I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?

If nothing else you can part it out for a profit .
--
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !

On 2012-02-11, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?



Definitely take it. Use i if you need it, sell or part out if you
don't.

i

Ignoramus23559 wrote:
... Use i if you need it, sell or part out if you
don't.

A few years ago I found 1/2 of an Atlas at the dump (missing carriage &
tailstock). With that much missing, I decided to part it out. When I
was well into the parting out, the other half turned up at the dump.
When I was done, my eBay sales totaled $1700! And it was a change-gear
lathe.

Bob

On 2012-02-11, Bob Engelhardt wrote:
Ignoramus23559 wrote:
... Use i if you need it, sell or part out if you
don't.

A few years ago I found 1/2 of an Atlas at the dump (missing carriage &
tailstock). With that much missing, I decided to part it out. When I
was well into the parting out, the other half turned up at the dump.
When I was done, my eBay sales totaled $1700! And it was a change-gear
lathe.

wow.

makes me think, maybe i should part out the 16 inch Monarch before
scrapping it?

i













i



Bob

On 2012-02-11, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?

Which size? The little one (6x18") uses zamac (pot metal)
gears, and if they are run with the mesh too tight, they start to
crumble. My example was a Craftsman rebrand of an Atlas 6x18". The
early ones were bronze bushing bearings, the later ones had Timken
roller bearings. Even with that, they aren't rigid enough for serious
work. And the beds are box not inverted V, so things aren't kept as
straight. The 12" is better, but still not the same as my 12x24"
Clausing with a bore big enough to handle 5C collets and lever drawbars
for them.

But at $50.00, that is not a bad price. The question is --
*which* gears. If it is the back gears, it is part of the heart of the
lathe, and you will either have to hope that Clausing (who merged with
Atlas at some point) still has those parts. If it the thread cutting
gears, especially on one without a quick-change gearbox (and *all* 6x18
lathes had no quick-change gearbox), you can likely find replacement
gears -- or make them with the right tools. They are plain spur gears
with a double key, and you could make them of something other than
Zamac so they will outlast the rest. :-)

Good Luck,
DoN.

--
Remove oil spill source from e-mail
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...


I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...


I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

Don't buy lottery tickets for a while, you've used up your luck temporarily!

I have an Atlas book - let me know what model and
gears - maybe Scott makes them for some of the Southbend machines.

Lots of gears out there for sale and just stacked up.

Martin

On 2/11/2012 11:46 PM, Tom Gardner wrote:


"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...


I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?

Tom Gardner wrote:

Don't buy lottery tickets for a while, you've used up your luck temporarily!


I haven't bought one in at leat ten years, and rarely any before
that.


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2012-02-11, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?

Which size? The little one (6x18") uses zamac (pot metal)
gears, and if they are run with the mesh too tight, they start to
crumble. My example was a Craftsman rebrand of an Atlas 6x18". The
early ones were bronze bushing bearings, the later ones had Timken
roller bearings. Even with that, they aren't rigid enough for serious
work. And the beds are box not inverted V, so things aren't kept as
straight. The 12" is better, but still not the same as my 12x24"
Clausing with a bore big enough to handle 5C collets and lever drawbars
for them.

But at $50.00, that is not a bad price. The question is --
*which* gears. If it is the back gears, it is part of the heart of the
lathe, and you will either have to hope that Clausing (who merged with
Atlas at some point) still has those parts. If it the thread cutting
gears, especially on one without a quick-change gearbox (and *all* 6x18
lathes had no quick-change gearbox), you can likely find replacement
gears -- or make them with the right tools. They are plain spur gears
with a double key, and you could make them of something other than
Zamac so they will outlast the rest. :-)


He said they were 'aluminum', and from his description, they are for
driving the feed.

--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

Martin Eastburn wrote:

I have an Atlas book - let me know what model and
gears - maybe Scott makes them for some of the Southbend machines.

Lots of gears out there for sale and just stacked up.


I will post more information when I get it.


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...


Tom Gardner wrote:

Don't buy lottery tickets for a while, you've used up your luck
temporarily!


I haven't bought one in at leat ten years, and rarely any before
that.


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

Buying one lottery ticket is like standing in your back yard and reaching
for the moon. Buying a thousand lottery tickets is like standing on a phone
book reaching for that moon. I buy one every once in a while...you've got
to have a ticket to win! I know a lot of people and institutions that could
use the help and I doubt it would change my life much at all.

Tom Gardner wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...

Tom Gardner wrote:

Don't buy lottery tickets for a while, you've used up your luck
temporarily!

I haven't bought one in at leat ten years, and rarely any before
that.

--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

Buying one lottery ticket is like standing in your back yard and reaching
for the moon. Buying a thousand lottery tickets is like standing on a phone
book reaching for that moon. I buy one every once in a while...you've got
to have a ticket to win! I know a lot of people and institutions that could
use the help and I doubt it would change my life much at all.


I won the draft lottery, and almost ended up in Vietnam.


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

Buying one lottery ticket is like standing in your back yard and reaching
for the moon. Buying a thousand lottery tickets is like standing on a phone
book reaching for that moon. I buy one every once in a while...you've got
to have a ticket to win! I know a lot of people and institutions that could
use the help and I doubt it would change my life much at all.


I won the draft lottery, and almost ended up in Vietnam.

Shoot, I couldn't even win that. I drew number 312 and didn't get to
go I did go out and tie one on that night.

Karl

Karl Townsend wrote:

Buying one lottery ticket is like standing in your back yard and reaching
for the moon. Buying a thousand lottery tickets is like standing on a phone
book reaching for that moon. I buy one every once in a while...you've got
to have a ticket to win! I know a lot of people and institutions that could
use the help and I doubt it would change my life much at all.


I won the draft lottery, and almost ended up in Vietnam.

Shoot, I couldn't even win that. I drew number 312 and didn't get to
go I did go out and tie one on that night.


Well, I don't drink, and I had wanted to go Air Force to get Avionics
Electronics Training, but I got 5 4F ratings, instead. Then I won the
draft lottery.

--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

On Sun, 12 Feb 2012 06:19:44 -0600, Karl Townsend
wrote:


Buying one lottery ticket is like standing in your back yard and reaching
for the moon. Buying a thousand lottery tickets is like standing on a phone
book reaching for that moon. I buy one every once in a while...you've got
to have a ticket to win! I know a lot of people and institutions that could
use the help and I doubt it would change my life much at all.


I won the draft lottery, and almost ended up in Vietnam.

Shoot, I couldn't even win that. I drew number 312 and didn't get to
go

I won, too. My number was 53, the same as my year of birth. I got my
Report For Induction Physical letter while I was getting ready to head
home from tech school, so they told me to reapply at the local Draft
Board when I got there. Luckily, the area was full of Marine, Navy
bases, so they had filled their quota already and I got a pass. I
didn't go to Vietnam, either. (Whew!) I didn't believe in the war, but
I was appalled at the treatment the 'Nam soldiers got on their return.
I've never been more disgusted in my fellow countrymen, who spit on
brave men who had just risked their lives for us.


I did go out and tie one on that night.

Ditto.

--
To use fear as the friend it is, we must retrain and reprogram ourselves...
We must persistently and convincingly tell ourselves that the fear is
here--with its gift of energy and heightened awareness--so we can do our
best and learn the most in the new situation.
Peter McWilliams, Life 101

Karl Townsend wrote:
Buying one lottery ticket is like standing in your back yard and
reaching for the moon. Buying a thousand lottery tickets is like
standing on a phone book reaching for that moon. I buy one every
once in a while...you've got to have a ticket to win! I know a lot
of people and institutions that could use the help and I doubt it
would change my life much at all.


I won the draft lottery, and almost ended up in Vietnam.

Shoot, I couldn't even win that. I drew number 312 and didn't get to
go I did go out and tie one on that night.

Karl
I got #35 . I joined the Navy to stay out of 'Nam . Guess where they sent
me ?
--
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !

"Snag" wrote in message
...

Karl
I got #35 . I joined the Navy to stay out of 'Nam . Guess where they sent
me ?
Snag

In 1970 I joined the Army to beat the draft.

It worked, too. They offered me a year of electronics schooling on a 3-year
hitch and then sent me to Germany, where I soon made Spec5 (E-5).

jsw

Jim Wilkins wrote:

In 1970 I joined the Army to beat the draft.

It worked, too. They offered me a year of electronics schooling on a 3-year
hitch and then sent me to Germany, where I soon made Spec5 (E-5).


I tested out of the Army's three year broadcast engeneering course
while in Basic. I made E4 at about 18 months, and only served two years
active duty.

--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

Snag wrote:

Karl Townsend wrote:
??? Buying one lottery ticket is like standing in your back yard and
??? reaching for the moon. Buying a thousand lottery tickets is like
??? standing on a phone book reaching for that moon. I buy one every
??? once in a while...you've got to have a ticket to win! I know a lot
??? of people and institutions that could use the help and I doubt it
??? would change my life much at all.
??
??
?? I won the draft lottery, and almost ended up in Vietnam.
?
? Shoot, I couldn't even win that. I drew number 312 and didn't get to
? go I did go out and tie one on that night.
?
? Karl
I got #35 . I joined the Navy to stay out of 'Nam . Guess where they sent
me ?


If it weren't for bad luck? ;-)


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...

Snag wrote:
I got #35 . I joined the Navy to stay out of 'Nam . Guess where they
sent
me ?

If it weren't for bad luck? ;-)

I witnessed the reenlistment of several second-tour GIs who wanted badly to
get out of Germany and back to Nam.

If I understood them right, in the US and Germany they were Hispanic but in
Vietnam they became Rich White Americans.

Most people left the Kaserne only to go drinking in English-speaking bars.
It wasn't generally considered a good assignment, even in the university
party town of Heidelberg (where I spent every off-duty minute).

jsw

Jim Wilkins wrote:

I witnessed the reenlistment of several second-tour GIs who wanted badly to
get out of Germany and back to Nam.

If I understood them right, in the US and Germany they were Hispanic but in
Vietnam they became Rich White Americans.

Most people left the Kaserne only to go drinking in English-speaking bars.
It wasn't generally considered a good assignment, even in the university
party town of Heidelberg (where I spent every off-duty minute).


My first assignment was Ft. Rucker, Alabama. I'll bet you can guess
its nickname! I was offered a civil service job there, but learned that
it was second only Washington DC for transfer requests to leave. The
other problem with the offer was that I would be working with a real
carpetbagger. I told my civilian section chief that I appreciated the
offer, but another couple months there and I would have to 'kill the
carpetbagger'. He turned red and said, I understand. I wish I could
get rid of him, but he's brown nosed too many important people to fire
him.


My other assignment was Ft. Greely where the official low temperature
record was -69F. The unofficial temperature was -79F at one of the
sites off main base were equipment was cold weather tested.

--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

On 2/12/2012 9:49 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
wrote in message
...

Karl
I got #35 . I joined the Navy to stay out of 'Nam . Guess where they sent
me ?
Snag

In 1970 I joined the Army to beat the draft.

It worked, too. They offered me a year of electronics schooling on a 3-year
hitch and then sent me to Germany, where I soon made Spec5 (E-5).

jsw


In 1945 I joined the Navy:

I was sworn in the day after the Japaneses surrendered (so I am a WWII vet.)

After basic training and a long wait in receiving stations I was
assigned to a ship.

That was Pres. Truman Yacht. ( so I spent reminder of my hitch in
Washington DC)

Every time the ship went to Cuba, I was left behind to take care of
speed boats and the hobby shop and the Escort (92 feet long)

So I got sea pay and never left the States.

Even through there was no liberty pass and no out-of bound pass, ( I was
on the honor system) life was no fun

Bill K7MOM

On Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:49:58 -0500, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:


"Snag" wrote in message
...

Karl
I got #35 . I joined the Navy to stay out of 'Nam . Guess where they sent
me ?
Snag

In 1970 I joined the Army to beat the draft.

It worked, too. They offered me a year of electronics schooling on a 3-year
hitch and then sent me to Germany, where I soon made Spec5 (E-5).

jsw

'71 for me..but the draft was all but over by then.

Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that,
in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers
and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are
not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.
Gunner Asch

On 2012-02-12, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2012-02-11, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?

Which size? The little one (6x18") uses Zamac (pot metal)
gears, and if they are run with the mesh too tight, they start to
crumble. My example was a Craftsman rebrand of an Atlas 6x18". The
early ones were bronze bushing bearings, the later ones had Timken
roller bearings. Even with that, they aren't rigid enough for serious
work. And the beds are box not inverted V, so things aren't kept as
straight.

[ ... ]

But at $50.00, that is not a bad price. The question is --
*which* gears. If it is the back gears, it is part of the heart of the
lathe, and you will either have to hope that Clausing (who merged with
Atlas at some point) still has those parts. If it the thread cutting
gears, especially on one without a quick-change gearbox (and *all* 6x18
lathes had no quick-change gearbox), you can likely find replacement
gears -- or make them with the right tools. They are plain spur gears
with a double key, and you could make them of something other than
Zamac so they will outlast the rest. :-)


He said they were 'aluminum', and from his description, they are for
driving the feed.

Those are the Zamac (pot metal) gears, then. They sort of
*look* like cast aluminum, but they aren't. (And just as well, aluminum
gears meshing with aluminum will gall badly over time.) If you *have*
to have aluminum gears, have them mesh with steel or some other metal.

These are the threading gears (whether this is the 6" or the 10"
or 12" Atlas), and having some missing will mean that there are some
threads you can't cut (until you find or make replacement gears). There
is no separate "feed" on these lathes. You have to use the half-nuts to
drive the carriage, and if you want a fine feed, you have to build up
the proper gear train, then change the gears to cut threads, then change
back to cut fine finishes again. Lathes with a separate feed take the
drive off either a separate rod or off a keyway milled in the leadscrew,
and use that to drive a gear or so in the apron of the carriage. Best
if you have both power feed (a significantly slower feed than the
half-nuts give so you don't have to change things as often), and the
cross feed (if present) is even slower. (Some Atlas 12" lathes have
quick-change gearboxes, but I *think* that they still don't have
separate feeds.

Keep some handy-wipes with an oil cutting filler because if you
keep the gears properly lubricated, you will have black hands after
changing them -- which sort of discourages changing them as often as you
should.

FWIW, the back gears are Zamac too -- at least on the 6x18"
which I still have.

Still -- as I said before, at $50.00, it is not a bad price.
And it can get you experience in using a lathe, so you know what to look
at/for when it is time to get a bigger/better one.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Remove oil spill source from e-mail
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2012-02-12, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2012-02-11, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?

Which size? The little one (6x18") uses Zamac (pot metal)
gears, and if they are run with the mesh too tight, they start to
crumble. My example was a Craftsman rebrand of an Atlas 6x18". The
early ones were bronze bushing bearings, the later ones had Timken
roller bearings. Even with that, they aren't rigid enough for serious
work. And the beds are box not inverted V, so things aren't kept as
straight.

[ ... ]

But at $50.00, that is not a bad price. The question is --
*which* gears. If it is the back gears, it is part of the heart of the
lathe, and you will either have to hope that Clausing (who merged with
Atlas at some point) still has those parts. If it the thread cutting
gears, especially on one without a quick-change gearbox (and *all* 6x18
lathes had no quick-change gearbox), you can likely find replacement
gears -- or make them with the right tools. They are plain spur gears
with a double key, and you could make them of something other than
Zamac so they will outlast the rest. :-)


He said they were 'aluminum', and from his description, they are for
driving the feed.

Those are the Zamac (pot metal) gears, then. They sort of
*look* like cast aluminum, but they aren't. (And just as well, aluminum
gears meshing with aluminum will gall badly over time.) If you *have*
to have aluminum gears, have them mesh with steel or some other metal.


I see some gears for sale on Ebay, and some he
http://www.blueridgemachinery.com/catalog/request_a_catalog/download_pdf_catalog.html
He said that his dad was a machinist, and that he's been moving machine
tools for 30 years. He didn't use the word Rigging, so that makes me
think he just drove the truck from site to site.


These are the threading gears (whether this is the 6" or the 10"
or 12" Atlas), and having some missing will mean that there are some
threads you can't cut (until you find or make replacement gears). There
is no separate "feed" on these lathes. You have to use the half-nuts to
drive the carriage, and if you want a fine feed, you have to build up
the proper gear train, then change the gears to cut threads, then change
back to cut fine finishes again. Lathes with a separate feed take the
drive off either a separate rod or off a keyway milled in the leadscrew,
and use that to drive a gear or so in the apron of the carriage. Best
if you have both power feed (a significantly slower feed than the
half-nuts give so you don't have to change things as often), and the
cross feed (if present) is even slower. (Some Atlas 12" lathes have
quick-change gearboxes, but I *think* that they still don't have
separate feeds.

Keep some handy-wipes with an oil cutting filler because if you
keep the gears properly lubricated, you will have black hands after
changing them -- which sort of discourages changing them as often as you
should.


How hard would it be to modify it to use a stepper or servo drive?


FWIW, the back gears are Zamac too -- at least on the 6x18"
which I still have.

Still -- as I said before, at $50.00, it is not a bad price.
And it can get you experience in using a lathe, so you know what to look
at/for when it is time to get a bigger/better one.


The last lathe I used was a worn out navy surplus lathe in high
school. Both of which are long gone. I doubt that the new high school
even has a metal shop, but they spent millions on the football field.

--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message

The last lathe I used was a worn out navy surplus lathe in high
school. Both of which are long gone. I doubt that the new high school
even has a metal shop, but they spent millions on the football field.

A lathe is still useful with only a handwheel to turn the leadscrew. The 6"
Sears/AA is like that, the Prazi doesn't even have halfnuts to release the
carriage.
http://www.ismg4tools.com/sd300.html

jsw

Jim Wilkins wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message

The last lathe I used was a worn out navy surplus lathe in high
school. Both of which are long gone. I doubt that the new high school
even has a metal shop, but they spent millions on the football field.

A lathe is still useful with only a handwheel to turn the leadscrew. The 6"
Sears/AA is like that, the Prazi doesn't even have halfnuts to release the
carriage.
http://www.ismg4tools.com/sd300.html


A lot of what I need a lathe for won't require the gears. I have
been looking at some Arduino CNC projects and thought that a conversion
might be interesting if the repair and conversion costs are close.

--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
"DoN. Nichols" wrote:
....
Keep some handy-wipes with an oil cutting filler because if you
keep the gears properly lubricated, you will have black hands after
changing them -- which sort of discourages changing them as often as you
should.


How hard would it be to modify it to use a stepper or servo drive?

....

Not hard & VERY desirable:
http://www.metalworking.com/dropbox/ServoPowerFeed.pdf

Still need to use gears for threading, but I very seldom do that.

Bob

Gunner Asch wrote:
On Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:49:58 -0500, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:


"Snag" wrote in message
...

Karl
I got #35 . I joined the Navy to stay out of 'Nam . Guess where
they sent me ?
Snag

In 1970 I joined the Army to beat the draft.

It worked, too. They offered me a year of electronics schooling on a
3-year hitch and then sent me to Germany, where I soon made Spec5
(E-5).

jsw

'71 for me..but the draft was all but over by then.

Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that,
in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers
and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are
not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.
Gunner Asch

Early in '71 for me too . The draft was breathing it's last dying gasps ,
and I didn't wanna sleep in the first clean mudhole I came across . Three
hots and a cot ...
--
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !

Bob Engelhardt wrote:

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
"DoN. Nichols" wrote:
...
Keep some handy-wipes with an oil cutting filler because if you
keep the gears properly lubricated, you will have black hands after
changing them -- which sort of discourages changing them as often as you
should.


How hard would it be to modify it to use a stepper or servo drive?

...

Not hard & VERY desirable:
http://www.metalworking.com/dropbox/ServoPowerFeed.pdf

Still need to use gears for threading, but I very seldom do that.


Thanks. Looks interesting.


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2012-02-12, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2012-02-11, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?

Which size? The little one (6x18") uses Zamac (pot metal)
gears, and if they are run with the mesh too tight, they start to
crumble. My example was a Craftsman rebrand of an Atlas 6x18". The
early ones were bronze bushing bearings, the later ones had Timken
roller bearings. Even with that, they aren't rigid enough for serious
work. And the beds are box not inverted V, so things aren't kept as
straight.

[ ... ]


But at $50.00, that is not a bad price. The question is --
*which* gears. If it is the back gears, it is part of the heart of the
lathe, and you will either have to hope that Clausing (who merged with
Atlas at some point) still has those parts. If it the thread cutting
gears, especially on one without a quick-change gearbox (and *all* 6x18
lathes had no quick-change gearbox), you can likely find replacement
gears -- or make them with the right tools. They are plain spur gears
with a double key, and you could make them of something other than
Zamac so they will outlast the rest. :-)

He said they were 'aluminum', and from his description, they are for
driving the feed.

Those are the Zamac (pot metal) gears, then. They sort of
*look* like cast aluminum, but they aren't. (And just as well, aluminum
gears meshing with aluminum will gall badly over time.) If you *have*
to have aluminum gears, have them mesh with steel or some other metal.



I see some gears for sale on Ebay, and some he
http://www.blueridgemachinery.com/catalog/request_a_catalog/download_pdf_catalog.html
He said that his dad was a machinist, and that he's been moving machine
tools for 30 years. He didn't use the word Rigging, so that makes me
think he just drove the truck from site to site.



These are the threading gears (whether this is the 6" or the 10"
or 12" Atlas), and having some missing will mean that there are some
threads you can't cut (until you find or make replacement gears). There
is no separate "feed" on these lathes. You have to use the half-nuts to
drive the carriage, and if you want a fine feed, you have to build up
the proper gear train, then change the gears to cut threads, then change
back to cut fine finishes again. Lathes with a separate feed take the
drive off either a separate rod or off a keyway milled in the leadscrew,
and use that to drive a gear or so in the apron of the carriage. Best
if you have both power feed (a significantly slower feed than the
half-nuts give so you don't have to change things as often), and the
cross feed (if present) is even slower. (Some Atlas 12" lathes have
quick-change gearboxes, but I *think* that they still don't have
separate feeds.

Keep some handy-wipes with an oil cutting filler because if you
keep the gears properly lubricated, you will have black hands after
changing them -- which sort of discourages changing them as often as you
should.



How hard would it be to modify it to use a stepper or servo drive?


http://www.autoartisans.com/ELS/

http://medw.co.uk/wiki/index.php?page=ELS+Price+List


FWIW, the back gears are Zamac too -- at least on the 6x18"
which I still have.

Still -- as I said before, at $50.00, it is not a bad price.
And it can get you experience in using a lathe, so you know what to look
at/for when it is time to get a bigger/better one.



The last lathe I used was a worn out navy surplus lathe in high
school. Both of which are long gone. I doubt that the new high school
even has a metal shop, but they spent millions on the football field.

"David Billington" wrote in message
...
Michael A. Terrell wrote:

How hard would it be to modify it to use a stepper or servo drive?

The last lathe I used was a worn out navy surplus lathe in high
school.

Why?

The power longitudinal and cross feeds, if it has them, should still be good
enough to rough-turn stock close enough. If it's worn you may have to
manually finish diameters to measured size in short sections anyway.

jsw

Jim Wilkins wrote:

"David Billington" wrote in message
...
Michael A. Terrell wrote:

How hard would it be to modify it to use a stepper or servo drive?

The last lathe I used was a worn out navy surplus lathe in high
school.

Why?

The power longitudinal and cross feeds, if it has them, should still be good
enough to rough-turn stock close enough. If it's worn you may have to
manually finish diameters to measured size in short sections anyway.


I was just curious. I like to build things and it was just an idea
for a project, someday.


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

On Feb 11, 1:41*pm, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:
* *I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. *The owner said
that there were two damaged gears. *He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?

I gave $100 fr an old 10" Atlas a few years ago. I parted out probably
$200 or more, then sold the remainder for $100

wish I'd kept it to use for a welding lathe.

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote:

Which size? The little one (6x18") uses Zamac (pot metal)
gears, and if they are run with the mesh too tight, they start to
crumble. My example was a Craftsman rebrand of an Atlas 6x18". The
early ones were bronze bushing bearings, the later ones had Timken
roller bearings. Even with that, they aren't rigid enough for serious
work. And the beds are box not inverted V, so things aren't kept as
straight.


But at $50.00, that is not a bad price. The question is --
*which* gears. If it is the back gears, it is part of the heart of the
lathe, and you will either have to hope that Clausing (who merged with
Atlas at some point) still has those parts. If it the thread cutting
gears, especially on one without a quick-change gearbox (and *all* 6x18
lathes had no quick-change gearbox), you can likely find replacement
gears -- or make them with the right tools. They are plain spur gears
with a double key, and you could make them of something other than
Zamac so they will outlast the rest. :-)


He said they were 'aluminum', and from his description, they are for
driving the feed.

Those are the Zamac (pot metal) gears, then. They sort of
*look* like cast aluminum, but they aren't. (And just as well, aluminum
gears meshing with aluminum will gall badly over time.) If you *have*
to have aluminum gears, have them mesh with steel or some other metal.


What you really want is an ELS (electronic lead screw, (See
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/E-LeadScrew/
for one version, and some of it's variants.


But as for buying it, I think it is a steal at $50
I thought I was lucky when I got mine for $100.
Including boxes of misc parts that turned out to have a watchmakers
lathe in it too)


jk

jk wrote:

What you really want is an ELS (electronic lead screw, (See
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/E-LeadScrew/
for one version, and some of it's variants.

But as for buying it, I think it is a steal at $50
I thought I was lucky when I got mine for $100.
Including boxes of misc parts that turned out to have a watchmakers
lathe in it too)


Thank you.

I found that group this morning. It's what I had in mind, but I was
thinking of using a Arduino Mega 2560 as the controller. I have 35 new
Grayhill 88JB2-252 20 button matrixed keypads, several 16*2 LCDs and
maybe a motor that will drive a leadscrew. There is supposed to be
source code available to convert G code to run on that board. I have
also downloaded Linux CNC and I am wading through the documentation. I
am thinking about building a mini CNC milling machine with the pile of
stepper motors I salvaged from some large printers. I have a hobby sized
mill, and a working lathe would let me make the parts I need,


http://home.earthlink.net/~mike.terr...88BJ2-252e.jpg is a
picture of the keypads. New markings can be made as a label to cover the
entire module. A pair would give me 40 switches, which is five more
than the ELS project used.


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

On 2012-02-13, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2012-02-12, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2012-02-11, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

I was offered an Atlas lathe the other day for $50. The owner said
that there were two damaged gears. He is supposed to give me more
information next week. Comments?

Which size? The little one (6x18") uses Zamac (pot metal)
gears, and if they are run with the mesh too tight, they start to

[ ... ]

He said they were 'aluminum', and from his description, they are for
driving the feed.

Those are the Zamac (pot metal) gears, then. They sort of
*look* like cast aluminum, but they aren't. (And just as well, aluminum
gears meshing with aluminum will gall badly over time.) If you *have*
to have aluminum gears, have them mesh with steel or some other metal.


I see some gears for sale on Ebay, and some he
http://www.blueridgemachinery.com/catalog/request_a_catalog/download_pdf_catalog.html

I love that "POR" (Price On Request) marking on lots of them. :-)

He said that his dad was a machinist, and that he's been moving machine
tools for 30 years. He didn't use the word Rigging, so that makes me
think he just drove the truck from site to site.

:-)

Well ... you don't *need* rigging when moving a 6" or even a 12"
Atlas lathe. :-)

[ ... ]

Keep some handy-wipes with an oil cutting filler because if you
keep the gears properly lubricated, you will have black hands after
changing them -- which sort of discourages changing them as often as you
should.


How hard would it be to modify it to use a stepper or servo drive?

Not at all difficult for use while *turning*.

However, for threading, it gets a lot trickier. You need a way
to send the speed and angular position of the spindle to control the
feed. Yes, it can be done, but you are good way towards a CNC machine
by then, so you might as well go the whole way. :-)

FWIW, the back gears are Zamac too -- at least on the 6x18"
which I still have.

Still -- as I said before, at $50.00, it is not a bad price.
And it can get you experience in using a lathe, so you know what to look
at/for when it is time to get a bigger/better one.


The last lathe I used was a worn out navy surplus lathe in high
school. Both of which are long gone.

So -- you should be able to deal with this one as well.
Certainly not be seriously disappointed, anyway. :-)

I doubt that the new high school
even has a metal shop, but they spent millions on the football field.

Sigh!

Good Luck,
DoN.

--
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Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
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On 2012-02-13, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

Jim Wilkins wrote:

"David Billington" wrote in message
...
Michael A. Terrell wrote:

How hard would it be to modify it to use a stepper or servo drive?

The last lathe I used was a worn out navy surplus lathe in high
school.

Why?

The power longitudinal and cross feeds, if it has them, should still be good
enough to rough-turn stock close enough. If it's worn you may have to
manually finish diameters to measured size in short sections anyway.

The 6" Atlas won't have power feeds -- either axis (unless you
count using the leadscrew and half nuts). I'm not sure whether any of
the 12" or 10" Atlas machines ever had it or not.

Some South Bend lathes had it, some did not. My 12x24" Clausing
has both.

I was just curious. I like to build things and it was just an idea
for a project, someday.

Sounds good. If you get it as a project, you should be fine.
(You may have to have the bed re-ground, depending on how worn it
happens to be.)

Good Luck,
DoN.

--
Remove oil spill source from e-mail
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---