New-to-Me Atlas 12" - Trying to figure out what I have?

I've parted out two lathes and restored mine. You will likely get lots of money parting it out, But, where's the fun in that? :) It takes forever and you have to deal with shipping and fees. PITA.

I say restore it. You seem to have the time and desire. There are motor frames on Ebay all the time. Parts for these are relatively cheap. You could even buy a beat up one and use it for parts. That's what I did. I learned a lot taking mine apart and putting it back together.

Cleaning it up will be tough in an apartment. I got a big plastic bin and used that as a parts tank. I made a box that fit the ways and lined it with plastic. I soaked it outside in Simple Green and got it fairly clean. I used a pressure washer also. I have a garage and power tools so I can make stuff, like wood boxes to soak ways. That will be your main challenge in an apartment. Everything else fits in a big plastic bin. Well, the smell and mess might be an issue!:)

Getting the spindle apart requires some pipe and a long screw. I was able to cut down some large diameter steel pipe because I have a metal-cutting bandsaw. It helps to have a workbench for all this as well. Have someplace to store all the parts as you disassemble and clean them. I cleaned, primed and painted them with rattle can paint right away to deter rust. Again, that's tough in an apt.
 
I am fortunate to have an apartment with a garage!

I have a couple foldling tables for layout and a bunch of recycled Amazon boxes to place assemblies in once they're cleaned. The present plan is to slowly dissemble and clean this thing. I may or may not take the headstock off. I do foresee detaching the bed from the stand and hauling that to a carwarsh to get pressure washed.

I also need to remake the counter top on the stand. Could I use a pine 2x12 for that or should I try to source something like maple? I have a buddy with a wood shop so the woodworking piece should be easy.
 
Jason,

You are in Dallas and I'm in Houston. Not too bad a drive, depending somewhat on where in Dallas you live. . Maybe 15 years ago, a friend and fellow ham bought among other things the half-dozen or so late-model 12x36 bench-model Craftsman lathes from a custom transformer maker and re-builder out in West Texas who was going out of business. On his way back into Houston, he came by my place and I bought two of the lathes and some other stuff from him. Another friend bought one of the lathes from me plus from the second one, took a few parts that were missing from the one that he bought. Last I heard, he was still running the one that he bought.

A few years later, a guy down in Victoria bought the 36" bed to use to convert a 3995 to a 3996. I still have the bench-type counter shaft assembly. The motor on it is a permag DC one (full size, not one of those cheap treadmill motors). I think that all of the cast aluminum parts and the tension linkage is present. The cone pulley and motor pulley appear OK., The large 2-step countershaft pulley has a chip out of it but should be usable with the normal V-belt. Although I wouldn't want to use it with a temporary usage link belt. Also present are the saddle, compound and tailstock but I'm not sure what shape they are in. Except that the crank is OK on the compound and missing from the saddle. And this afternoon, I did not see the apron. Probably most slip or sliding fits will be stuck.

And from the serial number, your machine was probably made in 1960.
 
WRT your question about the top and shelf for the cast iron legs (which typically go for upwards of $200), the factory drawing 10-442 calls for 9" x 1-5/8" Maple. But 10" x 2" S4S White Pine will probably suffice. Don't use the drawings hole location, however. Those are for the 10D and 10F.

Read the blurb in the Sticky area before trying to use Downloads.
 
Other comments: On the grease visible in many or your photos, the only place that grease is called for is on the spur gear teeth (back gears and change gears). Use a good hi-temp rated lithium or moly based grease. You can use Way Oil on the ways and gibs. Otherwise, use SAE 20 ND. If you cannot find non-detergent oil as 20 weight, use ISO 68, such as Mobile Heavy-Medium Circulating Oil. DO NOT use the grease on the gear hubs, however. It will not get in and it will keep oil out. And DO NOT use grease on the spindle bearings. The two oilers that should be on top of the headstock, when the proper felt plugs are present in the two cups, are designed to drip oil onto the top roller from whence it will be distributed around each cup by the movement of each cone. If there is any evidence that grease has been used on the spindle bearings, you will have to pull the spindle to get it out. If present, it will prevent oil from getting through to the bearings.

Properly oiling the gearbox, besides filling the 5 or 6 cups, requires squirting some on top of both ends of the two shafts for the gears in each selector lever arm. You can't do it standing up. And there is a spring-loaded ball oiler in the right end of the countershaft, hidden behind a metal hole plug in the right face of the headstock
 
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