Subject: Atlas 10" Headstock

From: Phil Sisson <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 07 Dec 1996 19:18:09 -0800

We have an Atlas 10 F lathe. Its babbitt headstock bearings are shot.
Does anyone know who can re-pour and bore these for a reasonable price
or is Timken bearings the only way out? What will conversion to Timkens
cost?

Phil Sisson    Litchfield, ILL.   Thanks a lot for any help.......

---

From: Tom Krause <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 08 Dec 1996 01:03:05 -0600

> Phil Sisson    Litchfield, ILL.   Thanks a lot for any help.......

 Might be just as easy to replace headstock with a timken model,don't
think it would be a difficult swap,as the castings were nearly
identical,just beefier arond the bearings.
 Check with Pete and Norm at:P.K.E./Paramount Machinery
http://www.cris.com/~pmcpke/
Just got some parts from them for my 12"Atlas,Pete talked like they had
a pretty good supply of Atlas 10F stuff.
 The parts I recieved were excellent and a reasonable price.
One note,Pete will refuse to send you a part that has not been
sand-blasted clean,inspected and repainted,seems he has a fear of
sending you a bad part! I even told him I didn't care if they weren't
cleaned,as I was cleaning everything anyway,NOTHING DOING!
 What does this tell you? Tells me I will go back asap.
Hope this helps,
Tom

---

From: [email-masked] (Jonathan M. Elson)
Date: 8 Dec 1996 07:05:18 GMT

Phil Sisson ([email-masked]) wrote:
: We have an Atlas 10 F lathe. Its babbitt headstock bearings are shot.
: Does anyone know who can re-pour and bore these for a reasonable price
: or is Timken bearings the only way out? What will conversion to Timkens
: cost?

I got a 'used - servicable' Timken headstock from Dave Sobel for $175
plus shipping.  I pretty mich expected to replace the bearings, but since
one of them had some corrosion on one race, I definitely needed to change
them.  I think it cost just over $40 to get all new races and roller
assemblies from the local bearing distributor.  I had to call twice,
because as I got the thing apart, I discovered the outer races have a 
different part number from the inner, so you need to order 4 parts, total.
You can get a 'remanufactured' headstock from J. C. Boegeman for $250,
but he will request your cone pulley from the existing lathe.  I didn't
want to be down for 2 weeks, so I went with Sobel.  I am totally satisfied
with the improvement by getting rid of the babbit bearings.  (I also get
a complete headstock that I can convert into a dividing head.)

The babbit can be repoured, and I've heard of some amazing techniques.
I've been told to use a torch or candle to smoke the journal areas of
the spindle, and then pour the babbit into the bearing with the spindle
in it.  The smoke gives bearing clearance and acts as a release agent!
I was still VERY leery of trying to do this and keep the spindle in
proper alignment, so I went with the Timken swap.

Anyway, I think if you go the Timken route, you will be very happy with
the results.  I tinkered with my babbit bearings for over 10 years, and
put up with LOTS of grief.  I should have done this 10 years ago!