Repair worn 1930's Craftsman / Atlas ways

There is a lot one can still do with a clapped out lathe, especially for a newbee. Think of all the stuff we do that we barely move the saddle over 4 or 5 inches. Facing operations, and anything done with the compound is not affected by the bed ways condition.
 
When the carriage drops far enough so the hand wheel gear no longer engages the rack, the lathe cannot do simple turning operations. That brass shim is an interesting idea. At least it will restore some functionality. There must be something one can do to make things work a little bit. It seems like all-or-nothing is the only way, and it is clear that a professional regrind will exceed the value of the lathe. I've told this story before. I visited a shop where there was a really clapped out Atlas lathe. It had grinding dust all over it. The guy working there said that it was still useful for toolpost grinding and polishing. It still had a lot of life in it.

Machine rebuilding is not my expertise. But I do know something about trip hammers. When they get sloppy due to wear in the ram guide, the ram will wobble and you will draw trapezoidal. This is a real bummer, since you have to do all kinds of correction to the work, and it's hot. To fix this, you unbolt the ram and pull out some shims. When all the shims are gone, the hammer is thrashed. You then pull out the ram guide and give it and the ram a touch up with an angle grinder. Careful. At this point you can do a lot of damage, but the hammer is already thrashed. Then, braze in or screw in some plates on the ram guide to build it up, and put the shim pack back in. You did save those shims, didn't you? :)
 
kdtop said:
This swap idea is a great idea. I'm going to seriously consider this...... Though as I think about it, the lead screw and advancement rack gear would have to be swapped etc, and that might be tricky....
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Appears there are used beds available also for that size. If you have a way of checking the ways.
 
Adam Booth down in Florida has a 36" shaper and Keith Rucker in Georgia has a planner he rebuilt that can plane the bed. They may do it for free and record it for their You Tube Channels. There is a professional rebuilder in Tullahoma TN that grinds beds too. www.schmiedecorp.com

I have also scraped Atlas beds. It is possible and if you want to learn how, I teach scraping. I taught people in the UK over the internet, so if you have the patience and time I can help you. It is so much simpler if you have a 36" Granite surface plate though. If you want to contact my friends Adam (abom78) Booth or Keith (VintageMachinery.org) PM me or email me at Richard@Handscraping.com and I can forward your email to them. Both Adam and Keith are my students too.

The pictures below were taken at a class I taught at Kieths and he did several You Tube shows on my classes I taught there..
. My students and You Tubers Lance Balzley, John Sanders (NYC CNC), Tom Utley, and Adam Booth. You can see many You Tube shows by searching "Richard King Scraping" on You Tube. Here is another students You tube show grinding Myford flat bed lathe beds.
There is all sorts of info on scraping and rebuilding on You tube under my name. Rich
 

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I had a wood lathe bed planed a few weeks ago it had hard spots but we get past them bluing it up it is really flat so scraping it is easy this is totally overkill for a wood lathe but I need practice! A 1919 planer that is worn is still really accurate quite amazing.
 
Richard King 2 said:
Adam Booth down in Florida has a 36" shaper and Keith Rucker in Georgia has a planner he rebuilt that can plane the bed. They may do it for free and record it for their You Tube Channels. There is a professional rebuilder in Tullahoma TN that grinds beds too. www.schmiedecorp.com

I have also scraped Atlas beds. It is possible and if you want to learn how, I teach scraping. I taught people in the UK over the internet, so if you have the patience and time I can help you. It is so much simpler if you have a 36" Granite surface plate though. If you want to contact my friends Adam (abom78) Booth or Keith (VintageMachinery.org) PM me or email me at Richard@Handscraping.com and I can forward your email to them. Both Adam and Keith are my students too.

The pictures below were taken at a class I taught at Kieths and he did several You Tube shows on my classes I taught there..
. My students and You Tubers Lance Balzley, John Sanders (NYC CNC), Tom Utley, and Adam Booth. You can see many You Tube shows by searching "Richard King Scraping" on You Tube. Here is another students You tube show grinding Myford flat bed lathe beds.
There is all sorts of info on scraping and rebuilding on You tube under my name. Rich
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Thank you for this helpful information. I will keep all this in mind. I plan on taking one of your classes one of these days. You have a superb reputation and it would be fantastic to learn from you!

Kevin T
 
The metal on most older machines is far better than anything from China. You can buy hand plating (chrome)Kit's off eBay. You could build up the low spots. You have to get one with a wand to apply the plating. Just dip in your plating solution and rub the wand on the low spot. MSC also has a plating pin that puts a hard surface on cutting tools.
 
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