# Atlas/craftsman Mill Countershaft Misalignment



## Wheels17 (Feb 19, 2016)

I have a new to me Craftsman horizontal mill.  When I bought it, I had to dimantle it to load it into my car.  I've now rough cleaned many years of dirt and am reassembling it.  I've now run into a problem with the countershaft assembly that is apparent in the attached pictures.

The countershaft mounting point overhangs the mounting pad by about 1/8"  to the face of the mill, with about 3/32 showing on the back end of the pad.

When a scale  is placed along the side of the spindle drive pulley, it looks like the drive assembly is about 1/4" to close to the front of the machine.(spindle gap.jpg)

With the motor all the way toward the face of the machine on the base, the drive assembly looks to be about 1/4" too far toward the front of the mill. (motor-pulley gap.jpg)

When I look at the cover, it lands on the machine about 1/4" too far to the front of the machine. (cover gap.jpg)

It really seems to me that there is a problem with the mounting of the countershaft that could be corrected by elongating the mounting holes 1/4", which would allow the mount to move toward the rear of the machine and correct all the alignment problems.   But, I don't want to do something that drastic in case I'm missing something simple.  There does appear to be a subtle difference in the paint colors on the countershaft vs. the machine that doesn't show up in the pictures, but I don't know whether that is significant.  It could be that a countershaft assembly that was originally on a different machine was installed, but the previous owner is deceased so I can't ask him.

The mill still had Atlas Press Co. belts on the machine, so the misalignment didn't seem to have a  big effect, although the spindle belt was very worn and throwing rubber.

A lot of words,  am I missing something simple???


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## Rob (Feb 19, 2016)

Could you post a picture taken further back so more of the mill is in the pic.  Also could you take a picture of the motor.  It may be a replacement motor with the wrong base.


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## Wheels17 (Feb 20, 2016)

I think you just want to see more of my messy shop  ;-) ...

You may be right about the replacement motor.  The bolts used to attach it were very non-standard, and the paint color is slightly different.  But I'm not sure the mill paint is original.    Most of the mill pictures I've seen look more like the greyish motor color, but there are a few that look more greenish like my mill.  It is a craftsman motor,  maybe 9/55 based on the motor plate.

I've uploaded pictures of the overhang/ lack of overhang where the countershaft bracket attaches to the mill body and a shot of the serial and model number plates.

I'm really less concerned about the motor alignment, that can be fixed in a number of ways.  I'm more concerned about the countershaft pulley/spindle pulley alignment, as repeated in the last image.  That straightedge is along the side of the countershaft pulley.  The countershaft pulley is already displaced away from the bracket (and very firmly stuck on the shaft).  I haven't seen any images that show the location of the driving pulley; it may be meant to be away from the bracket...


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## 34_40 (Feb 20, 2016)

It does seem like it is 2 or more machines pieced together in some ways, doesn't it?
I think you'll just need to "re-engineer" the fit so it all aligns better.  But the inside of yours is head and shoulder cleaner than mine!
Did you disassemble and clean it? Or was someone else "in it"?   I can snap some pics if it helps?  Won't be 'til tomorrow now tho'..


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## CluelessNewB (Feb 20, 2016)

Wheels17 said:


> The countershaft pulley is already displaced away from the bracket (and very firmly stuck on the shaft). I haven't seen any images that show the location of the driving pulley; it may be meant to be away from the bracket...



Unfortunately my machine is disassembled and it will be some time before it will get put back together.   If I remember correctly the countershaft pulley M1-80B was away from the bracket and the L2-679 Pulley and BD1-24 Spindle Collar held the shaft in the correct lateral position.  My machine did not come with the original pulley for the motor so it's possible things may have been changed at some point.  I'm wondering if your countershaft pulley may have moved.  My countershaft has flats about 3/4" long milled for the set screws.  This would allow enough adjustment to account for your misalignment.  If the countershaft set screw came loose, the pulley may have moved a bit before it got wedged.  




Edit:  
Check out this video, at about 4:20 it shows the countershaft pulley about 1/4" away from the bracket.


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## Wheels17 (Feb 20, 2016)

@  30_40, that's after 2 large cans of WD-40, two rolls of paper towels, many rubber gloves, scrapers, brushes, picks, etc...  I've attached an original view of that area.

CluelessNewB, thanks for the information.  I do now remember the flat spot back when I was disassembling the mill for transport.  I pulled the set screws and loosened the collar (BD1-24) intending to slide everything apart, and do remember seeing the flats down the hole.  But everything was jammed up, so I just slid the shaft over enough to get the belt out.  The full picture of the grimy mill shows the offset on the countershaft bracket, so that's not something I've introduced.


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## Firebrick43 (Feb 21, 2016)

Um, you realize sand casting have wide variances right?  The rough castings edges were never ment to align on any any machine.  If they wanted/needed the edges to align they would have machined them.  Owning a MFC myself I can say you making mountains out of molehills 

You align the sheaves with a straight edge and call it good.  May have to move the support or the sheaves on the shaft or both. V belts allow some misalignment but still need to keep alignment within a degree or two.  Align the guards so the stay closed.


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## wa5cab (Feb 21, 2016)

As far as color goes, the Atlas default factory color was dark machinery gray, changed to machinery gray sometime in the 1950's.  But Sears had all sorts of odd colors, mostly greens or blues.  From about 1957 on, the Craftsman color appears to have been machinery gray.  At least on the lathes.


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## Wheels17 (Feb 21, 2016)

@Firebrick43,  I realize that there are tolerances, but everything seems to be too far to the front of the machine.  I really have to dig into it and find the flats CluelessNewB is talking about.  That should give me a better sense of  how things should be aligned.


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## Rob (Feb 22, 2016)

Don't know if this picture of mine will help but here it is.


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## Wheels17 (Feb 22, 2016)

Thank you!!  That tells me exactly what I wanted to know.  I didn't see that view anywhere on a google image search.


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## Wheels17 (Mar 9, 2016)

Thank you to all who assisted me with this problem.   After much measurement and head scratching, I set up the countershaft assembly in my vertical mill, and gently machined the mounting slot 5/16 over horizontally.  Everything now lines up perfectly.  
Here's the setup, before I completed leveling it with shims between the angle plate and the countershaft bracket, held tight with the large machinist's clamp.  Fortunately, this didn't need much precision.


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## 34_40 (Mar 10, 2016)

Interesting setup! Seems it is always a challenge in it self when "re-working" a bracket like that.

Glad your making good progress too!


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## Wheels17 (Mar 11, 2016)

It would have been much easier on a horizontal mill, but......


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