Advice on a Craigslist Atlas 618

I guess that most of us probably assumed that you knew that the tailstock was self-ejecting, and had tried that and it was still stuck. If not, as Supersuburban indicated above, turn the handwheel on the tailstock CCW to retract the ram. The end of the arbor on the chuck should hit the end of the ram feed screw somewhere between 1/2" and 0" on the ram and be ejected.
 
Can someone help me assess the value of the armature kit? I have both chucks and the mica undercutter assembly. I'm gonna list on eBay and was thinking of $200 for the whole thing. I'll never use and could use the proceeds to buy the parts that I need (3 jaw chuck, change gears, etc). Is there a demand for such a kit?

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Ok thank you to all who have responded. He is willing to go to $650, but the change gears are still not found. Will report back. I may have to find something else. There is a Logan and a South Bend 10K also for sale, for $1500 and $2000 respectively. But, I wanted to start small and work my way up.
Don't worry about going bigger, you won't be unhappy.
 
Troye,

I'm glad to see that you cleaned the components. They look quite nice. But I notice that there is no line cord with line switch on the motor. If you haven't already attached at least a temporary cord and test run the motor for a few minute, I would definitely do that before listing the set.

As to demand, no, there isn't much. But that's not to say that if you run it for a while, someone who wants one won't come along. As to asking price (assuming that the motor runs), $200 is as good a place to start as any. I wouldn't go any higher but I would run it as 30 days GTC (Good Til Canceled). If it doesn't sell after a few weeks, you can always add the Best Offer option. And to keep out the riff raff, use the option to set a minimum of maybe $100. Any offer below that will get an automatic reject.
 
Before you go hunting down a 3 jaw, check the TPI of your spindle. Don't remember if it was with the original 618's, or the MKII's, but somewhere the thread changed from 1" 8 TPI, to 1" 10 TPI, or the other way.
 
Does nobody turn armatures any more?
 
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Dose nobody turn armatures any more


Not many. I would hazard that more than 90% of the mom-n-pop automotive starter rebuilders have gone out of business. The few that remain already have the needed equipment. It will be a lot like the vast array of Model A parts I was tasked with selling. Ebay may well be full of parts with high asking prices, but no one is buying. The generation that has interest in those is fading away, and certainly not looking to start building a new car from pieces.
 
SuperBurban,

The Atlas 612, 618, 3950, 10100 and 10200 all had 1"-10 spindle threads throughout their production. As did the Craftsman 101.21400 and 101.21200. The only Atlas built 6" machines that didn't are the Craftsman 101.07300 built only in 1938, which had 3/4"-16, and the 101.07301 built from 1939 through 1957, which had 1"-8. The Internet disinformation saying that the early 618's had 1"-8 threads is false.
 
Although I have no idea what its worth, I would be interested in the armature attachment if I can afford it. I could have used one a couple months ago when I was working on a starter. Let me know if you decide to sell it. If you already listed it, let me know what its under. I just checked E-Bay and didn't find one. Thanks, John
 
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