# How to repair the spindle?   (Craftsman 6", 101.07301)



## Spajo (Jan 6, 2022)

I have searched through this forum and read several posts about this subject. Honestly, it would be far more practical to just buy a new spindle on eBay, but I would like to take on the challenge rebuilding the spindle. If I fail, nothing lost. See a photo of the spindle. The damaged area is about 0.020" or more where it is pitted.

So the strongest repair would be to build up the damaged area by welding then machine it back to 1". A pro might use a spray welding rig, but I have an oxy-acetylene torch. I'm worried that the heat will warp the shaft. Comments on this would be appreciated.

On another website, I found professional machinist comment that you can repair a shaft by brazing (and use a bushing), but that the repair would only last about 1/4 as long as a welded repair. Is there a new metal rod to braze or silver solder the damage that would wear better than standard brazing?

A second thought is to use a low friction bearing + brazed repair. See this bearing.








						McMaster-Carr
					

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.




					www.mcmaster.com
				




Spajo


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## mikey (Jan 6, 2022)

I have nothing to contribute other than to say that I wouldn't bother trying to fix that. If you can buy a new spindle or a really good used one then I would just replace it.


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## benmychree (Jan 6, 2022)

Agree with Mikey.


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## tq60 (Jan 6, 2022)

Gas welding will NOT work.

Shielded welding works on automotive cranks and would work here...but...

It requires an old school engine rebuild equipped to do it and willing to.

It also will warp it greatly, worked in such a shop 40 years ago straightening cranks.

Not all is lost...

They do make shaft sleeves for bearing seals, maybe one could be found that fits.

Or, if you have access to another lathe you could turn this one smaller and add a sleeve then cut to size.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk


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## Spajo (Jan 6, 2022)

tq60 said:


> Gas welding will NOT work.
> 
> Shielded welding works on automotive cranks and would work here...but...
> 
> ...



I was worried about warping. I have a lathe and I have already experimented and found a setup that I think will work to turn the shaft down and keep it true. To be clear, a 1" bushing goes on the end that I photographed, but a pulley assembly goes in the middle, then the back bushing. I would have to either refurbish the whole shaft or use a split sleeve. The question is really how to fill the gap with something smooth which is harder than the bushing.

I could be wrong here, but I don't think new shafts are available. So, I'm for thinking outside the box on this project.

Spajo


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## Nutfarmer (Jan 7, 2022)

It will warp. With a gas torch it will really warp. It can be straightened ,but for a lathe spindle it will be difficult to have any accuracy when finished. Would be easier to make a new one or find a good used one.


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## Spajo (Jan 7, 2022)

Nutfarmer said:


> It will warp. With a gas torch it will really warp. It can be straightened ,but for a lathe spindle it will be difficult to have any accuracy when finished. Would be easier to make a new one or find a good used one.


It seems unanimous that heating the spindle is a bad idea. I've been looking for a used spindle on eBay for several days with no luck. So, I have to either get creative, do it the hard way, or give up.


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## JPMacG (Jan 7, 2022)

I would give Clausing a call.  They stock a surprising amount of OEM parts for old Atlas lathes.  You will need to look up the part number and ask them for it by number.


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## cross thread (Jan 7, 2022)

Hi Spajo , have you seen this guy's ad ? https://www.ebay.com/itm/393570455469?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649


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## Alcap (Jan 8, 2022)

I’m curious, do you have another lathe or access to one that you would be able to do any repair ,either by yourself or free by a friend ? Likewise , for welding ?


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## Spajo (Jan 8, 2022)

cross thread said:


> Hi Spajo , have you seen this guy's ad ? https://www.ebay.com/itm/393570455469?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649


Thanks for sharing the link. I didn't know about this resource.


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## Spajo (Jan 8, 2022)

Alcap said:


> I’m curious, do you have another lathe or access to one that you would be able to do any repair ,either by yourself or free by a friend ? Likewise , for welding ?


I have a new LMS 5100 7" x 16" mini lathe and a Grizzle G0781 drill/mill. My father was a refrigeration mechanic, and I inherited his oxy-acetylene rig and an ancient Hobart stick welder. The welder is 220 and I don't have a convenient place to plug it at the moment.

A friend gave me two incomplete machines and a box of parts -- see the pictures in this post:









						Craftsman 101 and a mystery machine
					

A friend gifted two machines, a Craftsman 101 and a mystery machine. I want to determine how much of the Craftsman 101 is missing and or broken and after that figure out what to do with it. The images that start with C101 are for the Craftsman machine.  C101 issues: 1. Missing lead screw, and...




					www.hobby-machinist.com
				




As it turns out the shaft in the 101.07301 is bad and for some reason the base of the other headstock destroyed.

After discovering what shape the lathes are in, I am not likely to spend much money on these machines and my original ideas about their usefulness to me has changed. I like to fix things and repairing the shaft would be, at a minimum, a learning experience and should I be successful, that would be something to share on this forum.

Finally, I may make attachments for or repurpose the parts that I have, but I will not modify them such that they could not serve as spare parts for these classic machines. One of my fist thoughts was that these machines might serve as experimental machines experimenting with electronic drives. I would like to get one headstock mounted and spinning. Who knows my engineering minded grandson might like a small lathe someday.

 I am certainly open to suggestions about how to use these "assets".


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## Spajo (Jan 9, 2022)

cross thread said:


> Hi Spajo , have you seen this guy's ad ? https://www.ebay.com/itm/393570455469?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649


I sent him a message, I'll let you know when he has time to respond.


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## mattthemuppet2 (Jan 9, 2022)

Do the gouges go all the way around the spindle? How much contact area do you have left with the bearing and what does the bearing look like? From memory the bearing part of the spindle goes back to the lip before the woodruff key for the bull gear, in which case you probably still have enough surface for the bearing. I would carefully stone down any raised parts on the worn area and put it back in. Those bronze bearings are pretty long and the gouges will serve as oil pockets


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## Spajo (Jan 9, 2022)

mattthemuppet2 said:


> Do the gouges go all the way around the spindle? How much contact area do you have left with the bearing and what does the bearing look like? From memory the bearing part of the spindle goes back to the lip before the woodruff key for the bull gear, in which case you probably still have enough surface for the bearing. I would carefully stone down any raised parts on the worn area and put it back in. Those bronze bearings are pretty long and the gouges will serve as oil pockets


matthemuppet2: That is an interesting idea and yes, the bearing still has some smooth shaft to run on. The gouges do not go all the way around the spindle. I show the gouges in the image, but the other side of the spindle is fairly smooth. The bearing is split and there is an oil hole. I will have to look, but my memory is that the bearing isn't that bad, but there is enough shaft wear such that there is some slack. I might shim the bearing to get it to tighten up. It would not take much - 0.020" or so should work. Nothing lost to give this a try. Thanks for the suggestion.


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## wa5cab (Jan 9, 2022)

On the subject of shimming, you cannot shim these sleeve bearings.  The shim material would have to be inside of the sleeve and there would be nothing holding in in place.  My suggestion would be to install new bearings and hope for the best.  And it is not necessary to drill an oil hole as a PO apparently did.  The Oilite sleeve bearings are all made of sintered bronze and are porous.  All that drilling a hole will accomplish is to drastically increase the oil consumption rate and the oil slinging problem.  And in case you haven;t gotten that far yet, the original recommendation was SAE 10 ND.  In the ;ate 50's or early 60's, Atlas changed the viscosity and type to SAE 20 ND. 

Also, do not try to squeeze the bearings smaller by over-tightening the screws.   You will just crack or break the casting and scrap it.


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## Spajo (Jan 9, 2022)

wa5cab said:


> On the subject of shimming, you cannot shim these sleeve bearings.  The shim material would have to be inside of the sleeve and there would be nothing holding in in place.  My suggestion would be to install new bearings and hope for the best.  And it is not necessary to drill an oil hole as a PO apparently did.  The Oilite sleeve bearings are all made of sintered bronze and are porous.  All that drilling a hole will accomplish is to drastically increase the oil consumption rate and the oil slinging problem.  And in case you haven;t gotten that far yet, the original recommendation was SAE 10 ND.  In the ;ate 50's or early 60's, Atlas changed the viscosity and type to SAE 20 ND.
> 
> Also, do not try to squeeze the bearings smaller by over-tightening the screws.   You will just crack or break the casting and scrap it.


Thanks for the info, especially the part about drilling the Oilite sleeve and slinging oil -- I can imagine that for sure! I know it would be simpler to just buy a replacement spindle, but it is my nature to repair something and I learn a lot even if I fail. The bearing is split by PO, so, I was thinking to put the shim on the outside of the bearing to squeeze it down. I've never tried that. If the Oilite is brittle, then it is clear that won't work either.  I reached out to an eBay seller who has a good stock of parts for these machines, I shall soon know what he thinks a spindle is worth.


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## wa5cab (Jan 9, 2022)

I don't really know how brittle Oilite is.  But would guess that it will be more brittle than solid brass.  Also, you would have to somehow make the hole temporarily larger in order to get the bushing and piece of shim stock into the hole.  And assuming success, the center-kine of the bushing will be off of the lathe center line.  Far better to start with new bushings.  And if the spindle is worse on one side and you clean up only that side, the result will be a bearing surface that is off of center-line.  I don;t think that you will be satisfied with the results.  I recommend that you go with new bushings and either new or good used spindle.,


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## cross thread (Jan 13, 2022)

Good luck Spajo . I under stand you wanting a good challenge and to repair the spindle . To me the challenge would be getting all the parts you need to get the 6" running , looking over that pile of parts (the ebay stuff) I see everything you need . Also I see some 618 head stocks , The 618 has Timken roller bearings  (pardon if you knew) . I will be interested to hear about this ebay seller .
Mark .


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## Spajo (Jan 13, 2022)

cross thread said:


> Good luck Spajo . I under stand you wanting a good challenge and to repair the spindle . To me the challenge would be getting all the parts you need to get the 6" running , looking over that pile of parts (the ebay stuff) I see everything you need . Also I see some 618 head stocks , The 618 has Timken roller bearings  (pardon if you knew) . I will be interested to hear about this ebay seller .
> Mark .


The seller hasn't replied to my query so no traction there. If I do hear from the seller, I will follow up with a post. I knew that some Craftsman model(s) had Timken bearings. That would be nice. 

I just started the work to create a 20'x15' area under my house for a shop and I have a long way to go on that. For now, my money will be spent on that. When I started this inquiry, I didn't realize how much it would cost to get the Craftsman lathe running.

Spajo


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## wa5cab (Jan 14, 2022)

For the record, the Atlas 618 and the Craftsman 101.07301 share most parts.  What they don't share are the headstock casting, spindle and bearings.  And aside from one year, the countershaft bracket.  The bull gear and spindle pulley and small spindle gear are the same.  And a good percentage of in-service 101.07301's have the later 618 countershaft assembly.


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## Spajo (Jan 14, 2022)

wa5cab said:


> For the record, the Atlas 618 and the Craftsman 101.07301 share most parts.  What they don't share are the headstock casting, spindle and bearings.  And aside from one year, the countershaft bracket.  The bull gear and spindle pulley and small spindle gear are the same.  And a good percentage of in-service 101.07301's have the later 618 countershaft assembly.


That is great to know.


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## Spajo (Feb 2, 2022)

Spajo said:


> The seller hasn't replied to my query so no traction there. If I do hear from the seller, I will follow up with a post. I knew that some Craftsman model(s) had Timken bearings. That would be nice.
> 
> I just started the work to create a 20'x15' area under my house for a shop and I have a long way to go on that. For now, my money will be spent on that. When I started this inquiry, I didn't realize how much it would cost to get the Craftsman lathe running.
> 
> Spajo


I finally talked to the seller. He has what I need and he was definitely not interested in buying my stuff. 


Spajo said:


> The seller hasn't replied to my query so no traction there. If I do hear from the seller, I will follow up with a post. I knew that some Craftsman model(s) had Timken bearings. That would be nice.
> 
> I just started the work to create a 20'x15' area under my house for a shop and I have a long way to go on that. For now, my money will be spent on that. When I started this inquiry, I didn't realize how much it would cost to get the Craftsman lathe running.
> 
> Spajo


The seller and I finally made contact, and yes he has a good stock of parts. I asked if was interested in buying my parts and the answer was a definite no. So, he has plenty of stock.

Spajo


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## benmychree (Feb 2, 2022)

You could do much better than settling for a Atlas or Craftsman lathe; save some more $ and aim higher.


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## Spajo (Feb 2, 2022)

benmychree said:


> You could do much better than settling for a Atlas or Craftsman lathe; save some more $ and aim higher.


Agreed.


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