# 12X36 Atlas for a decent price



## OakRidgeGuy

Well I have been looking around, found a Atlas 3996 12x36 lathe in what appears to be in very good condition. It appears to be very clean, in orginal paint. The price is 1100 bucks.. should I buy it? I know a that parts might be hard to find, or a lil pricey, but from what I understand that this is a nicer english bed lathe that would built and sold.. the owner believes it is a 1967 production lathe. 

Doc


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## pdentrem

I would get a list of the remaining parts that come with that lathe and compare to what SHOULD come with the lathe. Then  price out the missing components and think about it.

Short List
Operation manual of the lathe
3 and 4 jaw chucks
steady and follower rests
chuck keys
Change gears? The QCGB covers the common threads but what about the odd threads that a couple of gears may allow you to change things up?
tool post and tool bits
spares

Alot of the other stuff that one does not think about cost as much or more than the lathe itself. You do not need them all right at the beginning, but you will need them at some time.

I sold my Atlas, not a 3996 - it was an older 10F24 for $600 complete with stand and full set of change gears for SAE and metric threads.

I then sold the remaining parts that the buyer did not want to a guy out in Saskatoon. A second slide, extra parts and gears that were either used or new from Clausings for another $200. In my area where automotive and aviation is/was a major part of industry, lathes are common, but out in Saskatoon, they are harder to come by so in his case he hit a motherlode as any parts he did not need he could resell to others in the area.

Maybe Robert also known here as wa5cab, might see your posting and have a better idea of what to do. He has a 3996, I believe and is very knowledgable about these lathes. I fact I sent him all the information that I had to him awhile back as he could make better use of it.
Pierre


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## OakRidgeGuy

Here is a pic of it.. I may be wrong on the model number, but appears to be in nice condition. Though he only lists a 3 jaw chuck, some tools, the lamp post tool holder.. it does not appear that it has been used a whole lot.. at least in the pic. It could look different in person.. but I am going to give the guy a call tomorrow..


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## pdentrem

Looks to be in good shape. Have a look and go from there.
Pierre


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## OakRidgeGuy

I have already sent him some email, but will give him a call as well.. from what I can tell, it was indeed made in at least 1967 or later. But I don't think that he has much tooling to go with it though.


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## Pacer

Thats not a bad price for a popular HS lathe (not into gloat territory, but close)) As for parts availability, between the Craftsman and Atlas offerings there are probably more parts around for them than any other brand - at least rivaling SB. All these old lathes can be hard to find parts - then you just make your own!

I suspect the lathe has got a recent repaint, which could be a good omen if the owner disassembled it and checked it over (doesnt seem to be the dreaded 'ebay' paint job' 

Yeah, dont let that one get by without at least checking it out...


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## OakRidgeGuy

Well I got ahold of the guy, it is already sold.. dang it.


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## AR1911

I suspect Tennessee might be about like North Texas for finding machine tools. When something decent shows up, you have to be ready to hop in the truck and haul butt over there with at least some cash.
I've had pretty good luck with a WTB ad on Craigslist. Among some of the things that have turned up this year:
  9" South bend lathe for $200
  Millrite mill $500
  Atlas Shaper $100

I also have a search string set up on a browser toolbar.  I check it about once an hour.
Sometimes things get posted for stupid low prices and and are gone - or deleted - quickly. But sometime if you are the first to respond, and follow with a phone call and arrange to see it after work or in an hour, you can get some nice scores

Dang, now I've given up all my secrets.  Prolly just as well, the shop is getting pretty full


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## OakRidgeGuy

yeah, you gave me a trick to use and yes it does seem to be that things are sparse, or rather being way to big for my use.. like the south bend 16 inch lathe in Atlanta for 1200 bucks.. but i have come to terms.. i really need to get me a mill first.. for with it.. i can start right off the bat making money with it.. and then get a good lathe.. 

Doc


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## wa5cab

Doc,

Sorry I was tied up with income tax (and now sales tax) when this thread started and didn't log into the HM site for several days. If I had read your post at the beginning, I would have recommended you grab $1100 cash and beat feet over there and offer him $800 for starters (no point in not trying!). 

The machine in the photo that you posted was a 3986. The 3996 is a cabinet model. Other than that, they are the same. Both are in the final model group built by Atlas. They were produced from sometime in 1967 to 06 MAR 1981.

If you decide to get a mill first, ignoring $100K NC work centers, there are two basic types, horizontal and vertical. Subject to size constraints, pretty much any operation that can be done on one can be done on the other. But most operations will be more efficiently done on one or the other. When it comes to things you can do on one but not the other, you can't cut a diagonal slot with an endmill (vertical ends to the slot) in a very long part on a horizontal because the part would have to stick down through the table. And hole drilling and tapping operations won't be as convenient on a horizontal. On the other hand, you can't put a horizontal head on any vertical mill I ever saw. You can't cut two or more parallel slots with a vertical. Etc.

If you decide to go with a small vertical mill, I would avoid any of the round column drill-mills where you change the quill to table distance by raising or lowering the head. Although you can do good work on them and a lot pf people have them, if you are part way into a job and suddenly discover that you need to change the table to quill distance, there is nothing to keep the quill from moving from side to side as you raise or lower the head. Atlas never built a vertical that I know of but Clausing built a couple of nice small bench mills that you could consider. They will run you a little more than the 3986 you were looking at but so will almost any other decent small vertical, even the better Chinese ones. Atlas made a small bench horizontal mill called the MF. Prices typically a little lower than the Clausing verticals. And three or four companies over the years built vertical heads for it. Clausing built a similar size horizontal and another small horizontal is the Benchmaster. I think that it could also be had with a vertical head. Of course many other people built relatively small verticals. 

If your primary interest is in doing jobs to make money, first decide what sort of jobs you are going to do and then pick the machine or machines most suited and start looking. But don't buy a machine significantly larger than what you think you are going to need. It's generally easier to do small work on a small machine. 

Gunner


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