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Questions About My New/old Lathe.
- Thread starter pgmrdan
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- Dec 27, 2014
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Welcome to arguably the best Hobby machinist's forum. We really try to help folks with problems.
I have a similar lathe, next generation, made by Clausing, but on the Atlas plan, the bed length (total) is 30 inches. if I put a center in the spindle and another in the tailstock, I can get a piece 20 inches long between them. But its' a reach. I'd want a steady rest to support any work that long.
I consider mine to be a 6 by 20 lathe. Don't know what the manufacturer called it's size.
I have a similar lathe, next generation, made by Clausing, but on the Atlas plan, the bed length (total) is 30 inches. if I put a center in the spindle and another in the tailstock, I can get a piece 20 inches long between them. But its' a reach. I'd want a steady rest to support any work that long.
I consider mine to be a 6 by 20 lathe. Don't know what the manufacturer called it's size.
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My Atlas/Craftsman 6", Model no. 101.21400, has a bed length of 30" and a distance between centers of 18".
Here is a link for the manual for your lathe:
http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/222/5329.pdf
All indications from websites point to it being made by Atlas.
Bob
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- Dec 25, 2011
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Yes, Atlas built the 101.07301 and 101.21400 that Sears sold. The "official" size of the Atlas built Craftsman 101.07301 is 6" swing by 18" between centers. Atlas built and sold under the Atlas badge the 612 and the 618, where the model number came from the swing and maximum C-C distance. The 612 is rare so apparently few were sold. Production of the 612 probably ceased in 1947 or 1948 (Correction: it disappeared from the catalogs after 1941) when they ceased production of the 18" and 30" between centers 10" and 12" machines.
Production of the 101.07301 was from 1939 through 1957 (catalog years). In 1957 (late) Sears started selling the 101.21400 which is identical to the 618. At the time that the 101.07301 introduced, the differences between it and the then current 618 were limited to the headstock casting, spindle, spindle bearings and ball thrust bearing. The countershaft bracket on the 618 was revised at some point prior to 1950 or 51 but the change was not made to the 101.07301. It continued to use the 2nd version bracket throughout its production.
Production of the 618 and 101.21400 ceased in 1972 when they were replaced by the ball bearing 3950 and 101.21200. This is the 6" x 18" lathe with the square headstock casting which many call the 6" MK2 (although there is no known evidence indicating that the term was ever used officially by either Atlas (at that time Clausing) or Sears. The bed on the MK2 is essentially the same as the one on the earlier 6" machines. The part number change is because the legs and headstock were changed and the attachment hole patterns are different. The compound slide and swivel and the rack were also carried over to the new models, although both were later changed. The tailstocks look different but are interchangable. The ball bearing MK2's were made until sometime in 1977 when Sears quit selling the 6". At about the same time, the 3950 was replaced by the 10100, the main difference being a return to using Timken bearings. After the first 1500 or 2000 of the 10100's were built, the compound slide was revised and at some point the rack attachment method was made cheaper. In 1979 (probably early), the carriage was changed to add an adjustment to the carriage traverse intermediate gear mesh. At an unknown date but thought to be early 1980, the headstock and legs were changed from cast iron to Zamak. This was an ill-advised change and production ceased shortly thereafter (within a year I think).
Production of the 101.07301 was from 1939 through 1957 (catalog years). In 1957 (late) Sears started selling the 101.21400 which is identical to the 618. At the time that the 101.07301 introduced, the differences between it and the then current 618 were limited to the headstock casting, spindle, spindle bearings and ball thrust bearing. The countershaft bracket on the 618 was revised at some point prior to 1950 or 51 but the change was not made to the 101.07301. It continued to use the 2nd version bracket throughout its production.
Production of the 618 and 101.21400 ceased in 1972 when they were replaced by the ball bearing 3950 and 101.21200. This is the 6" x 18" lathe with the square headstock casting which many call the 6" MK2 (although there is no known evidence indicating that the term was ever used officially by either Atlas (at that time Clausing) or Sears. The bed on the MK2 is essentially the same as the one on the earlier 6" machines. The part number change is because the legs and headstock were changed and the attachment hole patterns are different. The compound slide and swivel and the rack were also carried over to the new models, although both were later changed. The tailstocks look different but are interchangable. The ball bearing MK2's were made until sometime in 1977 when Sears quit selling the 6". At about the same time, the 3950 was replaced by the 10100, the main difference being a return to using Timken bearings. After the first 1500 or 2000 of the 10100's were built, the compound slide was revised and at some point the rack attachment method was made cheaper. In 1979 (probably early), the carriage was changed to add an adjustment to the carriage traverse intermediate gear mesh. At an unknown date but thought to be early 1980, the headstock and legs were changed from cast iron to Zamak. This was an ill-advised change and production ceased shortly thereafter (within a year I think).
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- Dec 25, 2011
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Also, manuals, bulletins and a some drawings on most of the Atlas and Atlas/Craftsman machines are available in DOWNLOADS. The majority are cleaner scans than you will find elsewhere (except on the main A-C Group on Yahoo).
Thanks all! I've begun tearing down and cleaning my lathe. I hope the parts I need to replace are readily available. It's becoming quite enjoyable to come home after work and go into my basement workshop to putter around on this project.
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You've hit on the secret of Hobby Machinism. It unwinds one admirably.
Shouldn't there be an exploded parts diagram instead of just having all the parts scattered around on a page?
I took the parts off the spindle without taking pictures first and now I notice there's not a diagram showing the arrangement of some of the parts. I know how most of them go on but a couple of parts are somewhat a mystery. Besides, taking a picture before I take assemblies apart assumes that the prior owner put things back correctly. Knowing the way this lathe was treated doesn't make me at all confident that the lathe was correctly assembled before I got it.
I took the parts off the spindle without taking pictures first and now I notice there's not a diagram showing the arrangement of some of the parts. I know how most of them go on but a couple of parts are somewhat a mystery. Besides, taking a picture before I take assemblies apart assumes that the prior owner put things back correctly. Knowing the way this lathe was treated doesn't make me at all confident that the lathe was correctly assembled before I got it.
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post up pics of the parts and we'll help you out. There's not much to it, although some bits have to go on a certain way round or in a certain order. On reassembling one of my I put the tumbler gear on the end the wrong way round but it was obvious once I put the reverse tumbler back on. Similarly, last night I was putting the spindle back in my 618 and realised the only way to put the bull gear key in the spindle is before you put the spindle back in the headstock - for the 7301 you have to put it in afterwards.