# Atlas lathe year



## iron man (Jun 20, 2013)

My 10" Atlas Lathe serial number is a 0054 anyone know what year that would be??? Thanks Ray


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## Ray C (Jun 20, 2013)

Don't know but if it has B.C. stamped on it, you might want to send it for carbon dating....  :rofl:




iron man said:


> My 10" Atlas Lathe serial number is a 0054 anyone know what year that would be??? Thanks Ray


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## schor (Jun 20, 2013)

Post a pic of it. There are sometimes ways to figure out the date if we can see the lathe. That is an old serial number though. My atlas is in the 75000 numbers


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## iron man (Jun 21, 2013)

Really I did not think it was that old it has bearings in the head not babbit. It really does not look any different than this one. Ray
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/show...Atlas-lathe-rebuild-refurb-project-(pic-heavy)


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## Ray C (Jun 21, 2013)

Had one almost just like it but w/o the QCGB.  That genra was made from the late 30's thru mid 1950's; the bulk being made after WWII.

Ray


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## iron man (Jun 21, 2013)

Thanks I was thinking it was about 1949 to 1951 but was not sure. Mine has the quick change and all the attachments. Ray


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## wa5cab (Jun 22, 2013)

Ray,

We're handicapped by not having anywhere nearly enough hard date versus serial number data plus no information on when if ever Atlas started over with serial numbers.  And Clausing has no manufacturing history data.  However, what is the model number of your lathe?  I think I figured out from reading between the lines that yours has a QCGB, which the UK site says first appeared on the 10" in 1948.  However, if your nameplate doesn't say QC something (you didn't give the bed length) then the presence of the QCGB doesn't tell us anything about the age of the lathe.  The presence of Timken bearings doesn't tell us anything, either.  I have what I am pretty sure is a 1935 Atlas catalog which says that any Atlas 10" can be purchased with Timken bearings.

The only sure way to pin down the date to about the closest year is to pull the spindle and check the dates on the two bearings.  Whichever one is later will set the earliest possible date.  Depending upon questions we don't know the answers to, the actual date of manufacture could be up to at least one year later (widest spread anyone has reported between their two bearing dates).

Robert D.


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