# Atlas lathe questions



## emorain (Oct 20, 2019)

Hey everyone.  So I am new to machining and picked up an Atlas 10 x 36 lathe.  I have some questions mostly about getting it up and going.  In the picture is what I have a back plate?  Can i just bolt a chuck up to it? 
It looks like the plate is 6 inch diameter.  Do I buy a 6 inch chuck?
Secondly is this lathe considered a mini lathe? When shopping for chucks and other parts I see mini lathe as a category. 
 So on this carriage can i put a quick change tool post and would an OXA. Be the right one? 
Thanks ahead of time. The lathe came with nothing other than a full set of gears.
Thanks for the help the lathe came with nothing other than a full set if gears


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## Latinrascalrg1 (Oct 20, 2019)

I believe  that is considered a dog drive face plate not a back plate for a chuck.
Basically a 5" chuck would handle almost 10" (probably closer to 9.5")of work holding before before its opened jaws or work come into contact with the ways even less space over the carriage.  I would probably go with a 6" chuck if it were me.
I wouldnt consider that a mini lathe, more a small home Hobbyist lathe I guess!
AXA is the size qctp you want and for the price I would recommend looking at a Bolstar AXA kit for around $140ish.


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## emorain (Oct 20, 2019)

Thank you.  So i need to buy a backplate and chuck combo that will go onto this spindle.  Thank you for the suggestions.
I am going to tear this one down and just clean oil etc.  It looks to be pretty well taken care of.


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## Aaron_W (Oct 20, 2019)

I don't know a lot about Atlases specifically, but I think I can answer some of your questions.

It looks like it has a faceplace attached. That is not for a chuck, a faceplate is used in place of a chuck to hold your work. These days it would mostly be used with odd shaped pieces that won't fit in a chuck or collets.

I believe Atlas lathes have a threaded spindle, so you would want a chuck with the right threading. I would guess a 1-1/2x8 thread, but just a guess as that is what is on my 10" Logan. As far as size probably a 5 or 6" chuck. If you go bigger you have to worry about the jaws sticking out too far at maximum capacity and hitting parts of the lathe. At roughly 1/2 the nominal diameter (10" in your case) you should be safe.

OXA tool posts are usually found on the smallest mini-lathes, I think you are probably looking at an AXA on yours. 

As far as if it is a mini-lathe? 10" seems to be the cut off, some people consider some 10" lathes to be the big end of mini-lathes, others the small end of "real" lathes. The name doesn't really matter. Many sellers who cater to mini-lathes do carry tooling and supplies suitable for use on 10" lathes.

I've bought stuff from the Little Machine Shop for both my very small 3.5" Sherline and my 10" Logan. I have their OXA size QCTP on the Sherline and have been happy with it. They do make an AXA size as well.  

There is an Atlas specific forum here where you may get more specific information. There are a few on the site that know these lathes very well.


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## emorain (Oct 20, 2019)

Hey Aaron, so I got that faceplate off.. tapped it with a rubber mallet spun right off.  It looks like the threads are 1 1/2 by 8.  
So I have been looking to see if I could buy a chuck with a back plate.  I do not seem to have any luck finding a combination.  I see a lot of blank back plates out there without the holes for mounting a chuck.  Is that pretty standard? Can you guys suggest a back plate chuck setup?, or do I just drill my own holes for mounting a chuck in one of these blanks?


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## emorain (Oct 20, 2019)

I did find one. 








						6" 3 Jaw Reversible Jaw Self Center Lathe Chuck+1-1/2"-8 Back Plate TIR Cert L[  | eBay
					

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 6" 3 Jaw Reversible Jaw Self Center Lathe Chuck+1-1/2"-8 Back Plate TIR Cert L[ at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!



					www.ebay.com
				



From what I am gathering, backplates are usually made on the lathe to insure accuracy with the spindle?  So I would be better to buy a blank drill my own mounting holes then pick up the chuck(s) I want.


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## T Bredehoft (Oct 21, 2019)

emorain said:


> So I would be better to buy a blank drill my own mounting holes then pick up the chuck(s) I want.


Uh...I'd buy the chuck before I drilled the holes in the faceplate. You'll wan tot mount your blank face plate on current plate, bore and thread it to fit on the lathe, put it on the lathe and face it off flat and bore a pilot for the chuck to fit into.


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## emorain (Oct 21, 2019)

That is what I meant T.  Pick the chuck(s) I want, get blank back plates then drill the holes for the chucks.  I don't currently have a back plate to mount anything to without something I am missing.  I have what Rascal called a dog drive face plate.  Maybe some kind of T bolts or something to clamp to it to hold work?  I haven't found a lot of information on how to use it yet, still getting my feet wet with terms, not even sure what search for yet lol.


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## wa5cab (Oct 21, 2019)

Aaron,

This IS the Atlas Forum.

emorain,

The face plate that you have is NOT for attaching a plain-back chuck to.  Backing plates do not have radial slots.  The design of the one visible in your photograph is primarily for driving lathe dogs which are used to drive mostly long rods up to about1" or 1.5" diameter that  are mounted between centers.  The one that you have can also be used for mounting some odd shaped parts that will not fit into any standard chuck.  The other commonly found face plate has 6 radial slots and none of them usually include one slot cut all of the way to the OD.

On chucks, you probably want no larger than about 5" diameter for a 3-jaw chuck on a 10" swing lathe.  And certainly no more than 6".  You are probably better off buying a chuck that is made to fit your spindle already.  Which is 1-1/2"-8 threads.  The problems with buying a plain back chuck and buying a separate backing plate and having to then fit the backing plate to the chuck are (1) time and effort and the chance of ending up with a chuck that won't run true, and (2) the resultant will be a chuck that hangs out farther from the headstock than it has to, which wastes space, and is inherently less accurate because it will magnify any angular runout.   A chuck that is already made to fit your spindle will cost more than a plain-back but it arrives ready to go to work.  Buying a plain-back chuck and then having to buy and machine a backing plate is false economy.

I don't know that there is any book with a hard definition of "minilathe".  But whenever I see the term, I automatically assume that it is smaller than 6".

I agree with others who have said that the correct size of QCTP for a 10" swing lathe is an AXA.  0XA is too small, and BXA is too large.


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## Aaron_W (Oct 21, 2019)

emorain said:


> Hey Aaron, so I got that faceplate off.. tapped it with a rubber mallet spun right off.  It looks like the threads are 1 1/2 by 8.
> So I have been looking to see if I could buy a chuck with a back plate.  I do not seem to have any luck finding a combination.  I see a lot of blank back plates out there without the holes for mounting a chuck.  Is that pretty standard? Can you guys suggest a back plate chuck setup?, or do I just drill my own holes for mounting a chuck in one of these blanks?



Yes, you generally buy a chuck, and a back plate then machine the backplate to fit. The benefit to that added work, is the chuck will be more accurate because it was custom fit to that specific lathe. You can also sometimes buy a chuck with a matched pre-drilled back plate so you just need to turn it down to fit. 

If you are uncomfortable doing that at this point, 1-1/2x8 is very common, so you can find used chucks that came with integral threading or have already been done. Here is an Atlas branded 5" 3 jaw chuck but you are probably paying a bit of a premium for the brand name, there are a couple others on ebay for less than $150.  




wa5cab said:


> Aaron,
> 
> This IS the Atlas Forum.




So it is. 

Sorry I got in from the new posts tab and somehow thought he was in the beginners forum.


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## Latinrascalrg1 (Oct 21, 2019)

Buy one of these in the link already ready to mount on the spindle to be faced to fit the chuck of your choosing, most likely a "plain back" chuck.  Or if you can find one in your price range something like a Buck Adjust-Tru 3 jaw with an integrated 1.5"x8tpi mount so no intermediate back plate is needed. This type of chuck is an adjustable 3 jaw scroll chuck that can be dialed in tight.....Basically its like having a 3 jaw scroll chuck mounted into a 4 jaw independent chuck giving you the best of both worlds.


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## emorain (Oct 21, 2019)

wa5cab said:


> Aaron,
> 
> This IS the Atlas Forum.
> 
> ...


This is exactly what I was looking for.  Thank you so much.  I want to build this up correctly regardless of cost.  If that takes me saving a bit longer to get an integrated chuck that is what I will do.  I did not realize that a chuck could be threaded to spin on the spindle itself.  That changes things.


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## Latinrascalrg1 (Oct 21, 2019)

Lol i didnt post the link to the back plate, sorry!





__





						5" 1-1/2"-8 Threaded Back Plates
					

<!-- <ul><li>Thread size: 1-1/2 - 8<br /></li><li>Diameter A: 5.079"</li><li>B: .709"</li><li>C: .826"</li><li>D: 2.677</li></ul> -->




					www.shars.com


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## emorain (Oct 21, 2019)

HAHA, thanks yeah I was looking for it.  I ended up on shars site and found those.  Seem a decent price.  Is Shars a decent brand for durability etc?  The link I posted was for a chuck/back plate combo.  If given the option, is there a better choice between integrated threaded chuck, or backplate chuck combo?  I get you lose work area but is there any other downsides?


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## Latinrascalrg1 (Oct 21, 2019)

Honestly unless you plan on spending the Really BIG $$$$ on a legitimate quality Brand buying new or come across  one of the Adjust-Tru type chucks with the intergrated spindle threading, my opinion is a 2 piece setup would be better because there is the fact that you "customize" the part that mounts directly to the lathe giving you better runout results if that makes sense.

Having a 2 piece setup does not necessarily mean you are gonna loose a huge portion of your bed length capacity.  There are ways to decrease the added "length" of the chuck and back plate if its that much of an issue plus you already have a face plate that can be modified with some threaded holes to clamp work directly to the plate or turn between centers, both of which negate the need for a chuck.


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## wa5cab (Oct 21, 2019)

Unfortunately, there may not be anyone still making chucks with two-piece bodies (no separate backing plate).  So aside from finding one that is NOSB (New-Old Stock in the original Box), your choices may be between a used USA one and a new Chinese or Polish one.  With the USA one coming ready to use but no way other than grinding to correct runout if there is any.

Also, the other thing that you have to watch out for if buying a used 3-jaw chuck (made anywhere) that has solid or one-piece jaws is that unlike on 4-jaw independent chucks, you cannot turn the jaws around to handle larger diameter work pieces.  Solid jaw chucks come new with two sets of jaws.  And more often than not, the outer jaw set has been lost.  So before buying one, make sure that it comes with both sets of jaws.

I've had my 12x36 for many years and have an original Atlas 3-jaw and a Buck style with two-piece jaws that was actually made by Pratt-Bernerd.  Starting off, most of us either can't afford or don't want to spend that much all at once.  But don't buy cheap, telling yourself that you'll buy the "good' one later and sell off the cheap one.  More often than not, you get stuck with the cheap one.


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## Aaron_W (Oct 21, 2019)

emorain said:


> HAHA, thanks yeah I was looking for it.  I ended up on shars site and found those.  Seem a decent price.  Is Shars a decent brand for durability etc?



Shars is mostly import stuff, but its not the bottom end. If you are willing / able to spend the money you can certainly find better but I've been happy with the things I've bought from them. You do have to watch the shipping though, for some reason their shipping varies from reasonable to  without much rhyme or reason.

Little Machine Shop which I linked to above is another I've been happy with. Not the cheapest, but they also don't sell the really low end stuff. They do carry a fair amount of stuff appropriate for use on a 10" lathe.


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## MikeInOr (Oct 21, 2019)

Both of the chucks I have for my Atlas 12 lathe are the one piece type with integrated threads and no separate backplate.  They seem well matched to the precision of the lathe.  I do agree that a backplate that is cut on the lathe itself is probably a better, more precise way to go.


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