# EBAY steal on a craftsman 12x36 lathe on the base.



## master53yoda (Jun 13, 2014)

:winner:    This has been my week for getting lathes etc,   I just got the bid on a 12x36 atlas with gearbox etc for 348.00.    I'm going to pick it up next week.     I got a manual for it from the "vintagemachinery.org"  site 
It looks like it is well oiled so maybe it is in decent shape  we'll see when i get it home.

Last week i bought an MK2 6" and I relisted it on ebay today,  Once I get this up and running I'll sell my 109s. and get some tooling etc for it.


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## wa5cab (Jun 14, 2014)

*Re: EBAY steel on a craftsman 12x36 lathe on the base.*

Yoda,

Good find.  Looks like a Craftsman 101.28970.  There's also a manual on it and the equivalent Atlas 3991 in Downloads.

Robert D.


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## master53yoda (Jun 20, 2014)

*Re: EBAY steel on a craftsman 12x36 lathe on the base.*

I got the lathe home and got into it.    Somewhere it has had a crash.  The Compound has damage on the corners, the change gear quadrant is broken, and the 40tooth gear has a missing tooth   all else appears to be in very good condition at this point.  it has set in a storage shed for about 25 years.


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## hvontres (Jun 21, 2014)

*Re: EBAY steel on a craftsman 12x36 lathe on the base.*

Well, that kind of damage suggests that you lathe has some "experience" :roflmao:

But all in all, that doesn't sound too bad.


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## master53yoda (Aug 30, 2014)

*Re: EBAY steel on a craftsman 12x36 lathe on the base.*

i HAVE THE 3 hP Treadmil motor up and running and have done some tapping and die work,
The controller is the same controller that is on the mill,  i just switch between the lathe and mill with both the tack  /  FPM  and the motor control.

Well i got it cleaned UP and running,  below are the items that still need some work


QCGB gear quadrant was broken in 4 places,  i have brazed it for now but I'm not seeing anything come up on ebay,   has anyone milled one from flat stock or cast one out of aluminum or ZA27.    My casting furnaces aren't up to doing that large a cast iron pour.

the problem when i finally found when i tour down the QCGB  was a bb stuck in the bottom of the 13 thread per inch gear it worked ok on everything else but locked up the gear box and the quadrant was the weakest link,  it also broke a tooth out of the 40 tooth quadrant gear'    The lead screw tail bearing as been jerry rigged so i will pour a replacement for it.  I'm also considering a quick change tool post,   for a none production lathe is the axa large enough or do i need to go to the bxa.  I was looking at about 125.00 from the foreign suppliers of ebay,  if i go that route am I going to cuss at myself.   I have a four sided turret tool post for it now that i could make the other items for , it doesn't have adjustable height settings so I would  need to shim it in for the cutters. 



AXa SET FOR 100.00 + shipping


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## Walsheng (Aug 30, 2014)

*Re: EBAY steel on a craftsman 12x36 lathe on the base.*



master53yoda said:


> I'm also considering a quick change tool post,   for a none production lathe is the axa large enough or do i need to go to the bxa.



I have the BXA on a 12x36 and I wouldn't want anything smaller.

John


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## Smudgemo (Aug 30, 2014)

*Re: EBAY steel on a craftsman 12x36 lathe on the base.*

I have that same exact AXA post on my 12x36, and it's just fine.  No idea whether BXA would be better, but I haven't had any issues.  I suspect you could either way and be happy.  

How about some new pics showing it all cleaned up?

-Ryan


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## Baithog (Aug 30, 2014)

*Re: EBAY steel on a craftsman 12x36 lathe on the base.*

Whether AXA or BXA, spend a few dollars more and get the wedge type post. I am way happier with the wedge.


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## Tool-in-the-Box (Aug 30, 2014)

*Re: EBAY steel on a craftsman 12x36 lathe on the base.*

Hmm, that 4 sided tool post looks familiar.....lol.

I believe the 9-12 in swing uses the AXA but as someone stated the BXA will also work I guess. Either way you should definitely get the wedge type. The price difference would be so small not to do it.

Also, and I could be totally wrong here but didn't that model atlas have some type of clutch or something so you couldn't crash it?


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## wa5cab (Aug 30, 2014)

Over time, people have reported their experience with both the AXA (100 Series) and BXA (200 series) QCTP on the 10" and 12" Atlas or Craftsman lathes.  As far as I can recall, the only AXA owner reports saying that they wished they had bought BXA seem to have been from people who had or had acquired cutters on the next size larger bar (usually 5/8" tall).  There is now a vendor selling AXA holders in 101 and 102 style that will take a 5/8" tall cutter blank.  Price is only slightly more than for the standard 101 and 102 (~$15 each versus $12 if I recall correctly).  I bought one of each JIC, and quality is good.  So that is no longer an issue.

Reports from those who bought BXA seem to be split about evenly between those who are apparently truly happy with the BXA, those who aren't but aren't willing to admit it, and those who say they wish that they had bought AXA. :thinking:  So buy the AXA.

On the piston versus wedge issue, I have had a Yuasa piston type for more than 30 years and never had any reason to regret it.  In all honesty, I have to admit that at the time, the price differential exceeded 200%.  And that I haven't ever used one of the Chinese piston types.  At roughly 20% price differential, I might go for the wedge type today, assuming equivalent quality.  The one thing I would recommend is avoiding the aluminum body tool post.    Oh, one other thing.  Buy several extra 101 style holders (at last count, I had 7).  All of the sets come with only one, plus one 102 which you can also use as though it were a 101.  With only two, as soon as you run a job that uses three cutters, the only advantage you have over the 4-way turret is that you don't have to use shims to center up the cutters.  And buy one #116 dual insert holder.  It is by far my most frequently used holder.

Robert D


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## master53yoda (Aug 30, 2014)

*Re: EBAY steel on a craftsman 12x36 lathe on the base.*



Tool-in-the-Box said:


> Also, and I could be totally wrong here but didn't that model atlas have some type of clutch or something so you couldn't crash it?



the clutch was between the gearbox and the lead screw,   this problem was in the gearbox so there wasn't anything between it and the spindle besides the quadrant breaking and letting go of the gear train.   I really had to dig that BB out of the gear it was totally inbedded in it.    When the PO originally had the problem he must of had it at the lowest speed on the drive with the back gears in or it probably would have just stalled the motor,  the quadrant was borken in 4 places and when I pulled it out it just fell apart.

I'll ask again has anyone made one from flat stock or poured it out of aluminum or ZA27.   

Art B.


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## Andre (Aug 30, 2014)

*Re: EBAY steel on a craftsman 12x36 lathe on the base.*

Nice find!
You mentioned you had some 109's. Love the 109 I have. They get such a bad wrap, and even though they have no dials and a weak spindle and work sticks out too far, when you get one tuned up and work within it's limits it really purrs like a kitten.


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## master53yoda (Aug 31, 2014)

*Re: EBAY steel on a craftsman 12x36 lathe on the base.*



Andre said:


> Nice find!
> You mentioned you had some 109's. Love the 109 I have. They get such a bad wrap, and even though they have no dials and a weak spindle and work sticks out too far, when you get one tuned up and work within it's limits it really purrs like a kitten.



on my 109  I was always going to make a steadyrest but never got around doing it,  I do have the design for it but never poured it.   I did make a 1/2-20 tail stock that got rid of the MT-0 for the chuck and the live center, that made a big difference in the rigidity turning steel.   I used a treadmill motor on mine and was very pleased that i could slow it way down for threading etc.   

I am planning on selling both my 109s  but I need to make a set of gears for the 18" version.   the motor that I was using went on the 12x36,  it was a large 3HP  treadmill motor which is just about right for the larger lathe.   I have  one of the smaller treadmill motors that I will put on the 109 when i  sell it I need to make a pulley for it.


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## TinkerToy (Sep 1, 2014)

wa5cab said:


> And buy one #116 dual insert holder.  It is by far my most frequently used holder.
> 
> Robert D





Robert, I'm not familiar with a 116 tool holder, can you show a picture or a link?
Thanks,
TT


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## wa5cab (Sep 1, 2014)

TT

First one that I turned up is:

http://www.basstool.com/basscat.html#1442

Be patient.  It takes a while to load.  After that, you can turn the pages with the mouse (click and drag right or left).  Bass probably also carries a Chinese made cheaper version but I didn't spend any time looking for it.

This is an Aloris and you probably wouldn't want to know what it costs.  But the Aloris #16 for AXA looks almost exactly like my Yuasa 740-116 and is interchangeable.  

Robert D.


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## master53yoda (Jan 12, 2015)

Well  i got the AXA installed and it works well my next project is to make an ER40 collet adapter for the spindle. the bore in the spindle looks to be a little smaller then 1" and the er40 goes to one inch.   I looked through the threads and haven't found any that talked about doing this for quick accurate set up of shafting through the spindle.   I probably won't buy a full set of collets although they would only be about 150.00 for 1/8th to 1"" by 32nds.  What are the thoughts on using the ER40 for this purpose , and will I need to also put a centering collar on the backside of the spindle for longer pieces of shafting.   I have a set of 3 nuts coming.


Art B


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