Atlas 12" lathe, pre-buying questions!

As others have said it is missing a lot of parts. Also it is a 10". For $400 I would walk away from it. For future reference the headstock does have a mt3 so you could mount a Jacobs Chuck in it. They also sold a Jacobs Chuck for a 1 1/2-8 headstock but not sure how small it went down to. Making a er collet Chuck for the headstock is very doable. I have a 12" Craftsman made by atlas. As mentioned they are a lighter duty lathe and are sometimes a lot slower. For what I do I can usually take the extra time. But it has been able to do what I have wanted.
 
Well folks, thanks for all the replies! I'm so glad I posted, I didn't know it was missing so much, shows you what I know!

Another old Atlas turned up locally, this one is $550 OBO, whatcha think about this one?

atlas3.jpg
 
I wouldn't jump into buying just yet, you should do some more research- you should be able to name all the parts of the lathe in your sleep before you go putting down any cash. I know it's very tempting to get something now, but try to get a little more familiar before you shop. Worn beds and spindle bearings are probably the most serious pitfalls that await you. Plan on replacing at least one chuck. Atlas parts are overpriced, especially for the little 6" machines.
Sorry to be such a buzz-kill, but a worn out lathe is a bad trip, man.
Mark S.
 
Depending on what comes with it that is starting to get into a reasonable price range for the lathe you are looking at. You will want to look it over for wear, particularly on the ways. One thing to think about is what is the largest item you will want to turn. I did look back at your 109 post and you mentioned making some tools. What type of tools are you thinking about?
 
Well, at least in this one photo I'm seeing all of the parts on the lathe that should be on the lathe. No handles, knobs, etc missing, and the countershaft looks to be set up right. What condition those parts are in is impossible to tell though. I also do not see a motor with it.

Mark is giving you sage advice -- it's risky to rush out and get an older machine when you don't have much experience with them. It can get expensive, fast, especially if you have to start chasing down parts.

It's also hard for others to know what your actual needs will be -- as you say, you may not fit the traditional "machinist" category. I'm guessing though that this is possibly a better size for what you want to do.

In my area, and assuming the lathe is in running order and as it appears in the photo, the price would not be that far out of line. Maybe a bit high, but not terribly.

-frank
 
Oh by the way this last Atlas I posted about does come with the motor, which I didn't post.
The seller doesn't use the lathe, I think he picked it up in an estate sale or something like that.

I do appreciate the advice from ya'll about learning more, its something I do need to mull over. One thought is that I might end up buying a smaller mini lathe to learn on, even though in the end I will want a bigger machine at least it will show me the basics. I'm leaning towards the Taig Micro which I've heard good things about

I am still curious about this Atlas 618 though, as others mentioned this one at least looks more complete. I'm not worried about replacing the bearings if they're worn, but I don't really know what to look for in regards to worn out beds.

thanks again,

Mk
 
My experience is with the 12" & 10" Atlas lathes but I think that the 6" is similar in this respect. Where the carriage rides on the ways it wears them down This is from the total width front to back of the ways and a grove on the top in the front and the back. Most work is done close to the headstock on short pieces sticking out of the chuck so this is where the bed usually gets the most wear. The tailstock also wears the inside of the ways usually near the ends to a lesser degree. This is something that would be hard to fix. Another thing to check is the wear on the gears. Are they worn to points. Clausing still supports these lathes except for the major parts. Other things to check are just normal mechanical items, ie does everything work smoothly and look for broken parts and listen to it run if you can for obvious noise. There should be change gears with it and will be needed to cut threads.
 
Good advice from Rob; you can also do "the test" which is: with the carriage up near the headstock, snug the carriage lock screw by hand and try to run the carriage back towards the tailstock. The point at which it binds indicates roughly how much wear there is. But it may not be a deal-breaker if you do short pieces and the rest of the machine is ok.
Mark S.
 
Here is a good video to watch. The picture you posted has Timken bearings and not the ones his lathe has.
 
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