New lathe user introduction

[UtTex]

In terms of learning basic lathe work, I highly commend the book "The Amateur's Lathe" by Sparey. You'll still need to practice, and to turn valuable metal into useless chips, but it's a pretty good lathe education in a relatively small book.

GsT

Thanks. I now have it on order.

 

[UtTex]

You haven't actually told us the hp rating of the motor you have- if it's 3/4 hp or less I wouldn't be too concerned
Older motors tend to run heavier for their hp rating I have noticed- modern motors are more efficient and lighter
The motor should be 1725 rpm not 3450

Thanks. Yes, it's 1720 RPM. The ID plate has been painted over and is difficult to read so I can't se a HP rating. But as Eddyde says above, the voltage and amperage calculate out to 1625 watts or roughly 2 HP (or so the interweb tells me. I think I will have to keep in mind that this lathe is overpowered for its size and try not to push it too hard since it may not stall out before breaking stuff.

 

[wa5cab]

As far as books go, there are many around that cover lathe and/or mill operation but in addition to any of those every Atlas or Atlas/Craftsman owner should have at least one copy of Manuel of Lathe Operation printed around the year that their lathe was made. It was printed or reprinted every year from about 1937 to about 1981 and is still available from Clausing. Or from eBay for the older editions.

 

[markba633csi]

2 hp if the motor was close to 100% efficient which they never are- more like 1.5 hp I'm guessing or less
13 x 115v = 1495 watts

 

[verbotenwhisky]

I recently brought home an old Atlas Craftsman 12" Model 101.07383 lathe. I have no idea what I will do with it other than clean it, repair it, and probably make useless piles of chips with it. I am not a machinist and have never even run a lathe before. I ordered a hard copy of one of the MOLO versions to get started. In the meantime I have been disassembling, cleaning and identifying obviously broken or worn out parts. So far, the traverse gearbox is cracked but holding together (on order), one of the bevel pins for the compound swivel lock is broken (on order), one of the hinge brackets for the pulley cover is broken but holding (will braze or weld at later date), and the threading dial is frozen up (currently soaking in solvent and getting looser). The headstock babbitt bearings do not seem to have any discernable play. The ways have a few small dings I will need to stone out, but not too much wear as far as I can tell. I think I have all of the change gears (10 plus the ones currently installed). It has an Emco brand QCTP installed and a bucket of tooling, mostly HSS. It has a small 3-jaw chuck plus a larger 3-jaw and a 4-jaw. The motor and spindle pulley are not original and the motor mounting plate is missing. The replacement motor is a rather large (70 lbs!) 125v/230v, 13/6 amp unit mounted near the bottom of the homemade stand and has a reversing switch. My understanding is that these lathes were equipped with a 1/2 hp motor from the factory, so this seems like overkill.

One other missing item is the Back Gear Lock Pin (10-256). I don't know the actual function of this pin. Can I get along without it or is it going to be a show-stopper if I can't find a replacement?

Hey, chips are not useless, they are thought provoking educational stress relief...... Sounds like a nice project. I would bet money that the lock pin can be had or made, I would not think it would be a show stopper. Welcome to the group.