, pictures are in the Mystery Lathe folder here...

Thanks again, Bruno

Bruno wrote:

On or around Tue, 13 Dec 2005 18:53:04 GMT, Bruno enlightened us thusly:

does look old. Is Tony's site still active, anyone know? I've got a mystery lathe in his "mystery lathes" section ...

does look quite old. I'd suggest that the wooden cover for the changewheel bit is a replacement, not original.

GACK!!!!!!!!!

Toto...I dont think we are in Kansas anymore....

Ive never seen one like it before.

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Shame to see a machine, any machine, in that state.

Wot, rusty, you mean?

I'd be concerned that if it was in a fire, that even the parts that are apparently salvagable might have some metallurgy problems. The aluminum (?) plate shown in picture 8 of 9 looks like it got pretty hot. Then again, the wood (?!?) that it's on isn't scorched. Hard to say.

I've been pully it apart and tentatively am thinking it's a rather decently made home built lathe. I suspect the gearing setup and leadscrew may have come from Atlas parts. The half nut mechanism turns up to engage, so I suspect this is proper unit that has been installed upside down.

I'm sure the bed will be going to the recycle yard, and whatever I can salvage will be salvaged.

Good thing is that it came along with a couple nice chucks, all the change gears, steady and follow rests (which may be adaptable), collets and a collet chuck, lots of tool holders, etc.

I don't think I mentioned that the countershaft pulleys are made of wood, and bracketed with a Ford connecting rods (so claims the seller, who knows cars but not lathes).

-Bruno

Gunner Asch wrote:

I don't see any evidence that the lathe was anywhere near the fire. Just near the water.

-Bruno

I got an anvil out of a fire (I was at the fire as a firefighter, but bought the anvil afterwards, at the auction, just to clarify). It had a powdery red rust on it. Not sure if that's typical. Is there any paint blistering? (is there any paint?)

The fact that that wood cover is intact tells us that yes, that's probably just rain rust, not fire rust. So the ways, the rack, and the screws are probably, well, screwed, but whatever that leaves might be OK.

Looking at the way they braced the milling adapter, that's probably not a bad guess. --Glenn Lyford

That too.

Na...Ive dragged home worse looking carcasses..tho damned few..

Its the mix mash of features, and some of their locations. Notice where the half nut lever is located? Most..not all..but most US machines had it to the right, not the left.

There are a number of other similar things..shrug

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Ive purchased a number of firearms that have been in or near fires..and the various gases generated in fires tends to be a hell brew, and the residues settle out on bare metals..and collect water, moisture etc and then the chemical reactions set in. Pitting is the usual issue, even though the metal never lost the heat treat..some are so deeply pitted that they are unsafe to shoot.

Ive got what must have been a marvelous Mannlicher Shconaur sporting rifle on the To Do list at the moment. It got hot though..melted what appears to be the aluminum spacer at the back of the rotary magazine. Springs still seem pretty good, but the bolt is frozen shut. I need to break it down, and do a heat treat test of the receiver etc. Same with a 97 Win..that has a warped barrel from the heat.

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

The age may be a fooler. Someone mentioned it might have been purchased from Sears.

It has a lot of features that make it look like a cheaped-down Atlas, except I can't remember any Atlas with the ways that close together. Maybe an "Atlas-like" Sears copy?

LLoyd

Have a _good_ close look at the threading chart. I bet you'll find a clue there, but as someone else said, you may wel have a home-made lathe that used bits from somethong else.

It appears to be an Atlas... marketed by Sears under the "Craftsman" name. Possibly a mid to late 1970's model. Any stamped numbers would aid in identification.

I do believe I disagree. I _have_ a mid-70's Craftsman (real Atlas). The ways are not that closely spaced, the compound is different, and there are a few minor look-n-feel differences from the one shown. However, this one does have the _general_ look of an Atlas.

About 1981, Sears offered a cheaped-down Chinese lathe with a bushed headstock instead of Timkens, and with a number of features that made it look somewhat like their Craftsman-labeled Atlas lathes. This might be that product.

LLoyd