I can't help with what to do about the handle, except to mention that the
Craftsman lathe parts will probably be cheaper from Clausing. The Craftsman
12" lathes were made by Atlas, who merged with Clausing a few decades ago.
Contact info for Clausing is he

http://www.clausing-industrial.com/service-std.htm

They will send you a current parts price list for free or nominal cost.
Calling will probably be more reliable than emailing.

Mike

"Terry" wrote in message
ps.com...
I own an older 12" x 30" craftsman lathe model 101.07403. The handle on
my crosslide crank came off the other day. I noticed that I can
purchase just the handle, or the crank and handle assembly, and I'm not
sure what exaclty I need. (Sears has them available for purchase on
their website. $13.00 for the handle and $60.00 for the asssembly).

The handle just slips on and off now. I am not sure how they are
normally attached, and stay on the crank. The crank just has a blind
hole in it.

What should I look for to know if my handle is broken, or if the crank
is bad. And how would I remove a handle that is currently installed on
a crank. I have a couple of handles that do not spin anymore that
could use a good cleaning.

I could possible drill a small hole in the back of the crank and drill
and tap the center of the handle and run a screw to hold it in place.
But if I can just replace the handle then that's what I would do.

Thanks.