# Atlas 10" Handle Repair



## Strtspdlx (Jul 4, 2015)

Well I got tired of the compound handle on my atlas lathe not having the handle on the end. So luckily the knob had broken off in the ball. So I went ahead and started drilling trying to remove the old shaft and got lucky and had the end come out leaving the factory bore intact. So after careful measurement I went ahead in making a press for knob. I made a forming tool and used an unknown grade of SS to make the knob. Dimensions were only for rough In. I tried for roughly 1/3rd scale of the sample I had on the cross slide knob which isn't correct to my lathe anyway. Any questions ask away. 








Regards-Carlo


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## plus1hdcp (Jul 4, 2015)

Looks good to me!  Thanks for sharing.


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## Strtspdlx (Jul 5, 2015)

I probably should've mentioned the handle wasn't pressed in completely just started to check clearances and such. Here's after tapping it in with a brass mallet. 
	

		
			
		

		
	

View attachment 106812



Regards-Carlo


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## wa5cab (Jul 5, 2015)

Carlo,

Looks good.  

Now you need to face the hex nut on the compound feed screw to be like the one on the cross slide screw.  Else you are going to bugger the counterbore on the crank and/or pull the threads off of the screw.  Plus it looks like a jerry rig.


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## thomas s (Jul 5, 2015)

Nice job it looks good.


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## Strtspdlx (Jul 5, 2015)

wa5cab said:


> Carlo,
> 
> Looks good.
> 
> Now you need to face the hex nut on the compound feed screw to be like the one on the cross slide screw.  Else you are going to bugger the counterbore on the crank and/or pull the threads off of the screw.  Plus it looks like a jerry rig.



I'm actually trying to locate the correct nut for the compound. The cross slide is a complete rig. I need to replace the lead screw so I was fortunate someone gave me this handle that uses a set screw instead of a key way. So I removed the jetway and used the set screw to lock it into the keyway slot. And the screw I rigged up to get the machine working as it was missing. I have a lot of little bits to get right. One day it may be back to original condition. Aside from the very abused ways. 


Regards-Carlo


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## wa5cab (Jul 6, 2015)

Carlo,

The only Jetway I know anything about I have sworn that I will never walk down another of.  

What's wrong with your lead screw?  

Bad idea to put a set screw into a key slot.


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## Strtspdlx (Jul 6, 2015)

The lead screw has a bunch of wear in the center. And I still hate tapatalk and autocorrect. Every time I type keyway it insists on replacing it with jetway. I have no idea what a jetway is. 


Regards-Carlo


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## wa5cab (Jul 6, 2015)

A Jetway is the covered movable walkway through which you load and unload most commercial passenger aircraft.  It was apparently named that because most aircraft served by one when they first started appearing in major airports were jets.  If the aircraft was prop driven, you usually had to board from the ground level.  I quit earning frequent flyer miles and let my passport expire after my company was bought by an enemy in 1996, so I don't know that they even still call them Jetways.


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## wa5cab (Jul 6, 2015)

OK.  Worn out cross feed nuts are not uncommon.  Worn out cross feed screws are often an indication of poor maintenance.  Of course, as with the nut the only way to fix or improve it is replacement.


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## Strtspdlx (Jul 7, 2015)

wa5cab said:


> OK.  Worn out cross feed nuts are not uncommon.  Worn out cross feed screws are often an indication of poor maintenance.  Of course, as with the nut the only way to fix or improve it is replacement.



I should've taken a picture of the lathe when I had first bought it. Everything was nearly locked up solid with rust and it had more play then I'd care to mention. My tear down of the machine indicated poor maintenance also. The cross feed nut was something like .100 play. Meaning I turn the knob and it rotates .100 before I had movement across the slide and the compound was .250 give or take. My fix considering the screws where heavily worn was to set it at the most worn area and heat the nut with a O/A torch and let it reshape to the smallest part. It worked fairly well I now have less then .020 on my compound and less then .010 in the cross slide. But they still need replacement. As soon as I get my QCGB up and running I will be making new screws. 


Regards-Carlo


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## louosten (Jul 7, 2015)

Greetings;

I repaired 3 handwheels in various fashion...used some JB-Weld to join the parts. See if you can identify the type/method of repairs made!
Lou O.


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## wa5cab (Jul 7, 2015)

Carlo,

Don't forget that there are three sources of apparent back lash in the cross-feed and compound feed.  Thread wear in the nut (most common), thread wear on the screw (less common) and end float in the lead screw (almost always adjustable to near-zero.  Before starting to determine whether you have the first two problems, you should always run the nut off of the screw and check and if necessary adjust the screw end float.  It is virtually impossible to determine thread wear until you know that you have no end float.


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## Strtspdlx (Jul 8, 2015)

End float has been set to near zero. I have to lap in the bearing housing/screw housing and the dials as I have high lows in them also. 


Regards-Carlo


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## Strtspdlx (Jul 8, 2015)

louosten said:


> Greetings;
> 
> I repaired 3 handwheels in various fashion...used some JB-Weld to join the parts. See if you can identify the type/method of repairs made!
> Lou O.
> ...


I suspect the ball on the compound has been thread fot or a light press fit?


Regards-Carlo


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