# Atlas 618 Vs. Craftsman 101.07301



## pgmrdan

Say you have one of each with both being in very good condition.  Both have sleeve bearings and 1/3rd hp motors.

Which would you rather have and why?


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## wa5cab

I would obviously take the 101.07301 if I wanted to actually have a 6" lathe, because an actual  618 with sleeve bearings doesn't exist.  

101.07301  has sleeve bearings, 1"-8 spindle threads and an A-rev countershaft bracket.
618 and 101.21400 have Timken bearings, 1"-10 spindle threads and 95% (618) or100% (101.21400) have a B-rev countershaft bracket.

If you have a lathe with sleeve bearings and a 618 nameplate, it will work fine assuming everything is in good condition but it is a Frankenlathe.


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## mattthemuppet2

I think it's a bit of a non-issue which you would choose - both will perform the same work and have the same accuracy. The sleeve bearing lathe may give a slightly better finish, perhaps, the Timken bearing lathe will probably run more happily at higher speeds (>1500rpm?), neither of which is likely to really affect anyone using a 6in lathe. Perhaps the 1x10tpi spindle on the 618 is better, but that doesn't make the 1x8tpi on the 7301 bad.

I'd go for whichever was cheapest and had the most tooling


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## pgmrdan

This evening I'm going to look at what is advertised as an Atlas 618.  I specifically asked the seller if it has an Atlas model 618 tag on the bed along with some other questions.  He never answered this question but he definitely said it has sleeve bearings for the spindle and I can tell from the picture that it has the adjustment screws for the spindle sleeve bearings.

I've encountered people claiming that their Atlas 6" x 18" lathe is a 618 when it isn't.  I've even seen a 109 described as an Atlas 618 because it is a 6" x 18" lathe that they think was made by Atlas?!?!?!

The lathe I'm looking at has 1 mounting hole in the right foot contrary to the 2 holes shown in the Atlas 618 documentation.  Is that just a revision change or another indication that it isn't a 618?

I thought it and my 101.07301 could make 1 better lathe than the 101.07301 already is which may be true but I also thought if the 618 lathe bed was in better shape I could use the 618 plus parts from the 101.07301.  I suppose I can still mix and match but if the bed has an Atlas 618 tag on it I'm guessing it's already been used for parts.  He did say it's missing a few change gears and a tumbler gear has sharply pointed teeth on it.  It also has 2 broken handles.  Maybe I should pass on it?  I may still look at it but I doubt it's worth the $300 he's asking.

It has a 4-jaw chuck but that won't fit my 101.07301 if it's on a 10 tpi spindle.

Oh, and it also has 16 speeds instead of 8.  The countershaft appears to be just like the countershaft on my 101.07301 except for a 4 sheave pulley for the motor end and a 4 sheave pulley on the motor.

To me this photo appears very 'staged' with the washers scattered around for no apparent reason and the eye bolt with the sticker on it.


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## pgmrdan

If we assume this isn't a Frankenlathe then which model of Atlas lathe could it be?


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## pgmrdan

Well that clears that up.  It's a Craftsman 101.07301.  (I thought that countershaft looked awfully familiar!)  I just found that out from the seller.  He falls into the category that any 6"x18" lathe made by Atlas is an Atlas 618.

I told him I won't be looking at it this evening.

I could have bought it for parts for my Craftsman but the more I thought about it the more I think someone has already taken some/all of the good parts off of it.

Thanks Robert for telling me that 618's weren't made with sleeve bearings!

This is what I kept asking him to look for:


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## wa5cab

Dan,

You're welcome.

I already mentioned this to you but I'll repeat it here for other readers.

The 101.07301 pictured above has had two modifications done to the countershaft assembly, the component parts of which appear to mostly be from a standard 101.07301,  The hanger assembly has been disassembled and turned around (except for the 4-step pulley driving the spindle) so that the motor driven pulley is on the right instead of the left.  That allowed the owner to mount the motor behind the bed instead of sticking out to the left of the headstock.  Frankly, I don't know why Atlas didn't do that to begin with.  It makes for a smaller footprint.

It also has a 4-step motor and motor driven pulley instead of the standard 2-step ones.  This makes it a 32 speed machine, not a 16 speed one.  Almost all of the Atlas 6", 10" and 12" lathes (except for those that were sold without back gears and some that Sears sold as wood lathes) are 16-speed machines.  2 (motor pulley) times 4 (spindle pulley) times 2 (back gears).

The Atlas 9" and 6" that were sold by Sears before 1957 all had different legs on them from the equivalent models that were sold directly by Atlas.  No one that I know of knows why.  The 6" also had a different countershaft assembly, reason also unknown.

There is a lot of misinformation about the Atlas 6" models scattered around the Internet.  I assume it is from lack of knowledge rather than deliberate disinformation.  The most common two are:

Early Atlas 618's had 1"-8 spindle nose threads - False.  There is no catalog or credible physical evidence to support this.
Some Atlas 618's had babbit bearings - False.  Same reason.
Atlas built some of the 6" lathes sold with Sears model numbers beginning with 109 - False.  If they had, the model numbers would have begun with 101 and the parts would look like Atlas parts.
All 6x18 lathes are called "618" - False.  "618" is an Atlas Model Number derived, like 918, from the size of the lathe.  No one else used it.

I don't have or have copies of all of the Atlas catalogs ever published, but probably have as many as anyone else on the planet.  I do have copies or originals of every Sears Power Tools catalog published between 1931 and 1983.


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## pgmrdan

As always, Robert to the rescue! 

Yep, I didn't take the back gears into account.  I saw this 4-step motor and motor driven pulley arrangement as a 'mod' on a website.  I think I'll have enough speeds with the standard setup although since I'm replacing the shaft on the countershaft now would be the time to do it.

When I bought my 101.07301 it had the handle for the countershaft on the left like the one in the seller's picture.  Seems to be a good, safe way to do it instead of reaching over a spinning chuck to disengage the belts.  It had been set up that way for 30 years by the previous owner and maybe another 35+ years before that..  Makes me wonder if a lot of people arranged things that way with these lathes.  One problem though is that the motor on mine had LOTS of swarf in it even though the previous owner had constructed a sheet metal partial cover for the motor.

Thanks again Robert.  Very good information.


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