Subject: Re: Atlas 10" lathe owners input

From: art braden <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 03 Dec 1996 01:17:46 -0800

Jonathan M. Elson wrote:
>  The power feed uses split nuts on the leadscrew, which is an area of major wear.  
>Examine the split nuts
> carefully.  (Note that Clausing still has these for only about $10 a set!)
> 
>                                         Jon

Thanks for the info Jon.

I called Clausing and advised me to measure the lead screw. If it was 5/8 " they do not 
carry parts for that model. If it was 3/4 " they had parts. Also it would cost about $300 to 
convert to the 3/4" lead screw.

Art Braden

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From: [email-masked] (Jonathan M. Elson)
Date: 1 Dec 1996 06:37:09 GMT

art braden ([email-masked]) wrote:
: There are a couple of Atlas 10" lathes for sale in my area. I would like to have some input from owners,
: present or past. How do you like your lathe ? What are some of the good features and what are some of the 
: bad.
:  I own a 6" Atlas now but would like to get a larger lathe but I do not have the room for one bigger than a 
: 12 " model.

The 10" Atlas is a much better lathe than the 6", but not as fine as many
other 10" lathes.  Still, it is quite acceptable for many purposes.  One
thing that many object to is the flat ways.  If the rear gibs are set
correctly (which can only be done when bed wear is minimal) then it is
just fine.  If the bed shows substantial wear, then the gibs cannot be
set tightly in the worn spot, or it will bind in the un-worn areas.
This is probably the main complaint to the Atlas design.  However, 
re-scraping an Atlas bed is much easier than inverted-vee ways, because
the only angles are 90 degrees.  You can easily measure bed wear with
a dial caliper (or a 0-1" and a 5-6" micrometer).  Measure the thickness
of the front lip about 2" right of the headstock, and at the absolute
far right end of the bed.  The right end will measure .375" +- a few
ten-thousandths.  The difference at the near-headstock location is your
vertical bed wear.  Then measure from the front lip to the back lip
(vertical sides, a front-back dimension) at the same places on the bed.
The un-worn area should be 5.750" +- a few ten-thousandths, the worn
spot should not be more than a few thousandths less.  You will have to
set your gibs for the un-worn spot, so the amount of wear is the amount
of 'slop' allowed when the carriage is in that spot.

Avoid Babbit-bearing Atlas lathes, unless you know the Babbit bearings
are in superb condition.  Use a dial indicator, on a magnetic mount
on the bed, to read vertical motion of the chuck.  It should be less than
.002" with strong lifting of the chuck.  If more, babbit bearings will need
to be remade, or roller bearings will need re-setting of preload or 
replacement.  (Babbit bearings are identified by bearing caps with 2 large
bolts, just in front and back of the oil cups.  Timken Roller-bearing
headstocks have no bolts nect to the oil cups.)
(Other note to avoid flames:  There are shims that can be removed to
take up vertical play in the babbit bearings, but any wear and then shim
removal guarantees an out-of-round bearing, which leaks oil like crazy,
and fails to constrain the spindle front/back.  Take it from a sufferer,
you don't want this!)

The cross slide and compound are simple mechanisms, which can be serviced
easily.  I just made a new leadscrew and nut for my cross slide.  I also
need to re-scrape both slides, but just haven't gotten around to it.
Positions on the cross slide, especially, that are 'tight' and 'loose'
indicate uneven wear on the slide, and indicate you may want to scrape
those down.

In all, a simple, reasonably well built lathe, which means you can fix
darn near anything that breaks on it.  Over the years, i've broken a few
things through accidents (vehicular, while moving it; and dumb, while
using it) and have been able to either get replacement parts reasonably,
or made the parts myself.  If it is change-gear, make sure you get the change
gears, spindles, couplings, bolts and nuts, etc. that go with the change
gear set.  If just a couple are missing, you can get them from Boston
Gear, but a whole set could be expensive.

I keep thinking of upgrading to a better class lathe, and also just another
inch of radius (like a 12") but, I kind of like this Atlas, and know its
quirks well, so I've kept it for over 12 years, now.

One other note, which applies to nearly all lathes of that period (ie.
pre 70's) is the hideous 'rocker', 'lantern' or Armstrong tool post.
It is very flimsy, and does not hold tools very rigidly.  An Aloris-type
toolpost (dovetail and either tapered gib (expensive) or piston (cheaper))
is a VERY good addition.  I put one of these on mine after seeing them
in the shop at work, and it made a BIG difference in vibration and
ability to take wider cuts.  I have the 'Phase-II' Aloris-clone from
China, bought from Enco.  There is also the Dorian, which is a bit more
expensive.  These are all interchangable.  For the 10", you want the
A, AXA or 100 series sizes of post and tool holders.

If you have any more questions, write, and I'll try to answer them.

					Jon

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From: [email-masked] (Jonathan M. Elson)
Date: 2 Dec 1996 05:27:17 GMT

Dave Ficken ([email-masked]) wrote:
<snip>
:  Another problem area on the 10" Atlas (loose change gear model) is the
: mechanism for reversing the leadscrew rotation. It consists of cast
: bevel gears and a shuttle that engages internal splines on the bevel
: gears- Rube Goldberg would be proud of this arrangement. This mechanism
: is a problem area that should definately be checked out before buying.
: It can cost up to $150 to fix this mechanism. 

Well, this mechanism worked fine for about 40 years before I got the lathe,
and about ten years while I used it, until -- one day I ran the carriage
into the tailstock under power feed.  The manual says there is a bushing in
the far-end bearing that relieves crashes like this by splitting.  This may
be true for power feed in the normal direction, but not for the headstock
to tailstock feed direction.  It smashed the gearbox itself, and then
cracked the 'harp' that the change gears mount on.  Made quite a mess.
I ended up buying a re-manufactured quick-change gearbox, because the
cost to go to quick change was not that much more than all the repair
parts I was going to need.  I kept all the parts, however, and was able
to supply the shuttle gear to another 10" Atlas owner, who had a jury-rigged
fix in the gearbox of his new lathe.  So, I'm not sure this gearbox is a
major problem area, unless abuse/accident ocurrs.  Still, it's a good idea
to examine the change gears, the gear mounting bracket, and the gearbox
for damage or excessive wear.  Also examine the gearing and drive parts
behind the apron.  There is quite a bit of machinery back there, and it is
REAL difficult to see.  I suggest a mirror and flashlight.  The carriage
handwheel moves the carriage through a reduction gear and rack and pinion.
The cross-feed drives the screw through a keyed bevel gear on the leadscrew
and more gears above the leadscrew.  The power feed uses split nuts on
the leadscrew, which is an area of major wear.  Examine the split nuts
carefully.  (Note that Clausing still has these for only about $10 a set!)

					Jon