I'm not familiar with your lathe but you have to unlock the larger gear from
the spindle or drive pulley so it can rotate independently. Here are some
images of one Atlas model:

http://www.lathes.co.uk/atlas/page7.html

Look at the 3rd image down. You can see a pin in the larger spindle gear.
It has to be removed before engaging the back gear. There is probably
another pin 180 degrees from that one that has to be removed as well.

Best Regards,
Keith Marshall


"I'm not grown up enough to be so old!"


"Terry G" wrote in message
news:r%z6c.42663$506.35710@fed1read05...
Thanks for the reply. I will do just that, run it as it sits, and then
see
how I like it. I agree about the QC box. I don't see myself doing much
over 1/2" either. I do have a project I'm working on that needs 3/4"
threads on the outside of a thick wall tube, so that will probably be my
first attempt at threading.

I am in the process of completely stripping down the lathe, and cleaning
it.
I finished the tailstock, and I am almost done with the complete carriage
assembly. It looks like there really was 60 years of grease and grime
inside that thing. I took every bit of it apart, and scrubbed, cleaned,
and
chiseled away. Everything inside now looks brand new, and I got to see
how
everything works, and what exactly needs replacing to get rid of some of
the
backlash in the cross slide assemblies.

I cam across one questions on the headstock gears. There is a spindle
with
two gears on it, a large one and a smaller one which is not currently
engaged (located between the rear pulley and the chuck spindle). To
engage
them, you turn a small handle right next to the chuck. The previous owner
engaged them for me, and showed me how slow the chuck would spin. It
worked
as some sort of gear reduction. But for the life of me, I can not get it
to
work now. When I pull the lever forward (towards me) I see the two gears
engage onto the chuck spindle gears. They both engage at the same time.
But as soon as this happens, everything locks up. I can not spin the
chuck
or anything. And I can not see how engaging this thing would give me a
lower RPM.

I spend about an hour looking at it and studying the exploded diagram I
have, but no luck.

Can somebody school me on this.

Thanks.

"Ken Cutt" wrote in message
...
Terry G wrote:
I picked up the lathe yesterday. It looked to be in good condition.
It
is
a Craftsman 101-17403 with 12" swing and 30" between centers.

It also has a 3/4" leadscrew. So would this be considered a later
model?
So I am assuming a standard quick change gear box would fit. I will
have to
do some testing with the leadscrew and see if it is going to be a
problem.
The threads are all there, but the first 12 inches or so of threads
are
not
as square looking as the rest of the leadscrew. Everything else on
the
lathe looks perfect. I'm taking it all apart tonight to de-grease and
remove all the metal shavings. It looks as if he used an air gun on
it
just
before I got there, so now there are fresh metal shavings everywhere!

I also want to change the belt that goes to the main spindle pulley.
He
has
an orange type of elastic snap together belt on it. I guess he didn't
want
to take it apart to put on a new belt. It just feels sloppy.

One last thing, the 5" 3 jaw self centering chuck looks to be
original.
It
centers up pretty nicely, but it is about .003" off. I figured out
which
jaw is causing the problem, and if I put in a .0025 to .0035 shim, it
seems
to zero it up to within .0005". Is there a rule of thumb for how
accurate
you need to be. Or in other words, what type of tolerances should I
expect
to get from the rest of the machine? I am pretty picky, and I'll
keep
playing with it until it is perfect, but I am not sure what perfect
is.
I'm
thinking of purchasing a new chuck, they are a bit pricey, but will I
get
more accurate than .0005" right out of the box?

Thanks



Hi
If your chuck is at half a thou , stop . I doubt anything you can buy
for this lathe will do any better . To deal in smaller numbers you would
need a lathe that is a lot more ridgid then the Atlas . You think new
chucks are expensive , well wait until you price out a QC gearbox and
leadscrew . Really run the lathe a while first and see how often you
change gears . I seldom need to do more them shift the belt on mine .
The threading I do under 1/2 I use a tap and die set for and over 1/2 I
seldom need . When I do I change the gears which does not take much time
. Yes I wish I had the QG but wanting and needing seem to be two
entirely different animals in my case . I have not had to deal with the
belts on mine but from what people post here the link belts are well
thought of , quieter and every bit as sturdy . So again I would say run
the lathe and see how you like it . Luck
Ken Cutt