Painting a Craftsman/Atlas lathe

Nice job. Looks like probably a 101.07400 (EDIT - 101.07380), based mainly on the change gear cover and the tailstock. But I think with a 101.07403 carriage and lead screw. Could you please send me the serial number and bed length?

That's a sort of a "Frankenlathe". All Atlas but parts from different models and years. As received I believe it was a 1935 vintage, had a ZAMAK compound, 5/8" leadscrew, no power cross-feed, single-piece carriage/apron, separate cast iron gear covers with no belt guard. I removed the gear covers and added the belt guard, pulled the leadscrew and replaced it with a 3/4", put on a newer carriage to gain power cross-feed and replaced the compound with one made from iron.

There is no model number/serial number name plate, no evidence of one ever been attached to the bed. The only SN is on the top of the ways at the tailstock end: L6-860 Bed is 42" long rendering 24" between centers.

PS:
Changes since that photograph was taken: It currently sports Compound Rest Assembly 3980-75 and Cross Slide Screw Assembly 3980-18
(see Owner's Manual and parts list for 101-28900/101-28910)

OK. You certainly beefed up the compound assembly! I had always thought that they would fit but didn't know of anyone who had tried it.

The original serial number of your lathe (or bed) is 000860. Based on your additional info as to what was on it when you got it, the original model number must have been 101.07380 as the 101.07400 apparently had the belt guard instead of the two individual gear guards. Also, I totally missed the bolt heads indicating babbit spindle bearings. Unlike the 10D and 10F, the bearings weren't an option for any given model number. The change gear guard is like the one in the 1936 Craftsman catalog, except that the motor switch is mounted in the headstock instead of in a box attached to the change gear guard mounting plate. The 1936 catalog photo was undoubtedly made in the latter part of 1935. So yours could have been made in late 1935..

Based on comments from a few owners, the serial number was stamped on the bed front way and not on the nameplate probably into the 1950's. Maybe all the way up until 1957. The earliest partslist I can find that shows the nameplate is from the 1970's. There is one other machine reported as having "L6" stamped before the serial number (101.07381 s/n 1799).

The change gear guard has holes for mounting the switch box, just no box or switch when I got the lathe. The hole in the headstock was where the switch wiring would have been routed, I took advantage of the convenience of it's size and installed a marine-grade toggle switch. I figured the white 'rubber' cover would keep oil and swarf out of the switch.

The lathe looked pretty much like this when I got it, less the switch box, and has a metal Craftsman label plate on the front of the headstock vs painted lettering.

Well, you could be right. There is no evidence that I know of as to how the factory routed the switch cable before they moved the switch to the head stock. Did you have to drill out the hole? If not, then it was probably one of the machines made between the time that they decided to change and relocate the switch and the time that the new cast gear covers became available (or maybe when their stock of the fabricated covers was depleted enough). Because the standard bat handled toggle switch mounting hole is 15/32" dia. Which is probably too large for the #14-2 AWG SO cord that they probably used for the switch to motor cable.