Atlas Craftsman 10" Lead Screw Question nut and power feed

[ShawnAgne]

Ok couple questions here.
1. What is the thread of the screw that holds the lead screw on by the bearing? It appears to be 20 TPI but seems to be smaller than 1/2".

2. Going to hook up a auxillary motor like Fred Miller shows and Tublacain and others on you tube to run the power feed so it can be ran slower. What are the best ways to attach the shaft to the motor. The answer to question #1 will help this a lot.

Thanks in advance.
Shawn Agne

 

[Nutfarmer]

Be careful of the lead screw support and bearing on the tail stock end of the lathe. It is very easy for it to break. The ones that are reproduced in aluminum work fine and will hold up well with your proposed modification.

 

[markba633csi]

Not sure about the thread at the end of the screw, but the mount used 1/4"-20 thread to attach to the bed I think
-Mark

 

[wa5cab]

On all Atlas-built 10" and 12" lathes except for the final variant of the 12", the right lead screw support and thrust bearing is designed to break in case of a crash, and extract the left end of the lead screw from the FWD-REV gearbox, support bearing or QCGB, thus hopefully limiting the damage.

According to the parts lists that I have, if your lathe is a 10F, the nut is a 1/2"-20 UNF Cone Nut. If 10D or earlier, they are two 3/8"-16 UNC Jam Nuts.

You can spend your time and money fitting the machine with a separate variable speed motor on the lead screw. But don't waste your time trying to make the lead screw RPM track the spindle RPM accurately enough to cut threads with. It's my opinion that your money would be much better spent on gears.