# Unusual Craftsman lathe - flat ways and no lead screw - who made it?



## lancew (Jun 6, 2019)

Here is an unusual Craftsman lathe I have never seen another one like.  It is like a "grown up" jeweler's lathe with no lead screw, just a short slide (looks like about 5" of travel) to take care of longitudinal machining.  The length is attractive, just shy of 4 feet.  Does anyone know who made it?  I see no back gears, I am assuming it probably had a countershaft and motor to expand the speed range.


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## Superburban (Jun 6, 2019)

Looks like a wood lathe, that someone added the cross slide, or what ever it is to try to make it into a metal lathe.


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## kd4gij (Jun 6, 2019)

Yep, wood lathe with cross slide.


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## brino (Jun 6, 2019)

Hi @lancew,

Welcome to the group!

-brino


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## Superburban (Jun 6, 2019)

Here is another. possibly a second.









						1930's Craftsman Lathe
					

This is a Craftsman wood lathe my Uncle gave to me recently. It was my Grandpa's. He bought it used in 1970 when he opened his machine shop. Im not certain of the vintage but from the small research I have done I think it is a 1930's era. It has a 1/2 hp Dayton motor. The bench it is on was also...




					www.lumberjocks.com
				






			Crafstman 101.06241 Wood Lathe


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## projectnut (Jun 6, 2019)

It's a Craftsman "Universal" lathe as advertised in the 1936 Craftsman & Companion power tools catalog.  The options included a carriage with cross slide, and a lead screw.  Note there are 2 holes at each end of the bed for mounting a lead screw.  There were other options like a set of change gears, face plate, and a speed reducing counter shaft along with many others


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## lancew (Jun 6, 2019)

Awesome information everybody.  I am glad I registered on the forum.  I have taken a 10 year hiatus from metal working (I did automotive for 9 years of it, spent my spare time staying up to date on the cars.  Time to get another bench lathe again to play with, and I liked the distance between centers on that lathe so it was attractive to me.


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## ch2co (Jun 7, 2019)

Welcome aboard, Lance!  This is a great place. There are no dumb questions so ask anything. 

The irritable Grumpy Guy


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## markba633csi (Jun 7, 2019)

An interesting unit but a bit primitive by today's standards. Heck, even by 1950s standards.  If you are serious about machining I would hold out for something a little newer and with better features, like a 618, or a South Bend or Logan. Backgears and leadscrew + change gear set at a minimum
Mark


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## projectnut (Jun 7, 2019)

markba633csi said:


> An interesting unit but a bit primitive by today's standards. Heck, even by 1950s standards.  If you are serious about machining I would hold out for something a little newer and with better features, like a 618, or a South Bend or Logan. Backgears and leadscrew + change gear set at a minimum
> Mark


 The machine may be primitive by todays standards, but keep in mind it was being sold during the depth of the depression.  The basic machine sold for $32.50.  The carriage and rack were another $12.95.  The lead screw and change gears were also $12.95 while the  counter shaft listed for $11.95.  Among the other options available was a "metal turning kit" which consisted of 2 dead centers, a tool holder, 2 tool bits, a lathe dog and 6" face plate for $5.95.  In those days there was very little "disposable income" so people bought only the options they needed.

For a few years I had a 1939 Sears "Companion" brand 6"x28" lathe.  At the time Companion was Sears "value line".  The basic machine sold for $13.95.  With all the metal turning accessories like the face plate, 3 jaw chuck , speed reducing jack shaft, dead centers, drill chuck , tool post and tooling, and sanding disk added another $10.75.  The intention was to give it to my nephews.  Dad said yeas, but mom said no. Since that didn't work out as planned I gave it to another young guy who wanted to try to get into the metal turning hobby without breaking the bank.


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## lancew (Jun 7, 2019)

Found a link to the lathes.uk page (it's under craftsman wood lathes)

http://www.lathes.co.uk/craftsmanwood/ 

From the site 

935 - 1939 121/4-inch swing  by 36-inches between centres Craftsman _Universal Heavy Duty Lathe_.
The _Universal_ was the best wood-turning lathe to be offered by Sears, Roebuck during the 1930s and designed by Atlas to be not only a very strong machine (it weighed 140 lbs) but also the basis upon which the 1936 Craftsman backgeared and screwcutting metal-turning lathe would be constructed.  (For more details of contemporary Atlas lathes, especially the basic 1042 models on which, in turn, the Craftsman wood-turning lathe was based, click here). The _Universal_ could also be converted, by the addition of various parts, to a proper backgeared and screwcutting metal lathe, the makers claiming that: _It grows with your shop!_


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## ericc (Jun 7, 2019)

I have one of these lathes.  It is in really rough shape.  I bought it from a fellow who advertised it on Craigslist for a very decent price which included a tremendous amount of lathe parts for all sorts of lathes.  This included a bunch of 1 1/2 " - 8 face plates which don't fit my South Bend.  The reason I bought it was I thought that I could repurpose the headstock as a vertical milling attachment for my horizontal mill.  The bed is far superior to a Gingery bed and would make a great start for a homemade lathe.  Any junk lead screw can be retrofitted.


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## wa5cab (Jun 10, 2019)

projectnut said:


> It's a Craftsman "Universal" lathe as advertised in the 1936 Craftsman & Companion power tools catalog.  The options included a carriage with cross slide, and a lead screw.  Note there are 2 holes at each end of the bed for mounting a lead screw.  There were other options like a set of change gears, face plate, and a speed reducing counter shaft along with many others


No, it isn't the Universal.  Note that the legs are cast integral with the bed.  You will find it on pages 22 and 23 of the 1936 catalog.  The Universal is on pages 24 and 25.  The following year (1937), most of the parts on the Universal appeared on the 101.07400 Deluxe.  Some of the parts on the 1936 Universal except for the headstock (which had Timken bearings instead of babbit) are the same as those on the 1936 101.07360 (no back gears) and 101.07380 (with back gears).  The tailstock may be the same on all four.


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## lancew (Jun 10, 2019)

wa5cab said:


> No, it isn't the Universal.  Note that the legs are cast integral with the bed.  You will find it on pages 22 and 23 of the 1936 catalog.  The Universal is on pages 24 and 25.  The following year (1937), most of the parts on the Universal appeared on the 101.07400 Deluxe.  Some of the parts on the 1936 Universal except for the headstock (which had Timken bearings instead of babbit) are the same as those on the 1936 101.07360 (no back gears) and 101.07380 (with back gears).  The tailstock may be the same on all four.



I see the difference in the beds now, the universal has the separate legs and I can see the holes for lead screw brackets.  The lathe I am showing the picture of has integral legs and no apparent provision for lead screw brackets.


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## wa5cab (Jun 10, 2019)

Right.  It was advertised as an up-scale wood lathe with some metal working attachments.  Given the similarities of the tail stocks, the way dimensions are probably the same as on the metal working machines.


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## lancew (Jun 11, 2019)

Looking on eBay and online, I see at least 4 different head stocks on the same bed.  I am guessing they were transitioning/improving the head stock.


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