# Atlas M F Horizonatal Mill Rebuild



## Fairbanks

Greetings All,

Rebuild of my Mill is underway.  When it came to me it was basically a mess but came with a nice batch of tooling and the cast legs, which I am told aren't very common.  Since it has been painted several times over the years I decided to strip and repaint, I prefer a machine with the original finish and what ever "patina" has developed over the years but this one was to far gone.  So here's a few pictures to get started.  I'll be adding more as time goes on but due to limited time and the need to track down a few parts as I go I expect it will take a while. Here you go-

The base after strip and repaint-
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The first parts to be stripped and painted-



Parts waiting in queue for strip and repaint-


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## 34_40

NICE!  And it looks like yours has the guards too.  Can't wait to see your next installment.


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## Fairbanks

Actually that one belt guard you see was an eBay find.  I hope to add others as I find them. They look pretty cool!

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


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## 34_40

Yes, they do make the machine look "finished".   My MF didn't / doesn't have any. And for what they cost, it'll stay without any!


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## Fairbanks

Greetings All,

So I was at it again tonight and made a little more progress.

This evenings subject-



The Name tag-



The Cover Plate-



OK so she's an early MF with the 4 pulley system, right?  Well, no.  Looks like a 3 pulley system-




So let's get her apart-



Bare with me I'm a rank amateur-



That's all (for tonight) folks-



Any thoughts on what I have here?  The pictures show an early 4 spool name tag/cover plate and a 3 spool spindle.  Any thoughts on what's original and what's replaced?

Experts please chime in!

Steve


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## 34_40

Apparantely in it's lifetime it's been repaired or perhaps parts swapped.. 
who knows what a previous owner may have done to keep it going.


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## wa5cab

I would assume that it was originally a 16-speed MF and a PO converted it to a 12-speed.  He should have also changed the countershaft bracket and hanger, and the back gear and large and small spindle gears.


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## Fairbanks

A little more progress this evening.

Front spindle bearing on it's way out-




Timken 07087, at least I think that's an 8-




Both races are in rough shape, rear worse than the front-



So here's what has been taken out so far.  Need to make a tool to remove the  bearing races-




Time to clean up a bit-



Next is to strip and repaint the head casting, replacement bearings and assembly.

Thanks for checking in.

Steve


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## Bradrock

Nice work! And I agree that your legs are rare. I've searched 'Atlas Legs' on Ebay every week for at least three years now. There are always several sets. But unfortunately  for me, they are always $350.00 to $550.00 a set plus shipping. I have never seen a set like yours. It is that extra 'Art Deco' like relief detail on the side of each leg. All I have seen are just plain & smooth.
I like yours so much that I would be  tempted to pay the Ebay  type prices. 
Very very cool!


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## 34_40

Wow those bearings look dry.  Good thing you've pulled 'em for inspection. 
And thanks for all the high quality pics too, much appreciated!

You'll have her whipped back into shape in no time!


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## Fairbanks

Made a little more progress over the weekend.

Made a simple tool for pulling the bearing races from a 7/8" bolt, nut and a few washers-



Here's the set up.  Apply a little heat to the spindle housing and tighten the nut-



Seems to work-



Rear race is in rough shape, front is not to bad-



Now for stripping the paint off of the head casting-


Stripping paint is definitely my least favorite task!

15 minutes of waiting, some scraping and then clean up-



Set up for painting in the driveway-



Primer and 2 coats later, I'll add a couple more coats after the first two "cure" for a few of days-



I have been doing the painting out in the sun on warm days.  This really seems to make the paint smooth out nicely.

Next step is to track down a new set of spindle bearings, clean up all of the spindle drive parts and then begin reassembly.

Thanks for checking in!


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## Ulma Doctor

there may be some #'s on the bearing cup and cone. those are timken tapered roller bearing part numbers .
you can take those numbers and order them from most bearing suppliers.
if you have any difficulty, i'd be happy to assist you in getting some.
great lil machines!


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## Fairbanks

There are some numbers. I'll see what I can find out. Thanks.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


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## VSAncona




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## 34_40

Seems I'm a bit late to the party..  LOL..
You're doing a great job in your refurbish,  it'll look brand new when you've finished! Good job on the "puller", slick setup.
I see Vince A. shared pics of the bearing he used and others have offered help should you need it.

A great group we've got right here!!  Glad you're a part of it..


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## Fairbanks

A little more progress today, ordered the new spindle bearings. The ones I removed are- Timken P/N's cup- 07196, bearing- 07087.  About $70.00.

By the way, I found this machine in Southern Oregon, it came from an estate sale.  My dear sweet wife and 3 dogs thought it would be a great opportunity for a cosmic road trip along the Oregon coast.  Turned out to be a great trip.  Here are the pictures I should have started with- 

The machine as was-



Every body likes a great pair of legs, right?-



Original vice with handle-



A dividing head from an unknown maker (any thoughts?)-



And several boxes of odd and ends.

Thanks for checking in, More later.....


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## Fairbanks

VSAncona said:


>



Yup, Those are the ones!


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## 34_40

Wow, you got an original light, AND a original vise...  WITH the handle/crank!

And then a index/dividing head  WITH tail stock!!    All sitting on top of those awesome legs..   And yes..


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## Ulma Doctor

you got one heck of a nice tooling package there, the dividing head may be worth it's weight in gold


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## Fairbanks

My latest eBay find!




Yikes! My apologies for the sideways photo. Not sure how to rotate it.  Still trying to figure out Tapatalk and my phone camera...

Anyway, the original cover is on top, the new one on the bottom.  I am pretty sure the original (SN 00600) came with the 4 spool configuration and was changed to a 3 spool configuration at a later date.  This being the case, I figured it was easier to replace the cover plate than the 4 spool drive.

Keep on Rockin Brothers and Sisters!

Steve


Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


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## wa5cab

Steve,

I fixed it by downloading the file, rotating it with software known not to have this problem, and then uploading it again.  But that takes a lot of time.  

I'm not certain of the details (JPEG versus JPEG2000 maybe???  Or maybe Apple just trying to cause trouble for most of the world???).  But the culprit is probably the software on your not-so-smart-phone.  Your work-around is to download your photo(s) from your phone to a computer.  Open it/them with something like Irfanview and rotate and explicitely save them back to the compute and the first time that you do it, open them again to confirm that they actually got rotated in the JPG file.  Then upload from the computer to the site.  

A better solution would be to get a decent camera, but of course that costs money.


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## wa5cab

You're probably right on the difficulty of converting it back to the 4-step pulleys.  Not much problem to find the 4-step countershaft pulley, as it is the same as the one used on the Atlas 612 and 618, and the Craftsman 101.07301 and 101.21400.  But the 4-step spindle pulley "ain't".


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## Fairbanks

Robert, thanks for your help with the picture. I have a couple of nice digital cameras, uploading to the computer is definitely the way to go for manipulating pictures. The phone is handy and takes great pictures but has its limits.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


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## Fairbanks

Got a few more items finished up this weekend-

Here's the Light, lot of little parts to refinish (not fun)-




Base and Head mounted on stand-





New spindle bearings should be here tomorrow.  Time to start cleaning some parts and prepping for the reassembly.

Thanks for stopping by.

Steve


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## Green Frog

That's a beauty!  The MFC languishing in my basement waiting to be activated is sitting on one of the cabinet-style bases, painted a particularly hideous shade of John Deere Trim Yellow.  I think the legs on yours add a certain elegance.

Froggie


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## 34_40

The light looks like it's in excellent shape. And the legs / top do give the unit a really good look overall. 

Congrats, it's coming together!!


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## Fairbanks

Wahoo, my new bearings are here, Plenty of good stuff to work on when the weekend gets here!



So, while your here, what's this extra hole in this part for?  This is an M1-8 Arbor Support, I replaced the 1/4" Allen head cap screw and couldn't think of a good reason for the thru hole right above it, it doesn't show up in the manual I have.  Is this typical or something someone drilled in after market for unknown reasons?



All  The Best!

Steve


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## Ulma Doctor

Hi Steve,
great news, congrats on the bearings, i'm happy for you!!!
the lower hole has 2 zamak plugs machined with a radius on an end. 
the 1/4-20 screw ,when tightened, draws the 2 zamak plugs together- affixing the support to the ram solidly.

as for the upper hole, i have no clue as to why someone would desecrate the casting


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## wa5cab

I don't recognize it, either.  However, the Zamak plugs (called M6-44 Lock and M6-45 Sleeve) are only used in the M1-60, and the bolt is a square head..  The M1-8 is split from the top (bottom in your photo) through the hole that the M1-9 Support Arm slides through.  And the 1/4-20 Socket Head Cap Screw tightens the split around the Support Arm.


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## 34_40

I haven't a clue!?!?

I guess you'll need to package it all up and send it to me for safe keeping....


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## Rodney Young

Looking good Steve, almost makes me wish I had repainted mine when I had it all apart. Almost....too many projects for now though!
  Rodney


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## Fairbanks

Rodney, The refinishing part of this project has been time consuming!  I would have preferred to not refinish but the poor old machine had a few to many hack paint jobs over the years.  
Right now I'm in the process of gathering a few parts that I need an then I'll get back to the overhaul.
Good luck with your mill!

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


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## Fairbanks

Greetings All,

It's been a while since I have posted on this topic.  I've been gathering a few parts that will be necessary to get the top end fully functioning.  Almost there, stay tuned!

Steve


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## 34_40

Fairbanks said:


> Greetings All,
> It's been a while since I have posted on this topic.  I've been gathering a few parts that will be necessary to get the top end fully functioning.  Almost there, stay tuned! Steve



Whew!  All the mill threads have gone quiet...   I was starting to get withdrawal symptoms...


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## Rodney Young

34_40 said:


> Whew!  All the mill threads have gone quiet...   I was starting to get withdrawal symptoms...


No kidding,
  I thought I would be well on my way to completion of my mill and lathe restoration but the "patio restoration" has trumped the other restorations for now!! Just finally got the bearings for the counter shaft for the lathe... hope I remember how to put the mill and lathe back together when I finally get going on them again? Gonna need some heat in the garage this winter to keep the lathe restoration going for sure, luckily the mill is in the basement so I can work on it when its too cold to work outside.
  Rodney


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## WisJim

I'm enjoying going back and rereading many of the Atlas mill threads, as I picked up an MF yesterday.  It was the first one I've found in the last 3 or 4 years or more within a reasonable distance, and it turned out to be less than 10 miles from home.  Tried it out a bit before buying it, then loaded it in the truck and hauled it home.  It has the proper vise and handle, 1" arbor,  and about 35+ cutters and a few slitting saws, some clamping pieces, a short arbor (for slitting saws?), and some other odds and ends.  Need to get it into the shop when my son and some of his friends have time to carry it in for me, then clean up and make a base or stand for it.

Jim


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## Rodney Young

WisJim said:


> I'm enjoying going back and rereading many of the Atlas mill threads, as I picked up an MF yesterday.  It was the first one I've found in the last 3 or 4 years or more within a reasonable distance, and it turned out to be less than 10 miles from home.  Tried it out a bit before buying it, then loaded it in the truck and hauled it home.  It has the proper vise and handle, 1" arbor,  and about 35+ cutters and a few slitting saws, some clamping pieces, a short arbor (for slitting saws?), and some other odds and ends.  Need to get it into the shop when my son and some of his friends have time to carry it in for me, then clean up and make a base or stand for it.
> 
> Jim


Hi Jim,
Congrats on your purchase! I think it is seldom the case where you get that many  accessories with the mill to make it a truly functional unit! Give us some pictures when you get a chance.
  Rodney


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## wa5cab

How long is the short arbor?  Does it actually mount horizontal mill cutters?  Atlas didn't actually make a short arbor.  But they did make a Weldon style end mill holder.  If it does mount circular milling cutters, your guess about slitting saws is probably as good as any.


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## 34_40

Welcome Aboard  WisJim!  Sounds like you scored quite the prize there..

Now we'll need a new thread and pictures of course...


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## Fairbanks

Hey Jim,
Have fun with your new mill, sounds like a beauty!

Steve


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## Fairbanks

OK, so I have gathered up a few necessary parts and have a little time to get back to my project. The old saying about the journey being more important than the destination (or something like that...) comes to mind.  Although I really want this project done, the research, locating parts and putting the puzzle back together has been a lot of fun.  Here's a couple of pictures of where things are now.  Also, Please have a look at the Back Gear question at the end, I could use a little help with this part of the assembly.

My goal here is to get the entire drive system assembled and functioning properly before I start on the rest.  Here's the assembly so far-



Ordered a fairly complete set of oilite bushings from McMaster Carr-



I contacted Clausing for the motor and countershaft pulleys.  They had one but not the other. I decided to try to work with these zinc die cast pulleys and new shaft material, they are the same diameters as the original design.  I would like to try and put together assembled pairs to replace the original double pulleys.  Stay Tuned-



Needed a replacement and found this engage/ dis-engage lever. The milled shaft is wrong but I can make a new one.  I guess it was the original cast elbow and the Bakelite knob that sucked me in-



OK, so here's where I could use a little help.  I found out the back gears need to be installed before the spindle is installed.  The Back Gears install easily enough but I'm not sure I have done this correctly.  Please have a look and tell me what you think.

Back Gear lever in the "UP" position, Back Gears are engaged-



Back Gear lever in the "DOWN" position, Back Gears are dis-engaged-



Here's the assembly with the lever all the way out-



So here's where I am a bit confused, The shaft slides freely in and out and this doesn't seem right to me. I can set it in either the engage or dis-engaged position but the entire assembly is free to slide in and out by about a 1/2 inch.  I am not sure if this correct, maybe it is.  Any feed back on the correct way to assemble the Back Gears will be greatly appreciated, Please chime in!

Thanks for looking!

Steve


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## Fairbanks

Hmmm, I may have answered my own question.  It looks like I need to install the two M1-254 collars, missed them on the first try (duhhh!). Also it looks like the M6-255 washer is missing.  I have an oilite washer I can replace it with.  Wouldn't you know it, those two collars I left out take up the 1/2" that I was questioning.  Now for re-assembly and we'll see how it works-


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## Silverbullet

I don't know if that's the correct way? Can the lever be turned 180 degrees , or is there a missing detent or spring? If it's free moving the gears can collide and cause damage. Has to be something to keep them in position. Or I hope there is. Gary


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## Green Frog

WisJim said:


> I'm enjoying going back and rereading many of the Atlas mill threads, as I picked up an MF yesterday.  It was the first one I've found in the last 3 or 4 years or more within a reasonable distance, and it turned out to be less than 10 miles from home.  Tried it out a bit before buying it, then loaded it in the truck and hauled it home.  It has the proper vise and handle, 1" arbor,  and about 35+ cutters and a few slitting saws, some clamping pieces, a short arbor (for slitting saws?), and some other odds and ends.  Need to get it into the shop when my son and some of his friends have time to carry it in for me, then clean up and make a base or stand for it.
> 
> Jim



That short arbor may have been made on the plans Rudi Kouhapt made in HSMabout twenty years ago... it looked like a very useful accessory.


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## 34_40

Silverbullet said:


> Can the lever be turned 180 degrees , or is there a missing detent or spring? Gary



The handle has a spring loaded "pin" that secures the shaft from unwanted turning.

Looking Good Fairbanks!


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## Rodney Young

Silverbullet said:


> I don't know if that's the correct way? Can the lever be turned 180 degrees , or is there a missing detent or spring? If it's free moving the gears can collide and cause damage. Has to be something to keep them in position. Or I hope there is. Gary


The part in your parts diagram called the lock plunger will go into locating holes the mill housing, you will see 2 holes in the mill body close to the hole in the body that the shaft goes through, on mine the plunger has a knob on it that I have to pull out to allow the plunger to pull out of the hole so I can move the lever to engage or disengage the back gears.
  Rodney


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## Fairbanks

Excellent feed back, Thank You!

Got things together and they seem to work.  Pictures and details soon.....


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## Fairbanks

She Runs!  With the excellent feedback from you folks and a bit of head scratching I got the back gears working properly. Installed the spindle and then countershaft system.  Everything seems to work well and run quietly.  Here's where we are right now-



Next project will be the "Change-O-Matic" gear guard / change gear system. Dis-assemble, clean, strip, paint, re-assemble, trouble shoot.  Last but not least will be the table and drive system.  Getting there slowly but surely...

Steve


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## 34_40

That's great news.. Congrats!

I think your electric switch needs to turn 90 degrees to the right or the table will hit the conduits.


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## Rodney Young

Fairbanks said:


> She Runs!  With the excellent feedback from you folks and a bit of head scratching I got the back gears working properly. Installed the spindle and then countershaft system.  Everything seems to work well and run quietly.  Here's where we are right now-
> View attachment 134008
> 
> 
> Next project will be the "Change-O-Matic" gear guard / change gear system. Dis-assemble, clean, strip, paint, re-assemble, trouble shoot.  Last but not least will be the table and drive system.  Getting there slowly but surely...
> 
> Steve


Very nice!! Only problem I see.....I am now going to have to repaint mine, after seeing yours I can't help myself?? 
 Rodney


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## Rodney Young

Hey Steve,
 Can you measure the 2 arms of the light? It looks identical other than the shield over the bulb to the one that came with a Hardinge lathe I bought a while ago for parts. I know these are impossible to find but the Hardinge ones might be easier to find for those who want something very close to the original. Here's a pic. of mine.


  Rodney


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## Fairbanks

Hey 34_40- I think you are right, I'll get that taken care of.

Rodney- dimensions from ball center to ball center: top arm is 12 ", bottom arm is 12.5".  I saw one of these lights on the auction site last week in "Excellent Original Condition."  It was $200 (Yikes!!).

Steve


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## Rodney Young

Hardinge light is 10 1/2" on bottom arm and 11 1/2" for top arm.
  Rodney


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## Fairbanks

Getting there, slowly but surely, getting there...

Here are the parts for my Change-O-Matic after cleaning and stripping paint from the castings.  The gearing system is in pretty good shape, not excellent.  Some of the gears show some wear, not heavy wear.  I think I'm going to just re-assemble, lube and give it a try.  Somehow I forgot to take some "before" pictures of the Change-O-Matic gearing system.  The old lubricants had gummed up and hardened so badly it looked like someone had dribbled glue all over it.  After soaking in kerosene, scrapping, brushing and chipping everything cleaned up nicely.




Here we are out in the "Paint Shop."




Busy week coming up so I probably won't get back to this soon.  After re-assembling these components I'll get what I have functioning properly and move on the last major component, the knee/table assembly.

I picked this old timer up 15 months ago, it seems like it's taken an eternity to get this far.  I hope to be cutting a few chips by Christmas.....


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## 34_40

Glad you made time for another "installment"..  LOL..
It is coming along just splendid, nice work.


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## Fairbanks

Last weekend I spent a little time assembling and installing the "Change-O-Matic."  Here's what we have:

The gear drive assembly ready for installation-



Back of the mill, ready for assembly-



Back housing with gearing system installed-



While I'm at it I might as well move the electrical. As you may recall I had it mounted on the front of the machine where it can interfere with the movement of the table-



Here's the assembly with the electrical mounted at the rear of the mill, comfortably out of the way-



Everything seems to work, all gears are functional and shifting from one speed to another is simple.  There is a little more gear noise than I would like, this is probably due to gear wear.  I am planning to run as is for the time being.  Maybe this assembly will get a separate overhaul in the future.  We'll see.....

Here's the last major component, the table and knee assembly.  Next steps will be dis-assemble, clean, strip, inspect, re-assemble, install and trouble shoot:



Once this assembly is complete and installed I should have a functional machine that needs adjustments, a little more tooling and some projects.

Depending on weather I might get a little more work done this weekend.

Steve


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## 34_40

It's coming along just great.  You're almost home!


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## Fairbanks

Start-



Step one, done-



Well, that wasn't to hard.  All the little parts are soaking in kerosene.  The big parts need some serious cleaning.

Rock on brothers and sisters.

Steve


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## brino

Hi Steve,

I got here late, but I gotta say............WOW! 

You are making great progress. It has been a lot of fun to read, and I have read every word of every post.

Thanks for the vicarious journey!

-brino


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## Fairbanks

Greetings from Montana!
It's been a while since any progress has been made on the Atlas.  Over the last couple of weeks I have gotten back to it and finished up.  Have a look.

The knee and table are the last items to be installed, here they are cleaned and painted:



Replaced the X and Y drive screw units with these aftermarket units:



The Mill before the table and knee installation:



A few shots of the almost finished Mill:









Remaining work includes modifying the counter shaft and motor pulley's and installing the belt guards:



Here's a neat item that came with the Mill.  It looks like a shop made dividing head.  It seems to be fully functional and very nicely made:



So this is it.  The Mill is as done as possible with the iron that it came with. Just a little tuning and  a few odds and ends.

Time to start figuring out what I need for tooling and start cutting some chips!

Steve


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## 34_40

WOW, nice job Fairbanks.
A neat looking Dividing Head / Tail Stock too.   Color me green with envy!


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## Rodney Young

Very nice,
  Always good to see a machine brought back to life, sure like that stand! Have to get back to the rebuild on mine one of these days...
  Rodney


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## willthedancer

Loved this thread. please keep us up to date!


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## A618fan2

Now that's just plain sexy!  Nice work.

John


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