Craftsman 109 Lathe Question

[Nubble]

I would ask him if he has any attachments lying around.

You can download a manual for the lathe. There might be info on how to thread. Threading is straight forward. It is pretty much the same on all lathes. You just need to make sure you have the correct gearing setup.


Cutting oil is my blood.

Okay so he doesn't have the Chuck or any other attachments with it and he doesn't wanna lower the price so i can afford a chuck also personally I don't feel like driving 3 and 1/2 hours and it's not particularly an emergency so I figured I'll just save up a bit more and get an atlas 618 or Craftsman 101.

 

[matthewsx]

Okay so he doesn't have the Chuck or any other attachments with it and he doesn't wanna lower the price so i can afford a chuck also personally I don't feel like driving 3 and 1/2 hours and it's not particularly an emergency so I figured I'll just save up a bit more and get an atlas 618 or Craftsman 101.

I'd go get it from him regardless. You're at the beginning of this journey and there are plenty of folks on here who will help. Chucks aren't that expensive, and who knows, he might lower his price when you show up and share your enthusiasm. If he doesn't have any use for it he should be happy to pass it along to a family member.

I wouldn't worry so much about it not being an ideal machine, if you save up and get the 618 there's a good chance you'll outgrow that one soon enough anyway. A little machine like that will clean up nice, and with a little paint you may be able to send it off to a new owner with some extra cash in your pocket.

Let us know what you decide.

John

 

[Smithdoor]

Okay so he doesn't have the Chuck or any other attachments with it and he doesn't wanna lower the price so i can afford a chuck also personally I don't feel like driving 3 and 1/2 hours and it's not particularly an emergency so I figured I'll just save up a bit more and get an atlas 618 or Craftsman 101.

I found on older lathes buying a new 3 jaw chuck is good thing.
The 3 jaw chuck will have screw bearing wear out. The easiest way fit that is just buy a new one . Lot of time the jaws are worn too.

Dave

 

[Nubble]

I'd go get it from him regardless. You're at the beginning of this journey and there are plenty of folks on here who will help. Chucks aren't that expensive, and who knows, he might lower his price when you show up and share your enthusiasm. If he doesn't have any use for it he should be happy to pass it along to a family member.

I wouldn't worry so much about it not being an ideal machine, if you save up and get the 618 there's a good chance you'll outgrow that one soon enough anyway. A little machine like that will clean up nice, and with a little paint you may be able to send it off to a new owner with some extra cash in your pocket.

Let us know what you decide.

John

Well I pretty much decided I'm just going to wait. It's not exactly an emergency to get a lathe, it's just one of those things that would be nice to have. And besides the Lathe that I'm looking at is only about an hour and a half away and comes with a whole bunch of tooling and the cabinet with a drawer full of tooling and different centers plus a couple lathe chucks and drill chucks and collets, it would just require me to wait a few weeks for my next two paychecks. For those wondering it's $1500.

 

[matthewsx]

I paid $800 for my Taiwan built 12x36.

Post pictures if you can.

John

 

[ericc]

I wouldn't worry about passing on this $450 Craftsman 109 lathe. I had one and I just loved it. I made all kinds of projects on it, and I even lent it to my company, and the facilities guy used it to make a bunch of innovative parts for the automatic door system. It is not worth that much money, and if you wait around, you will be able to find something for less. I found mine at a storage sale for $50. The guy selling it asked me why I was looking at it so hard, and I said that I didn't know what it was, but it sure did look interesting. He told me that it was a small metal lathe and what would I give him for it if I just took it right there and then. I replied $20, and he said take it. I put a piece of aluminum in the chuck and hit it with a wood lathe chisel. When I saw that little curl of aluminum come off, I just about jumped out of my skin. I have three larger lathes now, and if I ever wanted a small one, I'd get a Sherline or a watchmaker's lathe. But, I don't regret my purchase at all. You should be able to find one for less.

 

[Nubble]

So, i found a Craftsman 101 nearby Thats 650$, I'm unsure of the age I'm guessing probably somewhere in the 50s

 

[Nubble]

Tomorrow I'm going to ask him like Jacob's chucks or any other tooling to go along with it now I may have to make a key for the four jaw but that's okay, from what I can see this lathe does not look like it's trashed

 

[Aaron_W]

Hard to tell from the photos, but it looks like it has bolts on the head for the spindle bearings which would make it the older 101.07301, so 1940s or 50s would be right. It looks like it has been used, not just sitting around which is a good sign, maybe just somebody moving on to a different lathe. I don't see any obvious broken or missing parts, and it has the change gears. Assume those are MT1 drill bits for the tail stock which is nice. Hopefully he can turn up some more tooling that goes with it, but this is a much better choice than that 109 was.

The cabinet it is sitting on has some potential too. A bit rusty but hopefully just surface rust and can be cleaned up.

 

[Chip Hacket]

Okay so he doesn't have the Chuck or any other attachments with it and he doesn't wanna lower the price so i can afford a chuck also personally I don't feel like driving 3 and 1/2 hours and it's not particularly an emergency so I figured I'll just save up a bit more and get an atlas 618 or Craftsman 101.

This is what I started with and think it's a great little lathe. It is slightly smaller 4.5 vs 6 inch but it is something you can build on over time. It has many users and plenty of reviews to help with your decision making process. This is a quality machine made in the USA and one of their starter kits is within your budget.

1017#2 Starter Set #2 - TAIG Tools

This package is for intermediate users who are ready for a more expansive tool set. Select a base unit, or add an ER or 5C headstock. Upgrade to a powerfeed lathe for only $75 more! This picture shows 4 Drill chuck but package #2 only comes with one Drill chuck (#1091). $50.00 shipping within...

taigtools.com

Have a look at Nick Carters web site. https://www.cartertools.com/ I bought mine through him over 14 years ago and it's still going strong.

Specifications of the Taig Micro Lathe II​

The Assembled Taig Lathe with 1150 tailstock, 1050 3 jaw chuck, 1097D tool bit, 1023 mounting board, 1162 pulley set and 1092 drill chuck

Swing over bed	4.5"
Swing over crosslide	2.375"
Overall length of bed	15.5"
Overall length of lathe	16.5"*
Bed Construction	Ground Steel Dovetailed Ways on Concrete Filled Aluminum Extrusion
Bed Mounting	Cantilevered Instument Lathe Style
Bed Width	2-5/16"
Headstock Normality to Bed	.0004" max. error
Cross slide Normality to Bed	.0004" max. error
Max. taper bed dovetail	.0001"
Dovetail Angles	45 deg. All Slides
Gib Type	Bronze (Brass?) 3 setscrew Horizontal adjustment, 2 Vertical Locking Screws
Tool bit size	.25"
Distance between centres	9.75"
Carriage Travel**	9", .60" per handwheel revolution
Carriage Material	Aluminum Casting
Crosslide Travel	2.25", .050" per handle revolution
Crosslide Dial Divisions	.050" in .001" steps (50 divisions)
Bearing Size OD	1.5748" (40mm)
ID	.6692" (17mm)
Max Bearing Runout	.0004
Spindle Nose thread	3/4"-16 SAE
Spindle Nose register	.75" dia., .10" length
Spindle Hole	.343"
Spindle Taper	15 deg. included
Collet Type	15 deg. self releasing, threaded spindle nose closer***
Max Collet ID	5/16"****
Headstock Pulley Bore	5/8"
Standard Speed rpm	525-5300, six steps, Max. 7000 rpm. (525,825,1300,2100,3350,5300)
Tailstock Chuck Integral Mount	3/8"-24 tpi.
Tailstock spindle travel	1.2"
T-slot locations	Crosslide(2), back side of Headstock and Tailstock (1),Top of Headstock(2), Front side of Headstock(1), Top of Tailstock(2),Compound & Milling Slide(2)
T-slot Nut	Standard 10-32 Square Nut