Daniel A. Mitchell wrote:
It's cheaper and simpler to replace just a stripped pot metal change
gear then have to replace a bent spindle or broken casting! ...
Especially since you'll likely break the change gear doing THAT anyway!
The soft metal gears act a lot like a shear pin. They're there for when
you do something DUMB!

Granted, but why not give us steel gears and a cheap shearpin on the
leadscrew? Instead, we have
Zamak reversing box gears (3)
Zamak change gears (3)
Zamak reverse tumber gear (2)
Zamak apron bevel gear
Zamak leadscrew support

Any combination of these can fail if you crash the tooholder while under
powerfeed.

Note: There is a very popular mod of the right leadscrew support,
replacing the Zamak unit with a steel replacement and an aluminum or
brass sheerpin.

Don't get me wrong, I like Atlas machines, just finished restoring a
10F. But it is an inexpensive design, intended for home shop use.

Otherwise, the pot metal change gears seem to last just fine. I've been
using an Atlas 6" with them for nearly 30 years. They show little wear.

Can I interest you in an OE Atlas Carriage stop? G

Rex