# New Member Needs Help



## bodlfed66 (Jan 12, 2015)

Hello. My name Is Johnny and I just joined this forum. I recently sold off my qc54 in lieu of getting a nicer lathe. The atlas I had was severely worn everywhere. It function fine for most projects but suffered when precision was needed. I was originally going to buy a pretty nice sheldon lathe that I lost out on. In the meen time of looking for another lathe I came across a craftsman/atlas 12" with qc box in a craigslist ad. $500 and the guy said he had many extras. Well I checked it out to find a next to zero wear lathe. Follow and steady rest. Milling attachment. Couple hundred bits. Lantern tool post for a 6" but with alot of holders, threading, knurling, cut off, etc... Live and dead centers. Carriage stop. But no chuck. He was turning wood with a jacobs chuck threaded on the spindle and was selling it as a wood lathe. I have played with several atkas lathes but have never seen one with the traverse wheel and gears so tight and nice. Everything is. So i guess my question is... I know a atlas lathe is on the lower rung of the ladder. But mainly i make or modify parts for my c4 transmission or small side projects for work or friends. How long will that zamak hold up? On my other lathe, anything that was zamak was toast. Can constant oil and maintence drastically decrease wear or is it inevitable? Thanks in advance.


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## bodlfed66 (Jan 12, 2015)

PS I did buy that craigslist  lathe. Could not pass it up!


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## Terrywerm (Jan 12, 2015)

:welcometrain:


Welcome to H-M and congratulations on the new to you lathe! 

I cannot speak to the wear habits of the Atlas lathes, as I have never owned one, but the carriage and ways certainly are not made of zamac, are they??  Zamac can be used for many things, but I would assume a more substantial material for the foundation parts of a metal working lathe. With that said, proper lubrication with proper oils will go a long way in giving you a lifetime of quality use from that lathe, or so I would expect.


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## bodlfed66 (Jan 12, 2015)

I bring up the zamak only because on my first atlas lathe every zamak gear going from the spindle to the qc box was destroyed. Half nuts were done for as well. Back gears were worn but still had brass shims spacing them out so i was able to remove them to get a better mesh. Anything zamak was replaced with used parts off ebay. This one I acquired is in such nice shape. I wonder if it is better to keep this one and deal with the "lightness" of it, or buy a heavier duty lathe that most likely will have more wear. 
What have you guys that own the 12" atlas/craftsman, w/o the 1/2 ways,  found you could not do on it but could on another lathe? My old lathe was so worn I could not part off. The compound would literally dive under. Even this one with the gibs adjusted properly seems to be a bit looser then I would like. Sorry for the 20 questions. Just trying to figure out what direction to go.


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## 34_40 (Jan 12, 2015)

I don't have an Atlas lathe but I do have the Atlas Horizontal mill,  it has zamak gears and at least one housing made entirely of the stuff.

I think that no matter what the material the parts are made from - as long as they are kept clean and lubricated, they should deliver good service.

A "light" lathe can do most anything within reason,  are you gonna hog off 3/8's of an inch in a single pass? I doubt it..  but work within the limits of the machine and it'll last your lifetime probably.

If the wear is as little as you say, I'd be thrilled at that price and never look back!  Besides, you know you'll need a newer and bigger lathe somewhere in the future! 

No one can have only 1... can you?? ondering::lmao::roflmao:


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## itsme_Bernie (Jan 12, 2015)

With all the complaints I have read over the years about Zamak, I had never had any problems with them.

With even basic care, they should last a long, long time. I am sure they are somewhat more delicate than cast iron or steel gears, but you would want to drop any gear for to break a tooth in any material.

The Atlas machines would not be fair to compare to industrial duty machines- not meaning lesser quality, but not really "rated" for 10 hours a day, 5 days a week service, so they WILL wear down more like your old 10 inch model.  Frankly, it is more impressive that that machine was working well enough to wear iITSELF out. 

The later 12 inch models were more heavy duty than any other Atlas machines, but all should serve home shop folks well.

Bernie


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## Terrywerm (Jan 12, 2015)

bodlfed66 said:


> Sorry for the 20 questions. Just trying to figure out what direction to go.



There is no need to apologize for the questions you ask, that is what this place is for. Ask away!


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## wa5cab (Jan 13, 2015)

Bodifed (please sign your posts),

I have an Atlas 3996 (a 12X36 and the final model sold) that I bought new in 1981.  I replaced a few parts on it recently because I thought that they might be worn and I had new ones.  But aside from the way wipers, turned around and put the old ones back on.  So the half nuts and cross feed and compound nuts are all still original after 35 years.  I've been pretty good over the years about following the lube instructions and going through the full lubrication sequence almost every time before I used it.  If I hadn't, I'm sure that a lot of parts would be worn out.

I've wanted to run a few parts on it over the years that would have required a 16" or larger  but regardless of what size machine you have, one of these days it isn't going to be large enough.  And if it were, it would be much too large to run small parts.  Which in my case is the rule rather than the exception.  I've come to the conclusion that a 12" is about the largest machine that you can comfortably run parts on that you could also run on a 6".  

And yes, most parts on both the 3996 and the 101.27440 are either steel or cast iron.  The parts that are die cast in Zamak are some of the gears, the cranks and hand wheels, the traverse gearbox, and the supports for the cross feed bevel gears.  I've had no problem with any of them.  And probably so long as you follow the lube instructions, any that you have that are good today will still be good 30 years from now.

Robert D.


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## WorkerB (Jan 13, 2015)

I have had a couple of 12x36 Atlas/Craftsman lathes and agree with the comments about them lasting  and working well if kept clean and properly lubricated. My current Atlas was used as a wood lathe for several years before I bought it. All the internals were in very good shape but were filthy and gummed up with wood sap and sawdust. I was concerned that if I started to cut metal with it the cuttings would be trapped by the sap and pitch from the wood use and destroy the lathe. I completely disassembled it and cleaned every piece before reassembly and use. If I hadn't I don't believe it would have lasted.

Jim H.


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## The Liberal Arts Garage (Jan 24, 2015)

bodlfed66 said:


> PS I did buy that craigslist  lathe. Could not pass it up
> If the Zamak has held up this long, it will probably last mostly forever!.......BLJHB


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## Round in circles (Jan 25, 2015)

My lathe is at least 73 years old , it has Zamak gears and other high pressure alloy injection moulded  parts .
The only thing that has been renewed as far as I can see ( recently by me at that ) is the gear on the thread counter , for mine had been over pressured , had crumbled /split and was glued back together with epoxy resin . It worked but could have died at any moment . 
There is also one of the smaller drive gears that shows signs of crazing on one side only , I wonder if this has been cleaned with the wrong product or set face down in something that has caused the crystals in the metal to weaken on the damaged face ?

 I guess that to make the most of your machine and gears is to clean /lube /grease them regularly and don't over load the feeds .
Keep them on auto when ever possible , make your cuts & feeds as light as an angels kiss not like a boxers knock out wallop .


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