# Building/modifying An Atlas Th42



## great white

Ive been digging around the local classifieds and have pretty much struck a deal for what appears to be an Atlas 10x36. 

I'm starting a new thread for the Atlas, since my other thread is more about digging around for info on it when I found it on the classifieds. This thread will be for the purchase, return home and eventually: restoration and modifications. 

A little background as to why I won't be able to buy it for another 21 days. I'm currently in Gander Newfoundland. I'm military (search and rescue) and posted here. In Feb, I'm posted to NS, where the lathe is located. I won't be able to buy it from the seller until then. 

I have contacted him and he seems like a nice guy. Farmer, he bought the lathe to make parts and pieces for his implements. He no longer uses it, so he's selling it. Says he paid a grand for it 10 years ago. I'd rather spend 700-800, but will give him what he paid if the lathe is in good shape. They don't go for much less around these parts anyways. I know they go for less in parts of the USA, but that really makes no difference as they go for around a grand here. Supply and demand....

He doesn't have a lot of specific info about it, just general stuff. He's a farmer, not a machinist. It looks like a 10x36 and he says it's about 4 feet long.  He was away from his shop, so he couldn't get me the end plate numbers, but his description seems to fit.

He thinks it came form a school or something as he says it has light wear and is in good condition. I guess I'll find out when I get the MK I eyeball and a couple straight edges on it....

It has a 3 jaw chuck, a 4 jaw chuck, an assortment of holders/cutters, a  center rest, a box of change gears and a box of assorted bits he's not  sure of. Dare I hope for the mill attachment? Nah......probably too much to hope for.

He didn't say he would hold it for me, but he did say  he'll stop advertising it and call me first if someone else wants to buy  it.

I asked if sending him a deposit was something he would want and he said  he didn't want to take any money from me until I got to look at it. Seems honest enough.

In my experience, most farmers are pretty straight shooters and are  trustworthy so I believe what he told me. But still to be confirmed when  I look at it.

As I mentioned $1000 is a touch more than I wanted to spend, but if I went for a lathe from Busy Bee (about the only option to used around these parts) it would be around 800 after taxes.  

And that would be an "Asian"  7x12 with no accessories.

The Atlas should be a 10x36 with several accessories for 200 more. The 4  jaw chuck would almost make up that difference. Chuck (pun!) in there's  lots of advice/experience on the internet with the atlas/craftsman and it  starts looking pretty good.

A 10x18 from busy bee would be 1400 before taxes, figure 1550 taxes in.  This is the one that would be comparable to the Atlas, since both are  listed as 18" between centers and 10" swing.

So, if all goes well I should have it in the new garage approx 20-21 Feb. I can't wait! I've wanted a lathe for a long time and never have found something that suits my needs and price bracket. 

Here's some pictures from the add:
















I'll snap a few pics when i get it home and carry on with the thread then.

So, assuming the atlas is in decent shape when I look at it, I think its  a done deal. Even at a grand. They usually list/sell in the 700-1000  range in this area from what I've seen, so he's not right out to lunch  compared with the local market.


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## herbet999

Nice, good luck..

Spent a long weekend in St. John's Newfoundland on TDY with the Air Force back in the 90's.. People were super nice. We had a blast.


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## Bishop

Good choice, I'm in the west coast and machines are rare and prices are high compared to other places I have seen. Doesn't matter, it's a hobby for most if us so we pay what we can and make due with what we have. Let me know if you don't get the milling attachment, I might be able to help you out. Can I ask what your SAR position is?

Shawn


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## great white

Bishop said:


> Good choice, I'm in the west coast and machines are rare and prices are high compared to other places I have seen. Doesn't matter, it's a hobby for most if us so we pay what we can and make due with what we have. Let me know if you don't get the milling attachment, I might be able to help you out. Can I ask what your SAR position is?
> 
> Shawn




CH149 Engineer.

I would appreciate any help you could give on grabbing a milling attachment if it's  not in the box. I don't do much in the way of milling, but there are a few small projects here and there where it would be helpful.

Cheers


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## Bishop

I see the Cormorants fly into our airport quite often, beautiful looking helicopter. What's it like to work on? Let me know when you get your lathe and if it comes with a milling attachement, if not we can work something out. 

Cheers
Shawn


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## great white

I'm not a maintainer, I'm a flyer.

Well, actually, I'm both....


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## wa5cab

George,

Before 1948, the Atlas 10" came in four sizes.

10X18   36" Bed Length
10X24   42"   
10X30   48"
10X36   54"

From 1948 through 1957 (when production ceased), they only sold 10X24 and 10X36.

This is according to US practice.  The Brits would say 5" (distance from top of bed to spindle center)  instead of 10" (diameter of largest piece you can swing over the ways).

The all-up length of a 10X36 is 58".  If the farmer gets around to telling you what's on the nameplate, that will ID it.  If it is actually a 10X36 (and from the one photo showing the whole thing, it could be) the model number will be TH54.  "T" for Timken headstock bearings, "H" for horizontal countershaft, and 54 for 54" bed.

Robert D.


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## great white

wa5cab said:


> George,
> 
> Before 1948, the Atlas 10" came in four sizes.
> 
> 10X18   36" Bed Length
> 10X24   42"
> 10X30   48"
> 10X36   54"
> 
> From 1948 through 1957 (when production ceased), they only sold 10X24 and 10X36.
> 
> This is according to US practice.  The Brits would say 5" (distance from top of bed to spindle center)  instead of 10" (diameter of largest piece you can swing over the ways).
> 
> The all-up length of a 10X36 is 58".  If the farmer gets around to telling you what's on the nameplate, that will ID it.  If it is actually a 10X36 (and from the one photo showing the whole thing, it could be) the model number will be TH54.  "T" for Timken headstock bearings, "H" for horizontal countershaft, and 54 for 54" bed.
> 
> Robert D.



Cool. As long as I can turn longer than 12-14"  (about the longest I'll ever need for motorcycle axles) and approx 6" diameter,  it will work fine for me.

By the looks of those specs, even the "smallest" would work for my needs.

As mentioned, he said IRS about 4 feet long, so it could either be the 36 or the 42 depending on how good his eye is for distance.

I'm already thinking about cabinets, covers, accessories, "upgrades" and restoration for it.

Found a very nice roll around stand/cabinet that a gent on the yahoo group built. Would be a nice easy weekend project with the welder and table saw....


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## great white

Got a call from the gent last night. Seems he's changed his mind and is going to hold it for me.

He said a guy looked at it and wouldn't go over 750. I'm closer to his asking price so he's going to say it's sold with only the final haggling to be done.

Even if I pay his 1000 (and the lathe is in decent shape), I'm OK with that. He's holding g it and taking the advertising down so it only seems fair. Its only a couple hundred over what I wanted to pay, so its not that big of a deal to me.


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## great white

Was talking to the guy today and he's still holding it. I told him I can probably pick it up on the 16th and he was good with that.

He said he's found a lot more pieces for it he even forgot he had, including a big square machined plate. I'm not sure what that could be but I'll see when I get there.

He also says he's got the original manual for it, just has to dig it out of the attic.

Sounds like the deal is going well so far!


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## yendor

Awesome - & Congratulations.

I acquired an Atlas 10F 10 x 36 but the TV (Vertical Countershaft) Model about a month ago and have been working thru getting it into operational shape.

Mine is a charity case - IE: I got for $50.00 and so far have spent close to $500. on misc parts and things to make it functional. Lots of worn &/or missing things on mine, and pretty much zero in the way of tooling, but so far I'm still thinking I'm ahead of the game.

Once I've got it operational I plan a complete tear down clean-strip-paint & rebuild over the spring/summer.


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## great white

7 more days to go to pick up!

I'm actually getting a little excited to get my mitts on it!


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## great white

The atlas is in my possession!



It's sitting in the bed of my truck right now as we are still moving in to our new house.

Turns out it's a TH42, which is nice because I was expecting a 36.

Its dirty and greasy, but underneath the mess it's rust free iron. The bed ways have no visible wear , except a few "dinks" right under the chuck. Nothing serious, just marks where someone has dropped something.

It all runs except the back gear selection, but I'm not so sure that is the lathe as much as me perhaps being on the wrong pulley groove.

All he change years are there and in perfect shape. There's a 3 jaw chuck with inside and outside claws. A 4 jaw chuck is on the lathe already.

Drive plate and all the dogs are there.

Left right and straight tool holders.

A box of hss cutters, a Center drill and the Center rest.

There's an assortment of gears that look worn and a short lead screw which makes me suspect the cross slide has been rebuilt.

Tail stock has a dead and live center.

No milling attachment or follow rest.

Basically,  think it's got everything it would have come with when new.

It does have some wear. The lead screw is still good, but you can see where it has lived most of its life. The compound is tight and the tail stock doesn't move. A good cleaning and adjustment should fix both.

Pics to follow, but it's just of it sitting in the bed of my truck.


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## great white

Pics!













Did I get a screaming deal? Well, no. Not at 1000 bucks and no qcgb.

But it is complete, it is in good shape and then guy did hold it for a month for me (turned away 4 buyers he says) so all that is worth something.

I'm not over the moon with what I paid, but for what I got and where I got it I am satisfied I made off with a reasonable deal that I can live with.

Would I have liked to have spent 500 instead of a grand? Well, sure. Who wouldn't?

But I'm good with where I ended up.

Next step is to tear it down for inspection, replace parts if needed and a nice light resto.

Then build the bench/table and start making chips!

I've decided to hold off on things like qctp and such for the time being. I want to get used to grinding my own cutters and getting used to thelatbe as is. Then move into more purchases for itmwhen I'm ready.

Right now, I just want to get it functional, clean and start using it!


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## great white

Oh and its quiet, surprised me how quiet it was. 

I was expecting a whirling gnashing of gears noise with all the subtilty a mideavil call to arms after reading some comments on these old atlases, but it is nearly silent.

I'm guessing that means it is in good shape and things are bedded in nicely.


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## caveBob

Ha! Congrats! You're going to have fun with this project... Your pic of the lathe in the truck reminded me of when I got mine, but in a PT Cruiser not a truck. 

Enjoy the ride...


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## mattthemuppet2

I don't think you did bad at all for that money and tooling, there are plenty of similar lathes around here for the same money and no tooling. Just having all the change gears is worth ~$150 going by eBay values


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## great white

We're moving into the new house, but I've managed to sneak away a little bit and mess with some of the lathe bits while the missus runs the movers.

The tailstock quill wasn't moving even though the handwheel spun freely. I figured it was disengaged since it was out past 2.5, I pressed on the center and sure enough the screw grabbed and started pulling I the quill. It was caked with crud, so I wiped off as much as I could first.

After a couple runs it more moved freely.

In popped the live center out and was greeted by a non atlas part. It's a Skoda heavy duty live center part number 2-csn 243324. I looked it up on the net and it seems like a quality piece.

Nice little bonus methinks!


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## David S

great white said:


> It's a Skoda heavy duty lice center part number 2-csn 243324. I looked it up on the net and it seems like a quality piece.



Yes got to love those lice centers, I have been itching to get one 

Seriously I think you got a good deal overall.  Tooling is expensive and you got a bunch.

David


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## great white

David S said:


> Yes got to love those lice centers, I have been itching to get one
> 
> Seriously I think you got a good deal overall.  Tooling is expensive and you got a bunch.
> 
> David


Lol, autospell on my android tablet strikes again!


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## great white

The be motor is 1/8 HP.

Does that seem pretty low to anyone?


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## great white

Small progress , but progress. Its out of the truck and sitting on a roll around cart in the garage:




Once we're moved into the house and unpacked, welding up a proper stand is first on the agenda.


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## fgduncan

Mine has a 1/2 HP! 1/8 is much too small for what the lathe can handle.This one seems to be missing the tailstock. You'll need to get rid of that lantern tool post and get a QCTP. You need to check to see what kind of bearings it has-Timken roller bearings or Babbit.  If Babbit, you might have a white elephant since they will wear and have to be repoured-a lost art. You can't replace them with Timken's, either.

Put a dial indicator against the side of the chuck, then try to move it back and forth by hand. Good bearing shouldn't move more than a few tenths.


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## hvontres

You did pretty good there. That steady rest by itself would go for $200 or more on e-bay. You would think those things are gold plated or something


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## schor

Nice score. Sounds like you did good. I've got a few vids on my youtube about the atlas and some teardown and reassembly. Let me know if you need to know anything about the atlas, I've played with a few.


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## wa5cab

From the photo, you can tell that it has a Timken (tapered roller bearing) headstock.  The babbit bearings have removable bearing caps containing the upper half of the bearing.  And two hex head bearing cap screws will be visible.  Like the big end on a connecting rod from a piston type IC engine.

And yes, a 1/8 HP motor is much too small.  Should be 1/2 HP.


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## great white

fgduncan said:


> Mine has a 1/2 HP! 1/8 is much too small for what the lathe can handle.This one seems to be missing the tailstock. You'll need to get rid of that lantern tool post and get a QCTP. You need to check to see what kind of bearings it has-Timken roller bearings or Babbit.  If Babbit, you might have a white elephant since they will wear and have to be repoured-a lost art. You can't replace them with Timken's, either.
> 
> Put a dial indicator against the side of the chuck, then try to move it back and forth by hand. Good bearing shouldn't move more than a few tenths.


The lantern post stays for a while. It will serve me fine for learning and later maybe a qctp.

Its Timken bearings. They're tight, will drop a dial gauge on it sometime for curiosity's sake. Babbet would have had two bolts visible on the headstock, this one does not.

Tailstock was removed to lighten it when pulling it out of the truck. Its sitting on the bench out of sight in the picture.

The 1/8 HP motor will do fine while I do a restore on the machine and start using it. I may replace it later down the road if I find it struggles, but I'm not looking to spend a lot more money on the lathe until I build the stand, clean it up and get some practice using it.


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## schor

Are you sure it's 1/8th hp and not 1/3hp? Mine is a 1/3 hp motor and while it does struggle sometimes, I have done some heavier cuts on it.


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## wa5cab

1/3 HP would make more sense than 1/8 HP.  I can't recall ever seeing anything that small in an AC motor except for universal (AC/DC) motors.  Certainly, Atlas didn't supply them.  And they did supply a lot of 1/3 HP early on.


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## great white

You guys had me doubting myself, wondering if there was some dirt or schmutz on the number.

But nope, its pretty clearly stamped 1/8 HP:




If its not original, whoever put it on there did a darned good job. Looks factory, right down to matching paint color (doesnt look repainted either).

Dunno, old lathe, storied past I'm guessing.....


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## wa5cab

Well, I sit corrected.  That's a first.


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## FOMOGO

If you look at the motor mounting plate, it is at it's furthest inboard position. My guess is it was replaced at some time. I have a 1/2hp on my 12x36 and thinking about going to 3/4 or 1hp. that 1/8hp would work well on a tool grinder if you decide to change. For what it's worth, I think you did fine price wise. Mike


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## great white

Yeah, on second look the paint does not match. As in: not at all. The motor is a dark gray, the lathe is atlas green.

Likely a replacement with whatever was lying around.

I'll run it for a while and keep my eyes open for a replacement at a decent price. Can't be too hard to find a 1/2 HP ac motor kicking around somewhere....


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## great white

I'm actually a little surprised guys are saying price was OK. From what I've seen on most forums, guys loose their minds if you pay more that 600 bucks for a non quick change gearbox atlas.

Meh, I'm satisfied with what I paid for what I got. That's all that matters at the end of the day.


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## Rob

I have heard of some using a treadmill motor.  You would then have speed control.  If I was going to put a new motor on mine I think I would at least look into that.


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## wa5cab

Some people think that everything old should be cheap.  Besides which, lathe prices vary widely with location.  And you can figure a minimum regardless of where you are of $150 for every significant accessory except for Jacobs chucks, and about $100 up for any of them worth having.


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## yendor

The price you paid is a good one mostly because of (2) things:

A - The Lathe is a Known Brand that has a good amount of readily available accessories and appears to be in good condition.
B - ( and this is probably more important) - You got a TON of good tooling and accessories with it.

In an earlier post I mentioned I picked up my 10F for $50.00 (a serious charity case) - But I'm well over $750 - 800
with:
Missing Stuff:
Back Plate
Countershaft Pulley that was bent
Misc Change Gears (I was was missing about 8 out of the 15 they come with from the factory and still don't have a full set - short 3-4 but have what I need)
Dead Center
Chuck Key
Broken Drive Gear on Cross-Feed (spline was stripped)
Cross Feed Lead Screw Nut (was so sloppy I had nearly .050 in back lash)
QCTP
TOOL Bits
and more my brain hurts thinking about.

So yeah - you got a pretty good deal and getting that chip tray that sits under your lathe is a great piece too. Most don't get that. Making one is on  my list.


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## great white

Lol, thanks. I thought I just got the basic bits that should come with a lathe. Guess I got more than I thought I did.


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## great white

I have a treadmill that mostly just sits or hold clothes to dry for the missus. I do walk on it. But very infrequently. It's been a topic of discussion to chuck it or sell it for a while.

Now I'm thinking about tearing it apart for the motor. Controller and steel to use on my atlas.

It has this motor: 




My concern is the 2.65 peak hp rating and 1.5 hp continuous. I've seen where most guys don't recommend over 3/4 hp. Perhaps it's a function of Torque? 

I know torque breaks things more than hp and this motor is pretty small diameter. It can't make as much torque as a 3/4 or 1 hp AC motor can it? Those are giants compared to this dc motor...


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## great white

This is the controller:




Looks like the ones I've seen on many of the posts I've read about putting a pot across the three terminals an getting variable speed.

And this is the wiring diagram:




Of particular interest is the reed kill switch. Seems to me that would make a great deadman switch. Get Ito trouble and yank the cord. Just a thought...dunno if I would follow through. Cord might be as much a hazard as anything else. Needs more thought...


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## David S

Nice motor and controller.  Any idea what the speed of the motor is?

David


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## great white

Don't know. Its not marked on the motor.

But, most treadmill motors I can find on google seem to run anywhere from 4000 rpm to 6000 rpm.

I'm gonna need a tach to go with that controller it seems......


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## wa5cab

The Chinese tend to be quite optimistic about their horsepower ratings.  But honest HP is HP.  And in general, permanent magnet DC motors tend to be smaller than the equivalent single phase AC motor.  The controller probably has the ability to limit torque but you don't have the information necessary to modify it.  The reed switch most likely supplies the tachometer signal - nothing to do with a deadman function.  The speed control is probably connected to the blue wire.  And may take it's supply from the red wire.


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## fgduncan

I'd be a little leery of putting a motor with that much power on an Atlas. They were usually made with 1/3hp motors, so putting something that could deliver that much power-and torque- is kind of like putting a Corvette engine in a Corvair. Yeah, you can do it, but if you start to really put some muscle in it, something gonna give. And it won't be pretty. Well, actually it would be pretty.  Pretty expensive. The gears are pot metal and not designed to take that kind of power. The Atlas is a light duty machine and can do a lot, as many here already know. But trying to make it do the work of a heavy is sure to cause problems. You will be tempted to make it do things it was never intended to do. If you really need that much power, get a lathe built to handle it.


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## great white

wa5cab said:


> The Chinese tend to be quite optimistic about their horsepower ratings.  But honest HP is HP.  And in general, permanent magnet DC motors tend to be smaller than the equivalent single phase AC motor.  The controller probably has the ability to limit torque but you don't have the information necessary to modify it.  The reed switch most likely supplies the tachometer signal - nothing to do with a deadman function.  The speed control is probably connected to the blue wire.  And may take it's supply from the red wire.


Reed switch on the treadmill is a kill switch. Lanyard from a magnet key goes to the runner/walker and if you get "tossed" it kills the motor.

That's what I was thinking of using like a dead man or quick kill switch. Yank the magnet off the reed switch, lathe stops. I'm just leery of having a lanyard attached to me with the lathe running. Seems like it could cause the very accident I would be trying to mitigate....

I check on the optimism. The motor is rated 1.5 continuous, I assume the 2.65 HP is a peak and unlikely to actually see it.


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## great white

fgduncan said:


> I'd be a little leery of putting a motor with that much power on an Atlas. They were usually made with 1/3hp motors, so putting something that could deliver that much power-and torque- is kind of like putting a Corvette engine in a Corvair. Yeah, you can do it, but if you start to really put some muscle in it, something gonna give. And it won't be pretty. Well, actually it would be pretty.  Pretty expensive. The gears are pot metal and not designed to take that kind of power. The Atlas is a light duty machine and can do a lot, as many here already know. But trying to make it do the work of a heavy is sure to cause problems. You will be tempted to make it do things it was never intended to do. If you really need that much power, get a lathe built to handle it.


Its not a matter of needing that much power as that I have this available (and at no cost). The treadmill is likely going out on spring cleaning and I thought I might be able to make use of the components. Really, its not something that hasn't been done before, lots of guys have threads and YouTube's up on it.

Its not like i have great plans for huge projects. Just a little turning here and there of things like axle spacers, fuel sump adapters and such small items. A variable motor might make it a bit more enjoyable and possibly a fun project in its own right.


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## David S

Great White I have an Atlas 618 and quite frankly have never looked at the motor HP.   I purchased it from a guy way back in the 70's and it has served me well.  The jack shaft seems to have a couple of detents on it to allow me to adjust the belt tension differently.  So far if I have gotten into trouble the belt just slips.  I don't do any heavy stuff, mostly brass and aluminum.

David


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## wa5cab

OK (on the kill switch). I was just going by what was printed on the system wiring diagram.   And I agree about not wanting a lanyard around my wrist while running the lathe.

I would keep the motor.  And find a controller rated 1/2 or 3/4 HP and made for industrial use.  That often means that the START-STOP and Speed functions are already remoteable.  You do need to find out what the max rated RPM of it is, though.  Or arbitrarily limit it to 1800 or 2000 RPM, which is pretty sure to be safe.  And don't think that a variable speed motor means you only need a single step pulley.  The rated speed range of the lathe as stock is about 40:1.  You don't want to exceed the maximum RPM of any of the lathe components on the high end but if you have the motor RPM at the high end 2000 RPM, the low end would have the motor RPm at about 50.  That's less than 1 RPS and the motor will probably overheat.


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## great white

For now, I think I'll just pull the treadmill apart a d work on getting the motor running independently. I've got a few ideas I'd like to try on it first.

I'll leave the lathe alone for now. I'll just play around with building a controller and seeing what the motor will do.

Then maybe later it will go on the lathe.


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## yendor

Here's a cut and paste from a 1945 Atlas Catalog Motors Section.

Note:
1/3rd HP is the Standard Duty
1/2 HP is the Heavy Duty Motor.

Adding more HP beyond the Mfg recommendation will just allow you to break thing faster and into more expensive pieces.


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## great white

wa5cab said:


> OK (on the kill switch). I was just going by what was printed on the system wiring diagram.   And I agree about not wanting a lanyard around my wrist while running the lathe.



No worries, I probably wasn't clear on the whole deadman/reed switch thing.


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## great white

So, I've got an old wood lathe that I'll probably be tearing apart. It's got a single phase 1/2 HP motor. that may find it's way onto the Atlas.

Sound better?

The wood dlathe is no great loos, it's built like the harbour freight sheet metal like thing:



Except it's missing parts and it doesn't have the features even the cheap HF one has. Gerry's wood lathe is the name. I've never used it and it's no loss to scrap it.

Guess I'll have to find a VFD if I want to use that one with variable speed.

Will a VFD even work with a single phase motor? I'm not very familiar with those, mostly just what I have gleaned off this forum....


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## pdentrem

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/vfd-on-an-older-taiwan-1340-lathe.27490/#post-244280

You will need a 3 phase motor to work with VFD. I ran 240 to the garage for just this reason.


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## great white

Well, I'm not going through the trouble of running a dedicated 3 phase into the garage. 

I'll stick with moving belts and pulleys then...


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## pdentrem

You do not need 3 phase. You do not have it in the first place. A 240 volt VFD will convert 240 1 phase to 3 phase for the motor.


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## JimDawson

For motors up to 1 HP you can get VFDs that are 120, single phase in and and 240, 3 phase out.


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## great white

Pulled the 1/2 HP motor from the wood lathe.

It's a huge beast!

Think I'm just going to say screw it,  run the 1/8 HP and just be happy with it for what it is...


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## great white

The garage is finally to the point where I can start looking at building benches, cabinets and the lathe stand.

Before:




I had actually started moving stuff out at that point. The movers had it crammed wall to wall and nearly to the ceiling. They weren't exactly stellar movers....?

After:







The lathe will be where you see it now. A heavy metal "beam style" stand will hold and support it and a "cabinet" will be built around it on the wall. Plan is to have a simple exhaust hood in the cabinet as well as dedicated lighting. The rest of the wall will be built in benches and wall cabinets. The red tool boxes you see will be where my steel welding /fabrication table will go (thinking 1/4" plate top, steel frame, tool boxes cut down and integrated into table, built in hydraulic lift for wheels to move it around).  The table saw unit you can see will be rebuilt (movers put pretty much the whole house on top of it a bent/racked it), the chop saw you can't see at the far end of the table saw will get its own spot in the bench and the air compressor you see waaaay at the front will alsomget its own sound dampened cabinet. All said and done, it will be one long same height bench surface from the front of the garage to where the lathe now sits.  The hand railing you see will go, replaced by the wall of aforementioned "cabinet".

Opposite wall will get a full length row of high cabinets and probably some off the floor storage for things like shop vac and jack stands.

Once the fab is all done, epoxy on the floor, contact cement some laminate on the 3/4 plywood bench tops, pegboard over the aspenite, tape and mud the drywall and all finished off with fresh paint on the walls and cabinets.

Should be a nice place to spend some time and whittle some metal!


----------



## great white

Thanks to ulmadoctor, I have an atlas milling attachment on the way.

I think at this point I will stop buying things for the lathe and get down to using it. I still have to build the stand, but then I'll get some time in making chips.

Once I get a little experience under my belt I'll start looking at a DC motor to go with the cyclotrol controller and probably a qctp.

Quite a few months away for that though. Finances need to recover a bit......


----------



## great white

Thanks to ulmadoctor, I've got an original Atlas milling attachment on the way.

I still have to build the stand, but I think that's it for buying stuff for a while. I'm pretty well tooled for the basic stuff I'll be doing. Might need a collet for the milling bits, but that's about it.

I'm pretty much going to get it setup and get some experience using it as is. That means the chucks, tooling, lantern tool post, etc as is.

I am REALLY going to try not buying anything else, at least until I get the lathe functional instead of just sitting on a bench.

After a couple months of spinning, I will start looking for a decent DC motor to go with the cyclotrol and maybe a qctp.

Or, I may try making my own qctp as a project.

Might be interesting.


----------



## great white

My first cyclotrol 150 showed up today. Super fast shipping, I was really surprised.

Its the "open board" model. I've since purchased a closed case model and that will go on the lathe. Plan for the open case model is to build a case and use it (with a treadmill motor)  on my bench top drill press.


----------



## David S

Keep us informed  I am interested in changing the motor on my 618.

David


----------



## great white

So I was looking to build a a stand for my atlas. Obviously, scrap would be better than new for price. I was digging around at one of the reclaimed building materials stores and ran across this:




I think it's some kind of server case or perhaps medical equipment as the tag inside says "media mech"  from Texas. Even has a serial number.

Thing is, its gotta weigh 200-300 lbs all on its own. 3 of us had to put a good effort it to lift it.

The tops are 1/8" steel and the structure is all box tube steel. Walls are all 1/8" steel welded to the box steel "skeleton".

Doors are sheet metal, but substantial all on their own. There's doors on both sides, one side is the steel ones you can see in the pic and dark smoked plexiglass doors on the other. The top is also supporter inside be for 1/8" stamped steel for each square section. That's 8 in total. I believe it was to support system for whatever equipment was bolted in there. There's also a built in power bar with its own remote switch and a slide out drawer on one side behind a second small flip down door labeled "keyboard".

Its a brute of a cabinet. Perfect!

Its also just the right length to fit the TH42  lathe.

I'll just cut the high part of the cabinet level with the lower section. Piece of cake size the tops at bolted on.

Just for extra strength, I'll likely add a section of box tube under the top, weld it all together and bolt the lathe to that just to keep it rigid.

Lastly, I'll add feet to the case that can be extended and leveled. That will allow me to roll the lathe around when needed and have it solidly on the floor when in place.

Cost?

75 bucks for the cabinet. I couldn't buy the steel to make it for that cheap. Heck, the heavy lockable casters and monstrous power bar would cost more than that!


----------



## David S

Nah don't agree.  I think I would take it right back.  But I do like the color.  How come I don't get these deals.  Awesome indeed.

David


----------



## itsme_Bernie

wa5cab said:


> Well, I sit corrected.  That's a first.



Same here Bernard!  I was going to say it must be 1/3, I've never heard of 1/8n. Ha hah!  

Greatwhite- I think you did fine on the price.  The steady rest, live center, and change gears alone are $100's of dollars.  

I wouldn't have been afraid of that treadmill motor, overrated or not.  You could always use a smaller belt if you are concerned.  

You did awesome on that server cabinet!!  Wow!  I look forward to keeping up with your progress here!  Congrats man!  

Bernie 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## great white

Here's a few more pics from my ice cold garage:




 A quick google revealed that "medi-mech" made heavy cabinets for medical equipment, mainly endoscopy units. That would explain some of the features on this unit.







I think I'll use the plexi doors as actual doors. The tall one will be easy to cut down. That will also allow me to weld the metal door shut to the frame, thus increasing the rigidity of the structure.

I also got a chance to take a better look underneath the table tops and the structure is braced with c channel, just not tied into the top. So I'll likely just weld the channel to the tops, bolt the lathe down and call it a day.

I had wanted to have a removable drip trap, but this was just too good of deal to pass up. I'll figure out something to make a chip tray in to the top itself. Maybe just weld a "dam" all around the top. It has a hole already for wiring pass though, I may use that if I ever go to flood coolant. For now, I'll just put a small catch bucket under the hole and let oil/swarf find its way there on its own.


----------



## great white

Started tearing the cabinet down to cut the top and discovered someone had dropped something really heavy on it at one time. I mean REALLY heavy. A top support is bent and one of the casters is pretty messed up. Not the wheel, the metal swivel bracket around the wheel. Crushed.

I did know about the caster when I bought it, I just didn't expect it to be so......bent.

I pulled it off, snapped of the peened over edge of the bearing shaft retainer and pulled the whole caster assembly apart.

I have some metal bashing to do to get it back to its original shape......

Funny thing is: I need the lathe if I want to turns new shaft, but need a stand in order to use the lathe.

A real catch 22.

I'll prob just get the stand functional, mount the lathe, then turn out the shaft and bolt it up afterwards.  Buying a new caster isn't much of an option: heavy duty industrial/medical grade and would cost as much/more than I paid for the whole cabinet (already priced it out).

Worse comes to worse I'll just weld the sucker solid and have one non castering wheel.

Meh, just the way she goes....


----------



## itsme_Bernie

Are you sure they have to perfectly match?  I bet you can make something else work if it really needs fixing.

Bernie 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## wa5cab

You may be able to use a long bolt as a temporary axle until you can make a replacement.


----------



## great white

Problem is, its not the axle.

The swiveling assembly had been crushed/deformed. The bushing is vertical for a bolt that goes up through the swivel into the bottom of the cart.

No worries, just a bit of metal bashing now that its apart.


----------



## wa5cab

OK.  I jumped to the conclusion that the shaft you needed to make a new one of was the axle.  Sorry.


----------



## great white

Success!

Pulled the caster apart and after a few rounds of hammering on the anvil I got it all back into shape. Case, swivel, locks and ball bearing races.

Put it back together and bolted it to the stand and it all sits dead nuts level. Rolls smooth as glass and even the wheel/swivel lock works again. There's a hint of "ratchet feel" when the assembly swivels, but that's because of missing ball bearings (were missing when I got it). I can live with that just fine!

Awesome and saved me near 100 bucks on a replacement swivel or accepting less functionality.


----------



## great white

wa5cab said:


> OK.  I jumped to the conclusion that the shaft you needed to make a new one of was the axle.  Sorry.



No worries my friend. Its hard to visualize the part unless you're looking right at it. One of those "gotta see it" things.


----------



## great white

Little bit of work with the cutoff wheel and:




Its just sitting on there right now, bit the mig is ready and waiting....



The two top surfaces are true to each other, checked with a 6 foot level/straight edge. For some reason, the picture makes on side look "warped" but its just an illusion.

I also can't get over how solid this thing is, even with pieces removed and all cut up. Smallest piece of square tube on the thing is 1.5x2".

Lock the 4 wheels and it isn't moving at all. Not even a wiggle. You can really tell it was medical grade built. Solid.

I may just leave it as is and not bother with a retractable leg installation.

I'll have to get it all together and see how it is once done. Adding a set of legs isn't a big job, easily added afterwards if the wheels turn out to be an issue.


----------



## great white

Couldn't resist dropping the 10F on the stand to see how it looked and how the height was going to work:




Fit is perfect. The lathe feet fit the top with about 2" to spare on either side and its wide enough to fit the motor over the steel top.

It looks great. Black plexi doors look pretty snazzy too. I'm now thinking I'll leave the steel doors functional to allow me to flip the lathe around if my next work space requires a different orientation.

I'm not completely certain if its too high or not. The carriage hand wheel falls right at my hand when my elbow is 90 degrees. I'm looking almost right at the tool/work contact point when standing straight, only a slight tip of the head to look right at the tooling tip.

Behind the bed on the rh side is a large flat area. It will be pershappinga to make a stand to hold chuck keys, collets, etc and other assorted tooling.

I've decided to use the "open" danfoss cycletron 150 and mount it inside the stand. There will be a small box mounted on the table top that will house the start/stop/jog switch, the speed pot, the power light the emergency stop "slap button" button and maybe the tachometer. The circuit breaker protection will be provided by the med grade power bar that came with the machine. All this will happen once I move to a DC motor.

I can't get over how great the casters are. The whole things moves effortlessly and when you hit the wheel locks its like its bolted to the floor.

Still need to get the welding done refit the cut down doors and then it's on to fresh paint.

Yep, its shaping up to be one heck of a nice piece of kit!


----------



## great white

Finished up cutting the stand down, mounted the lathe and rolled it into its future permanent spot:




Looks pretty good!

I've still got some details to work out like making sure its squared up, a removable chip tray, sealing up the seam between the two tops, etc.

There's a piece of 1/4" plate under the headstock+motor as well as a piece under the tailstock mount. Plan is to tie them together with some square tube or heavy angle. Haven't decided yet. Not sense squaring the lathe away until that welding is done.

I still have one steel door to cut down and mount on the back, but that is a project for another day. Low priority on that one.

I'm considering something to fit in the space behind the lathe:







Not quite sure what though. I was thinking a flat piece on a stand to hold my chuck keys and maybe collets, maybe the dead and live centers but I just can't decide.

I've got so much ctorage space inside its actually hard to figure out where to store things!

I chucked up an old scrap bolt I had lying around and made my first chips. The lh tool holder had an old HSS cutter in it and it did a pretty messy job. It also seemed like the carriage moved around a bit as I entered the work piece. Carriage seems tight, might have just been my eyes. Seems like lots of backlash in all the carriage feeds, might need a few new things like half nuts. The dials on the cross slide don't turn with the handle, I think its just the set screw. The thread dial doesn't turn at all. It looks like it should be engaged in the lead screw, but its nowhere near close to it. Have to investigate that. Feed speed seems kind of quick, it seemed to groove more than anything else. In all fairness, i didnt even look at what gears are in the train. I just wanted to see it run for the first time since i bought it. 

For sure the whole machine is going to need a good going through.

That's part of the fun for me though.



I just hope it doesn't need a lot of parts to bring it back up to snuff.


----------



## great white

Well, I'm a bit overly proud of such a simple item, but it is the first recognizable thing off the lathe:




Its just a bit of black pipe that I reduced the diameter on and used the cutoff tool on.

I call it a success as I was able to true it up in the 4 jaw chuck, turn it down with the rocker tool post and crap cutter that can with it (carbide bonded tip that was chipped up), not come ash then cutter into the shoulder and cut off the end without binding or sticking on the HSS cutter.

I also made use of the power carriage feed. So much nicer to just watch it than to crank it along your self.

Was too chicken to use the power crosslide feed on cutoff though. I did that by hand feel.

No idea on the diameter or length. I was just getting the basic feel for the lathe.

Its rough because it was a very sharp pointed carbide tip. Not rounded in any way (well, except for the missing little ***** of carbide)

Its not much, but I'm somewhat proud of it. I'll probably find a little out of the way spot on the wall behind the lathe and keep it there as a little reminder of where it (and I) started.





*Edit: whoops, I guess the ch-eye-nk word is edited out by the forum. I meant like the missing piece or weak spot in armor, not the racial slur.....it honestly didn't occur to me until I looked at my post with the 5 *'s in it.


----------



## great white

took a few breaks from building the garage shop and fiddled with the atlas a bit.

Figured out why the compound slide was so freaking tight; two for the three gibs screws were not OEM. Someone had jammed a plain screw in each and had gotten them stuck. After getting stuck, apparently they had a serious go at getting them out and buggered up anything that looks like a proper screwdriver slot.  One was so destroyed that I had to hacksaw a groove in it and slowly work it back and forth (with lots of penetrant) to get it out. I'll have to build some proper gibs screws to put back in there.

The cross slide had a seriously tight spot in it's rotation, turns out someone had crunched down the handle nut and bound it all up. I loosened it and cleaned all kinds of crud off the mating surfaces. The dial was loose and didn't turn with the shaft, a littel tightening of the set screw and light torque on the handle nut and it turns super smooth now. Only thing is, cleaning hte crud out seems to have revealed lots of play in the dovetails. Didn't mess with the gibs screws on the cross slide, so it may not be a big issue. I'll have to see if the play can be adjusted out.

The screw cutting indicator was locked solid. After some work with a very thin dental pic and pulling brass swarf out of the indicator, I could turn it with effort. Lubrication and cleaning freed it up more and I have it sitting in penetrant right now to see if it will clean up a little better before more aggressive methods are employed.

Basically, the lathe has been neglected for quite a while. I think the last owner (who had it for ten years) was well intentioned but just didn't keep up on the maintenance or he just didn't know.

So, lots of work to do. I'll get it running right before I tear it apart to make it pretty and add the Dc motor/controller.

Looks like it's going to be a slightly bigger project than I thought.....


----------



## pdentrem

The gib screws were likely 10x32 originally as that was what mine were.
Pierre


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## wa5cab

The gib screws are just what are known as Extended Point or Dog Point set screws.  However, finding slotted Dog Point may be an issue.  McMaster has them in Allen and square head (you don't want square head) but not slotted.  However, being an old military radio guy, I'm used to Allen and Bristol set screws, and prefer them to slotted.  Wherever you get them from, you should check the depth of the hole on the deep side.  If necessary, you can also get extra length Dog Point, which are twice as long as regular.  On #10-32, they are .049" and .098".


----------



## great white

I would prefer Allen to slot also. Thanks for the info.


----------



## yendor

This might be what you want.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ATLAS-10-12...c460be3&pid=100011&rk=1&rkt=1&sd=201272319593


----------



## great white

I was getting a little tired of building the garage workshop and decided to mess it up today.



I figured the atlas was a good a project as any. So I started building my DC motor control head.

The cycletrol is just way too big to mount anywhere accessible as my lathe cart has to stay sleek and moveable. So I removed the control face from the cycletrol unit and remote mounted it.  The actual cycletrol unit will live down inside the cart itself.

Built a box to house it, slipped in a tachometer and left a space big enough to mount a reversing switch.

Pics:







I used the two existing back gear shaft "pillow block" bolts to mount it to the lathe:




Its pretty solid, with just the tiniest bit of tremble in it when I give it a "smack" with the edge of my hand. Working the start/stop/jog switch is solid. A few more gussets will strengthen that little bit of vibration up just fine. Nothing worse than something vibrating while you're trying to use it. I like a rock solid feel.



That's still rough overall, having just ground the welds down and test fitted it. A little more metal work is required and then a coat of paint. The metal is the surplus from when I cut down the high shelf on the lathe cart.

I did make the case just a touch to big, but I suppose it can't hurt to have a little extra space for and unexpected switch or two in the future.

On the whole, I think its shaping up rather nicely.

(Pardon the rotten pics, my nexus has a crappy camera in it)


----------



## great white

Since I have a nexus 7" tablet, I'm going to make up a DRO using it. Seems to be a good economical and accurate way around those little tiny, hard to read dials on my Atlas (my eyes still work, they just seem to have lost some "resolution" as I creep up in years).

Nothing earth shattering, I'll just use Yuryi's DRO for android program - http://www.yuriystoys.com/. No need to re-invent the wheel and the meat of the work is already done.

I've got an Ardurino on it's way and I'll find and affordable BT module for it. I'm no "master programmer", but it seems simple enough to get it up and running.

Then it's just a matter of the scales. That will be the biggest expenditure I'm thinking. Lots of time though, I'll just watch for a good deal to pop up.

I quick stand to hold my nexus when using it as a DRO and a "wall wart" plugged into the lathe cart's built in power bar and I'm good to go!


----------



## great white

I've moved on an initial plan to install a DRO on the atlas. 

As mentioned, the Arduino and Bluetooth module are on the way and Yuriy's android program is installed on my nexus 7.

I'm going to try and go the inexpensive route for the sensors. 

So I've got two digital calipers on the way from ebay and I'm chasing down a source for the sensor strip in bulk lengths. 

Once done, I should have a custom length DRO sensor. Resolution is .001, which is good enough for any work I would be doing. 

Time will tell if I can pull it all together.


----------



## great white

Argh!

Just missed out on an ebay auction for 4 DRO scales that would have fit my atlas.

They went for a good price, but more than I wanted to pay. I had myslef capped at 100 bucks, since exchange and shipping would have pushed that up closer to 200 CAD.

Oh well. Back to building scales vice buying them.

All I have left to get is the sensor strips from wixey anyways. Problem is getting them into Canada. Wixey doesn't ship and I'm having trouble getting Busy Bee (their authorized reseller in Canada) to order what I need.

But my whole setup will come in at less than half what I would have paid for the ebay scales alone so it's not all bad.....just have to get the sensor strips.


----------



## great white

Sitting here thinking and reading forum posts has me formulating a new plan.

I believe I will try the treadmill motor for the lathe drive motor and controlled by the Danfoss Cycletrol.

That leaves me with the rest of the treadmill. I'm thinking I'll use the treadmill controller board to drive a 12V motor to power the leadscrew.

All the controls for the lathe and leadscrew drives will be fit into the control head I've made:




I almost wish I had made it a touch bigger now.

The Cycletrol and the treadmill controller will both be mounted down inside the cabinet proper with only the controls in the upper panel.

My Nexus 7 will mount on a flip down arm (mounted to the control head box) to run Yuriy's DRO android program. 

Probably use the little bit of extra space to mount a switch for the planned flexible light.

Great thing about all this so far is that the lathe will be very easily converted back to OEM if I ever decide to sell it off for something....."heavier".....


----------



## great white

Quick photochop of the head:




Looks good!


----------



## great white

Did a bit more work cleaning and adjusting and started the back sheild:




Couldn't figure why the aluminum was so hard to bend in the brake and then I realized I had grabbed a thin sheet of 7075.

It was also right about that time I started to hear a "craaack" from the sheet.....7075 isn't too "bend" freindly....


----------



## great white

Just won an auction for a Baldor CDP 3440 motor.

85 bucks. No too bad!

Specs:

90 V
.75 HP
Base Speed 1,750 rpm
Enclosure TEFC
Frame 56C

Link: http://www.baldor.com/catalog/CDP3440

Industrial quality, service parts readily available and should be a good match for the old atlas.

Should also work well with my Cycletrol 150 controller. The cycletrol is rated for up to 1 HP and 100 volts. The Baldor is .75HP and 90V. Sounds just about right. The 1750 RPM is the same as the speed as the current motor on the lathe and, IIRC, what the OEM Atlas motors were as well.

Like all things had at a bargain price, it's a little "distressed":




But it's represented to run fine and the cosmetics are an easy fix (would be looking to paint it anyways when the whole lathe is done). Brushes are only around 30 bucks a pop for replacements should they be appreciably worn. Still a good deal for what it is.

That just about sums it up for buying parts for the Lathe. All that's left is a QCTP and some assorted tooling.

The rest I should be able to make myself.


----------



## great white

Well, I didn't get as much done on the lathe as I wanted to this weekend, but I did get a fair bit done.

Not done: Cut down the inside cabinet supports from when one side was taller , re-mount the medical grade power bar, make the drip/chip tray, make the tool pedestal/holder.

Things I did get done: Make the splash shield, mount the goose neck light, clean lots of bits, eliminate several sources of slop and lash.

Pics:




Lots of reach on that looong goose neck light 







Lots of light right where I need it. Probably change the bulb in the future. That's just a regular house light for now.




I added a small (removable) chip deflector to steer chips and oil into the (soon to be built) chip tray instead of it all piling up in between the legs/supports. Can't stop all the chips/oil, but this shop cut down on the ones that don't make it to the tray. It's removable without tools, but it's slotted and press fit/slides under the headstock so it's in there solid.




Coming together and looking good says I!



Once fabrication is all done I'll blow it all apart and paint.


----------



## caveBob

great white said:


> Just won an auction for a Baldor CDP 3440 motor.
> 
> 85 bucks. No too bad!
> 
> Specs:
> 
> 90 V
> .75 HP
> Base Speed 1,750 rpm
> Enclosure TEFC
> Frame 56C
> ...snip



Congrats! I'm running the same motor on the same lathe, think you're really gonna like it... Where I first saw mention of it:

9x20 Lathe Variable Speed DC Spindle Motor
http://www.micro-machine-shop.com/Variable_Speed_DC_Spindle_Motor.htm

...might glean a little more info on it there...


----------



## wa5cab

The problem with 56C frame motors is that they are front or flange mounted.  All of the original Atlas motors are side mounted, and mostly 56 frame.


----------



## great white

wa5cab said:


> The problem with 56C frame motors is that they are front or flange mounted.  All of the original Atlas motors are side mounted, and mostly 56 frame.


Somehow, I don't think that's going to be a big problem.....



(You can build a bracket or buy a foot kit, if it doesn't already have a foot installed)


----------



## great white

Started banging out the lower drip tray:




That piece you see under the change gearbox is a deflector to guide the oil drips down into the main tray instead of it dripping all over the bed foot.

As luck would have it, the tray is just a few inches longer than my metal brake so I had to do it all by hand on the bench with hammers and dollies.

Still lots of shaping and welding to do, but that's a good start.


----------



## wa5cab

As you had to do it by hand anyway, why didn't you just run it full length from left of gear guard to right of right end of right leg?  That's the way the factory ones were made.  Except that they also had an extension on the rear of the left end that ran out under the motor.  The drip deflector is going to make it quite difficult to level the bed as it blocks access to the front mounting bolt and the shim space under the leg at that point.  If the pan runs under the headstock and gear guard, it will also catch oil dripping from the spindle and change gears.


----------



## great white

The pan is removable, doesn't get in the way of anything. It just pulls right out. I made it to slide in and out for ease of cleaning. Mostly to catch the chips/swarf.

The headstock already has a "deflector" under it that terminates in the drip tray. If I find it's dripping oil in other places, it's a simple task to bang up a couple small drip trays for those areas and those will also be easy to pull out and clean. 

The area under the RH leadscrew block was left open for a possible future project in that area. 

I was purposely avoiding building a tray that the lathe bolts through.

As mentioned, I wanted the tray easily removed for cleaning purposes.


----------



## great white

The "new" Baldor 3440 motor (3/4 HP, DC) showed up today.

Bit of a "beast" compared to the 1/8 hp AC motor that's on it right now.

It's in better shape than I had expected, but still needs a good cleaning and inspecting.


----------



## great white

The plastic fan was scrapping something so I pulled the sheet metal cover off. It had a slight bend in it which was quickly fixed with a hammer and dolly. Looked like it had been busy!led at some point of it being handled.

I'm not sure where it was used before, but the fan and body under the cover was caked with a paper mache like material. Like paper pulp that had gone on wet and dried in the airflow.

I have a little rusting to clean up on the fan side shaft and a little on the drive side. Nothing a couple passes with a wire brush can't clean up.

And, I also managed to crack one of the brush holder covers while inspecting the brushes and commutators.

D'oh!

Oh well, it was probably already cracked and at least its not an expensive part. Its screwed in and holding fine for now. I'll drop into a motor shop next time I'm in town and grab a replacement.


----------



## great white

Was out and about today.

Picked up a 5/8 bore pulley and a reversible 30amp DC switch at princess auto.

Then popped across to the street to busy bee tools to inquire about the wixey 32" capacitive scale. I figured no way would I be able to get it, but there were 7 kits in the warehouse in TO. 32 bucks later and it should show up next week. That was the last piece of the puzzle I needed to do yuriy's arduino/android DRO....


----------



## great white

Got my first practical use out of the lathe today. Used it to turn down a shoulder for the swingarm pivot on my VF750F. I'm grafting on a CBR600RR swingarm and the original pivot bolt had a step in it that prevented the bolt from going fully home.

line it up in the 4 jaw, a couple passes and it fits slick as snot now.

Next up: a spacer/sleeve for the other pivot bolt that will adapt the bolt to different sized bearings.

Pretty soon this old lathe will have paid for itself.

If I can stop buying things for it that is....lol.


----------



## great white

Found a used axa wedge qctp on eBay.

Post (with t nut), two knurlers, cutoff holder with bit and one tool holder.

99 bucks.

Grabbed it right up!



Boring tool holder and maybe a couple extra tool holders and I'm set.


----------



## pdentrem

$$$$$ out the door! It is a terrible disease!
Pierre


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## great white

pdentrem said:


> $$$$$ out the door! It is a terrible disease!
> Pierre


Surely is!

But for 99 bucks I couldn't beat the price anywhere. Even with the highway robbery PB shipping.

By the way, that was one heck of a packing job you did on the leadscrew!

I had to use the cut off saw to (carefully) open the PVC tube!


----------



## pdentrem

We ship some delicate stuff in lengths fairly often and this has been one of the best ways to do so. Enjoy.
Pierre


----------



## great white

Found a shop out of UK that was selling chucks with 2 mt arbors.

40 bucks for a 6, 10, 13 and 16mm chuck.

"Diamond brand", a cheap Chinese built set for sure.

But, I need a tailstock chuck, the wallet is very thin right now and even a crappy piece of tooling is better than nothing at all. My use is infrequent and light so these should do fine, at least for the interim if nothing else.


----------



## great white

First project off the "new" QCTP. I have troubles with small grips and my hands on my motorcycle. The only ones I could get had a big HD eagle and "V-Twin" on the end:




My bike is a Yamaha and a V4 so that won't do. I decided to spin up an nice little end cap to cover it:




A little recess for the "V-Twin" emblem to reside in:




And it slides right in:




A run over the polishing wheel and some steel epoxy and should be good to go.

Or I may drill and tap a small machine screw to hold it to the end cap on the grip. Haven't really decided yet. 

QCTP worked great though. felt very solid. 

Parting sucked, but I think that was more the user than the tool......


----------



## Fairbanks

Excellent Find!  Now the real fun begins!!


----------



## wa5cab

Nice job.


----------



## orphan auto

why not just raise the lower side on the cabinet? then you will have a place for extra chucks wrenches and other bits?


----------



## great white

orphan auto said:


> why not just raise the lower side on the cabinet? then you will have a place for extra chucks wrenches and other bits?


Too high, would put the lathe about mid chest level. Its long since been cut down level anyways....


----------



## Round in circles

great white said:


> Well, I didn't get as much done on the lathe as I wanted to this weekend, but I did get a fair bit done.
> 
> Not done: Cut down the inside cabinet supports from when one side was taller , re-mount the medical grade power bar, make the drip/chip tray, make the tool pedestal/holder.
> 
> Things I did get done: Make the splash shield, mount the goose neck light, clean lots of bits, eliminate several sources of slop and lash.
> 
> Pics:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Lots of reach on that looong goose neck light
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Lots of light right where I need it. Probably change the bulb in the future. That's just a regular house light for now.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I added a small (removable) chip deflector to steer chips and oil into the (soon to be built) chip tray instead of it all piling up in between the legs/supports. Can't stop all the chips/oil, but this shop cut down on the ones that don't make it to the tray. It's removable without tools, but it's slotted and press fit/slides under the headstock so it's in there solid.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Coming together and looking good says I!
> 
> 
> 
> Once fabrication is all done I'll blow it all apart and paint.



A few months ago I made a chip deflector plate to go under the headstock ..
  Made it out of 3mm thick industrial grade construction dampproof membrane . It still left me with loads of crud under the foot of the bed for it was not a perfect closing fit .  Now I think I'll be making two deflector plates like yours for the head & tail stocks , but before I insert them I'll either stuff the cavities in the feet with some thick grease & oil resisting foam rubber or use some spray insulation foam in them to fill the cavities as I put the deflectors in place then scrape the excess stuff away once it has cured. 
That way means I should no longer end up having to use my long handled scraper/swarf scooper to try and drag out the oily turnings etc. & get bits in my knuckles


----------



## Round in circles

wa5cab said:


> The gib screws are just what are known as Extended Point or Dog Point set screws.  However, finding slotted Dog Point may be an issue.  McMaster has them in Allen and square head (you don't want square head) but not slotted.  However, being an old military radio guy, I'm used to Allen and Bristol set screws, and prefer them to slotted.  Wherever you get them from, you should check the depth of the hole on the deep side.  If necessary, you can also get extra length Dog Point, which are twice as long as regular.  On #10-32, they are .049" and .098".




 Robert , 
Can you help me . I too have gib screw problems , my problem is a broken shoulder on one of the compound slide gib screws ,  it appears to be a quality steel.
I've spent an hour or so trying to find the right lathe exploded diagram to see if I can locate a size ( the brain is not working well tonight ..so I failed at my task .

 I discovered the damaged screw after breaking a tapered parting blade in my QCTP ( twice ) so I decided to look for the cause & solution .
 I found that the compound slide was wobbling 9 thou from end to end (the  cross slide was about the same . 
I adjusted three of the compound slide gib screws and found that the fourth one to the rear of the slide has a broken shoulder and is fairly deep inside  the locking nut. ....  Suggesting it is the reason it has been broken as it was much shorter than the others by about an 1/8 th of a inch .

 I measured the major thread diameter of the screw and it comes up as 0.183 of an inch  , thread count appears to be around 30 tpi ( I don't have a thread gauge yet ) .
I've looked on the thread charts in the MOLO and find 3/16 is the nearest major diameter to the thread with a 24 or or 32 tpi under the USA's national special thread series 

The nut for the gib screw  is a perfect fit in an 1/8 " BSW spanner ( 1/2 AF is too large. ) 

 I'm hoping that this part of my lathe is a true Atlas part not a special made for the British war department " Sphere 10 "   part  .

Are all Atlas 10 compound slide screws the same length and thread form ? 
If so can you advise me what they are please ?

I'll try and buy some of same sizes here in the UK as  long threaded machine screws  , get new nuts for them , then turn the end down to the same spigot size as the rest .


----------



## Round in circles

pdentrem said:


> The gib screws were likely 10x32 originally as that was what mine were.
> Pierre




Can you measure the gib screw major diameter for me please PD. 
 Then give it in inches or metric , as I don't have 0.1900 of an inch for the major diameter on my lathes damaged compound gib adjusting screw, mine appears to be 0.183 of a  inch instead but it is slightly slack in the threaded hole .

It could be that I do indeed need a 10 x 32 replacement screw t .


----------



## wa5cab

David,

The gib screws on the 10" and early 12" compound slides are shown on the various parts lists to be #10-32 UNF x 3/8" slotted dog point.  The nominal diameter of #10 screws is 0.1875".  The actual OD of the screws on my compound is 0.1870" but some other #10 screws in stock measure down to 0.1840" so 0.183" should still be OK.   Definitely #10.  My compound is actually the slightly heavier 12" Commercial version, and the gib screws are much longer, but still #10-32.  Nuts for cap screws (1/4" nominal diameter and above) are readily available in two hex sizes, although one is common and the larger (called Heavy Hex) is not.  But with machine screws #0 through #12), nuts for most sizes are available in three sizes.  The common nut for #10 is usually 3/8" but they are also readily available in 11/32" and 5/16" nominal.  3/8" hex won't fit a 3/16" BSF/1/8" BW wrench.  The nuts on mine are 5/16" which is a pretty good fit to a #2 BA 6-point driver.  But too small for a 3/16" BSF/1/8" BW wrench.  From which I have to conclude that your nuts must be 11/32" hex.  Which are a good fit for a 3/16" BSF/1/8" BW wrench, even in 12-point..

When you go to buy new $10-32 nuts, you may not have all three choices over there.  So just make sure that you have a wrench that fits.  Nothing in either Metric or BSF/BW will adequately fit a 3/8" but a #1 BA is a good fit.  I've already given the other two sizes.

Given a choice, go with socket head instead of slotted head, if you have the proper driver.  Much easier to hold the screw while tightening the nut with an Allen driver than with a slot screwdriver!

To turn a cup point set screw into a dog point, make a holder from a piece of round bar by drilling and tapping a hole in it.  Run the screw in backwards and run down and tighten a nut to lock it.  Face off the end flat, and remove about one to one and one-half threads down to the minor diameter.


----------



## Round in circles

Thanks ever so much Robert,
I've ordered three different types of #10 -32 UNF machine screws some with Allen cap heads,  some hex head  . They should all be much longer than I need  , I'll have to nip out and buy a 3/8  UNF tap & die as  I only have BA's , Metric  standard  , a few Whitworth and a set  that came in the metric case that is marked as  "  NC " ,which I hope is American National Coarse , but it may be a European Continental  " National Coarse  "  and refer to the coarse metric sizes instead .

I've also ordered 20 plain 10 - 32 UNF nuts to fit them , so I can make the sleeve for turning the spigot out of them . I noticed this afternoon that the broken screw  has the spigot end as a taper  & is nearly 3/16 " in length and it is also less than the minor thread diameter ... possibly so that there is a clearance space  for gunge & oil.
It's certainly hard quality machine steel . I made a screw driver slot on the other end after " kiss " grinding it square  , it produced  some of the  brightest full blown delicate almost white sparks I've ever seen off steel.

Putting the now adapted adjuster screw back in the compound slide and being able to tighten it correctly has certainly made a massive reduction to the amount of play  on the slide  as indicated on the DTI.  

I also set the the other gibs ..it seems that since I stripped and cleaned everything in August last year the lathe has now been well used /abused  and as a result it has settled down and worked the gibs , slides & ways to the point of almost re lapping them in .  I should have realised/ remembered  that things would bed in after the massive deep double de gunge I carried out .
Play is now down to 0.03 of a millimeter on the  compound slide and only 0.09 mm overall when measuring play  diagonally at the saddle . I was surprised to find it almost exactly the same from end to end of the bed ,  so not much wear  despite being around 72 yrs old .


I'll hang fire till I see the machine screws before I buy any Allen keys etc. as I have  a fair set of metrics in 0.5 mm sixes  to 15 mm and a slack handful of imperials in 1/64 th's up to half a inch or so .  Sometimes I've  also had imperial sized nuts & bolts that have metric sized heads & Allen key caps etc. 

Aka. The modern British standard metrified indianpackistankoreanchinese imperial sizes 

I looked on eBay USA early on this afternoon and found  full sets of gib screws for the Atlas lathe with internal Allen key sockets ... .. I might just buy some , even though the postage to here might rack up another $19 USD  on the purchase price .


----------



## wa5cab

David,

I hope that you ordered Set Screws.  Machine Screws will have heads.

Yep, USPS rate hikes the past two years have just about killed all of our international business.


----------



## Round in circles

Most of the nuts & bolts suppliers over here wouldn't  know a set screw from a machine screw or a mild steel bolt even if the bit them in the butts .


----------



## wa5cab

Yeah, it's getting that way over here, too.  If they can't find the answer on their dumb phone, then the question wasn't important.


----------



## great white

Thought I'd post a few pics of my growing lathe area. I've been using it more than working on it, but that's the way it's supposed to be, isn't it?



Overall area:




Powerbar setup, storage for my ultrasonic cleaner and the original keyboard drawer:




The power bar came with the cart and it had an on/off switch wired to it:




It's a handy little thing, I can turn power off to the complete cart with one switch when I walk away.

I'm not exactly sure how I'll use the drawer yet. Here's one idea:




Built myself a little stand by the tailstock:




I'm thinking I'll get the DC motor set up during the xmas break. Once that's done, I'll probably get around to stripping it all down for a nice fresh coat of paint.

I think it's just about the best little shop lathe going. Not because it's more accurate, or nicer, or newer than other lathes becasue it's not.

I think it's just about the best lathe becasue it was a reasonable price, will work to the tolerances that I need but most of all: it's mine.


----------



## Round in circles

Re using the drawer..& the underside of the cabinet tops  :- Some of my ideas   ... I'm right handed so if your left handed  thing might need altering. ...

I found that I was better off storing my change gears as a tower on a long threaded bolt that passes through a base plate , keeping the tower  in a large round cut open plastic washed out bleach container that still retains the handle part . It it sits on the lowest shelf of the lathe stand with ease  &   protects the delicate gear teeth . The bleach bottle is tough and makes it easy to pick the lot up in one hand .  Plus I know that all the gears are there when the tube is full  ..it also has a standard 1 " dia  washer & finger tight nut on the top end of the long bolt to keep them all together.

I use a shelf I made for under the lathe stand top about six inches down to store all my QCT holders , both chucks and  hung a paid of side by side index card steel drawers in the cabinet to hold things like a small tin of good centre points, the change gear bolts in a small tin box ,  extra chuck key , the three drill chucks for the lathe ,  Morse sleeves , fixed whole & half point center and a live centre point plus a few extras like a thin stainless steel wire to poke any crud out of the spindle/chuck threads if needed . To the right of these drawers I have a shallow tray that holds the common frequently used lathe tools such as the best lathe chuck key , the bed lock key/ spanner , a small high density rubber hammer on a steel shaft , the saddle locking nut hex socket device and a 1/2 " good condition paint brush & finally a simple 1/4 " x 4 inch long finely turned pointed bar  that I can slip in a saddle chuck and point to a centre pop  mark on a piece I want to set up in the four jaw chuck & finally a ring & open jaw spanner that fits the QCT holder top nut & a "T" Allen key for the Allen cap screws that hold the tool sin place in the QC tool holder .
I soon found that this was a better set up than what I'd had before ,where I was moving about and stretching all over the place to get hold of the frequently used tools .

You could add  pairs of 45 Kg fully extending ball bearing runners drawer slides at numerous positions in the to make a decent set of tool drawers inside the cabinet when you can afford it .
Taking the power distribution bar out the cabinet & put a sturdy aluminium angle strip either side to protect it from accidental knocks etc.
Putting it on the side of the cabinet would be a doddle to do and  give you a lot of easy access to the power to use other tools when the lathe is not in use instead of having to have the door stay open  .


----------



## great white

I've settled on a paint scheme.

The lathe will be hammer tone gloss black. The atlas metal labels will get a cleaning up and the red refinished. The tags and silver handles should stand out nicely against the black.

The cabinet will be hammer tone silver and the door will stay smoked black. The reversal of colours should play off nicely against the lathe itself.

I'll be getting the baldor dc motor up and running with the cycle troll first though.


----------



## pdentrem

Because it is mine says it all.
Pierre


----------



## great white

Round in circles said:


> Re using the drawer..& the underside of the cabinet tops  :- Some of my ideas   ... I'm right handed so if your left handed  thing might need altering. ...
> 
> I found that I was better off storing my change gears as a tower on a long threaded bolt that passes through a base plate , keeping the tower  in a large round cut open plastic washed out bleach container that still retains the handle part . It it sits on the lowest shelf of the lathe stand with ease  &   protects the delicate gear teeth . The bleach bottle is tough and makes it easy to pick the lot up in one hand .  Plus I know that all the gears are there when the tube is full  ..it also has a standard 1 " dia  washer & finger tight nut on the top end of the long bolt to keep them all together.
> 
> I use a shelf I made for under the lathe stand top about six inches down to store all my QCT holders , both chucks and  hung a paid of side by side index card steel drawers in the cabinet to hold things like a small tin of good centre points, the change gear bolts in a small tin box ,  extra chuck key , the three drill chucks for the lathe ,  Morse sleeves , fixed whole & half point center and a live centre point plus a few extras like a thin stainless steel wire to poke any crud out of the spindle/chuck threads if needed . To the right of these drawers I have a shallow tray that holds the common frequently used lathe tools such as the best lathe chuck key , the bed lock key/ spanner , a small high density rubber hammer on a steel shaft , the saddle locking nut hex socket device and a 1/2 " good condition paint brush & finally a simple 1/4 " x 4 inch long finely turned pointed bar  that I can slip in a saddle chuck and point to a centre pop  mark on a piece I want to set up in the four jaw chuck & finally a ring & open jaw spanner that fits the QCT holder top nut & a "T" Allen key for the Allen cap screws that hold the tool sin place in the QC tool holder .
> I soon found that this was a better set up than what I'd had before ,where I was moving about and stretching all over the place to get hold of the frequently used tools .
> 
> You could add  pairs of 45 Kg fully extending ball bearing runners drawer slides at numerous positions in the to make a decent set of tool drawers inside the cabinet when you can afford it .
> Taking the power distribution bar out the cabinet & put a sturdy aluminium angle strip either side to protect it from accidental knocks etc.
> Putting it on the side of the cabinet would be a doddle to do and  give you a lot of easy access to the power to use other tools when the lathe is not in use instead of having to have the door stay open  .


Some good ideas in there.

My change gears are going in the slide drawer on pins I think.

Power bar stays in the cabinet. The cabinet is nice and clean on the outside and I'd be hooking and bending it on things all the time when I roll the lathe out to work on it, clean behind it, etc.I have plenty of outlets in my shop so it's fine dedicated to the just lathe and its attachments. It's nice and protected where it is and still leaves a perfect storage space for my ultrasonic cleaner.

The power switch behind the door is where I want it. I'm using it as a " master off" for everything when I walk away from the lathe and not much else. I can look across the shop and tell if the power is on or off by the lighted switch behind the smoked plexi door. It's what works for me. The light, cycletrol, etc still have thier own power/kill switches so no hassle there.

Drawers are in the plan, but for the other side of the cabinet and as budget or scrounging allows.

The layout may not be the most effeciet for everyone but i don't do a lot of work on my lathe and its not several operations when I do so things are located good enough for my use.


----------



## great white

Started the dro installation:




I did the big one first as it was going to be the most trouble.

I took a cheap caliper apart and modified the slide to fit a piece of al holding the sensor strip. Drilled and tapped two 1/4 holes in the bed and bolted it up.

The bracket to hold the head turned out to be messier than I wanted. I did one leg and when I found that it allowed the head to cock and stick I had to add the second one. Works smooth as silk now and I at least have a template to make a nicer one in the future.

It's got a 24" travel (limits of the carriage) and a .001 error when I run it from one end back to the other.

I don't use coolant, but a nice little bent al cover will protect it fine. That's why the bracket goes down and under the head and track.

Next up will be building cross slide and tail stock measures but they will be easy as I can just use the cheap calipers "as is" without making a sensor strip.

Yuri's dro and my nexus 7 tablet will pull it all together into a usable readout while I'm working.


----------



## schor

What will you do for the x-axis dro? Here's what I did on my atlas.


----------



## great white

I was actually looking at your video on you tube yesterday and will likely follow the same idea as yours.

Good thing is it is nice and hidden, I can incorporate the carriage indicator into the cross slide bracket (where you mounted it to the traveling steady rest holes) and all the siring will drop out at the same place where I can put it all in a cable chain guide.

I also like the plate instead of the "chip deflector". I'll probably "borrow" that also.



I also want to put a gauge on the compound, but I'm having a little bit of a thinker on how to mount that one....


----------



## great white

Built the arduino interface and Bluetooth module for my dro setup.

Hooked it up to a caliper and fired up the Android dro app from yuris toys.

Fired up the arduino and it took the sketch (ie:,program) just fine.

Dro program hooked up to the Bluetooth module but I wasnt getting any data.

Went back to yuris site and discovered I didn't read closely enough. The arduino version doesn't work with Chinese calipers, only Igauging/accurite scales.

So, I'm faced with either buying iguaging/accurite scales at somewhere around 100 bucks a pop (closer to 200 for the z axis after shipping and exchange) or building the launchpad version of the interface and use the Chinese based scale I've already built for my z axis and couple more  "cheapies" for the other axis'.

Let's see now: 200-400 for scales or somewhere just shy of 50 bucks to build the interface......hmmmmmm....

Launchpad board is in the mail.

Lol!


----------



## great white

I was cruising eBay and ran across a 7" android tablet that (fromt eh description) seemed to meet Yuri's specs for running a dro. 

23 bucks delivered to my door. 

Grabbed it, now I have a dedicated touch tablet for the lathe.


----------



## great white

Mounted the Cycltrol 150 in the lathe cabinet today, started wiring the control panel for it and painted the Baldor 3/4 hp motor to get ready for mounting.


----------



## great white

Made a mount for the baldor 3/4 hp DC motor and mounted it on the TH42.

Installed the reversing switch in the control head.

With any luck, it will be wired up and running tomorrow. It's been two days without a running lathe now and I feel......."exposed".



Gotta say, that Baldor DC motor absolutely dwarfs the 1/8 hp ac motor that the lathe came with.

Trying to decide where to put the slap kill switch.

Seems like somewhere on the left side somewhere  (as you look at it) makes the most sense to reach it with either hand. It's also where the work is going on (ie: headstock) so most likely to be close to it.


----------



## schor

great white said:


> Made a mount for the baldor 3/4 hp DC motor and mounted it on the TH42.
> 
> Installed the reversing switch in the control head.
> 
> With any luck, it will be wired up and running tomorrow. It's been two days without a running lathe now and I feel......."exposed".
> 
> 
> 
> Gotta say, that Baldor DC motor absolutely dwarfs the 1/8 hp ac motor that the lathe came with.
> 
> Trying to decide where to put the slap kill switch.
> 
> Seems like somewhere on the left side somewhere  (as you look at it) makes the most sense to reach it with either hand. It's also where the work is going on (ie: headstock) so most likely to be close to it.



Pictures or a video or it didn't happen. Congrats on getting er done.


----------



## great white

schor said:


> Pictures or a video or it didn't happen...


okey dokey. Not much to look at though.

Motor:




The motor is a flange mount and sealed unit. Bolted at the pulley end and and sitting on a rubber isolation block at the other. It's more than strong enough in this application and I've captured 3 of the mount bolts. I still have to clean up the mount bracket to look like something other than the 90 degree bend piece of Al that it is. Prob just radius the corners and call it good. The data plate looks a little "distressed" because it's previous life was industrial use in a paper mill. You can still see some paper residue on the face in the picture below (still have to give it a final cleaning). Brushes checked out good and the commutator is smooth and clean. Motor should pretty much outlast the lathe in this application. I'm looking forward to not having the motor drag down to nearly stall when I put tool to surface. It may only be a 3/4 horse, but it's going to out torque that little 1/8 Hp AC motor all day long.

Wiring in progress:




Reversing switch installed in control head next to tach display:


----------



## great white

Got the dc motor and cycletrol up and running:








I didn't bother with wring up the reversing switch. I don't need it for anything right now and I didn't feel like running the extra wiring. It's going to have limited use anyways since my spindle is the "thread on" type.

I'll probably sew up the cover for the lathe tomorrow and leave it at that for a while. I've got stuff to do around the house and the motorcycle projects are falling a bit behind schedule.

The lathe is up and running again, that's good enough to be able to use it again.


----------



## Round in circles

great white said:


> Started the dro installation:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I did the big one first as it was going to be the most trouble.
> 
> I took a cheap caliper apart and modified the slide to fit a piece of al holding the sensor strip. Drilled and tapped two 1/4 holes in the bed and bolted it up.
> 
> The bracket to hold the head turned out to be messier than I wanted. I did one leg and when I found that it allowed the head to cock and stick I had to add the second one. Works smooth as silk now and I at least have a template to make a nicer one in the future.
> 
> It's got a 24" travel (limits of the carriage) and a .001 error when I run it from one end back to the other.
> 
> I don't use coolant, but a nice little bent al cover will protect it fine. That's why the bracket goes down and under the head and track.
> 
> Next up will be building cross slide and tail stock measures but they will be easy as I can just use the cheap calipers "as is" without making a sensor strip.
> 
> Yuri's dro and my nexus 7 tablet will pull it all together into a usable readout while I'm working.



GW,
How do those sensor strips work ?   Is it by a wiped  electrical contact on a resistance or via an ultrasonic measuring system that bounces a signal off bars in micro widths  of reflective material set in the strip & then uses micro chip processing to count them .

 I ask because I'd like to know if they are affected by oil or grease on them & if not why ?


----------



## great white

Round in circles said:


> GW,
> How do those sensor strips work ?   Is it by a wiped  electrical contact on a resistance or via an ultrasonic measuring system that bounces a signal off bars in micro widths  of reflective material set in the strip & then uses micro chip processing to count them .
> 
> I ask because I'd like to know if they are affected by oil or grease on them & if not why ?


Capacitance measuring as far as I know. here's a pdf with some info on them if you would like to veiw it:
http://www.lima.com.tr/BasicTiger/Applications/PDF/appn_066e_Reading out a digital vernier caliper.PDF

They won't get getting anything on them in my particular application as they will have a shield over them once it's all done.


----------



## great white

was sitting here thinking about how much the DC conversion cost me. 

$85 for the Baldor 3/4 hp Motor and it was 35 bucks for the cycletrol (the one I used). $18 for two 16 foot lengths of 14 gauge extension cord to wire it all up. 

The rest was leftover bits I had lying around. 

So, just shy of $140 for the whole shebang. 

Not bad for an "industrial quality" drive. Not too bad at all!


----------



## great white

Went looking for a slightly shorter belt for the motor as it was a bit loose due to the change in motor size.

Original belt is a 4L390. I needed a 380 and no one in this one horse burg had one. 

I finally found one at an auto parts store a ways up the road. I returned home thinking I would pop it on and all would be good. 

Nope. The 380 had some weird defect that caused it to half twist on the pulley at the same point every time. No big, I had also grabbed a 370 from the same store just in case the 380 was still too long.

I pull the 370 out of the sleeve and try to install it. 

No joy here either. The parts guy had given me a frikin 350!

That was enough of that. I went out and bought some longer bolts and some fender washers. I spaced the middle pulley assembly up about 1/2" and that gave me enough additional adjustment to take up the slack in the belt.

While I was at it, I reshape the clip guard and a few other bits that were allowing the motor to make more noise than it normally would.

The motor runs pretty much quiet now and the lathe even is running quieter.


----------



## mattthemuppet2

great white said:


> I didn't bother with wring up the reversing switch. I don't need it for anything right now and I didn't feel like running the extra wiring. It's going to have limited use anyways since my spindle is the "thread on" type.



looking really good, you'll love the variable speed! As for not needing reversing, it's *super* useful when doing metric threads if you don't have a metric lathe. Keep the halfnuts engaged, do cut, wind out, reverse lathe, wind in, do cut etc etc. If you don't have reverse you either have to reverse the spindle by hand with a crank or be very careful to re-engage the halfnuts at exactly the right spot on the bed and the threading dial. Trust me, I have a 618 and a reversible DC motor and cutting a 32x1.5mm thread for a collet nut was a breeze.


----------



## great white

mattthemuppet said:


> looking really good, you'll love the variable speed! As for not needing reversing, it's *super* useful when doing metric threads if you don't have a metric lathe. Keep the halfnuts engaged, do cut, wind out, reverse lathe, wind in, do cut etc etc. If you don't have reverse you either have to reverse the spindle by hand with a crank or be very careful to re-engage the halfnuts at exactly the right spot on the bed and the threading dial. Trust me, I have a 618 and a reversible DC motor and cutting a 32x1.5mm thread for a collet nut was a breeze.


Thanks for the gen info.

I am planing to wire up the reversing switch, just haven't done it yet. I was aware of how easy it makes metric threading on a "non metric" lathe, which is something I will eventually get in to as I build metric motorcycles.

The boys in the machine shop told me reverse is also useful when cutting a snap ring or o-ring land inside a cylinder. Just run the lathe backwards and you can cut the "back wall" of the cylinder, making it easier to watch as it cuts. That will be useful for me as I often need to do that operation as well. Well, haven't done it yet but I sure can use it.

I'm already liking the variable speeds. Makes it very easy to adjust for cutting speeds "on the fly".

Next project is to get the spindle tach wired up. Even though the DC motor is rated the same speeds as the old AC (1750), I'm pretty sure it's fast enough that it might be overspeeding the lather on the highest setting on the cycletrol.

Spindle tach will also make it easy to get the SFM "in the ballpark" and then a little tweek to improve the cut.

Yep, DC motor and the speed control are a nice step up for me so far!


----------



## great white

Mounted the tach sensor for the rpm gauge today:




The magnet is a small neodymium dot. Hangs on to the spindle just fine all on it's own. Routed the wire through a rubber lined clamp to keep it out of the change gears and added a second clamp on the bottom of the guard for neatness if nothing else.

I used an old adapter (12v) from my junk drawer to power the tach. It turns on and off with the power bar, which turns everything else off too.

I popped the connector into the control/display head and powered it up.




Looked good, but I turned the lathe on and it stayed at "0". I did a bit of troubleshooting, but it wouldn't move off "0". I had a second head (bought for the drill press), so I plugged that in and it worked fine.

I turned them both over and inspected them with the 20X lighted magnifier. Yep, there it is: the first head is missing and OpAmp on the board. Looks like it was knocked off the PCB somehow, you can see where something used to be soldered to the pads. Shipping, birth defect or it happened on my shelf, I have no idea. It was also bought back in feb so any chance of returning it is long gone.

A stroll through ebay reveals it's as much for an op amp as it is for a new display since the chips had to be bought in quantities. Ditto for non eBay suppliers.

A quick rummage through the junk drawer again turned up a handful of opamps. Looking up the specs called for a Ic 8-16 mA OA on the pcb, but the closest I had was one spec'd for 50 mA. Well, it's just a diode and an emitter array, the display is useless like it is, so i figure what the heck: fire up the Weller wesd51 station and drop the 50 mA OA on the board. Do or die!



Out to the shop, plug it in and: bingo!

Works perfect.

So I'll put the "as delivered" one on the lathe and put the repaired one away for the drill press.

Quick vid of it up and running:






Seems to track fine and is plenty accurate for the type of work I'll be doing. Takes a second or two for it to refresh to zero once it stops, but that doesn't matter a wit to me since I'm done with working whatever is in the chuck at that point anyways. It will take longer for me to grab the mic and measure the work than for it to refresh to "0".

Decent bit of work for about an hour's worth of time. I'm quite happy with the results.


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## great white

Got a few spare moments tonight so I tried turning a bit of black pipe I had already mounted in the chuck.

I was actually able to dial in the right rpm for the proper sfm with the turn of the dial and the DC motor refused to bog like the old ac motor. All while running on the highest speed pulleys.

Cut fast and easy. Very nice change. Almost like a different lathe!

Still have some chatter, but I think that's down to my just starting out grinding my own tooling and the one I have in there right now has a rough/dull edge. I'll get that cleaned up this weekend and see if the chatter goes away or at least get to a decent finish on the cuts.

My little grinder doesn't have the best of wheels for making tooling (genetics coarse and fine wheels), so I'll probably try the sharpening stone once I get the rough grind done. Kinda back on familiar ground for me as I sharpen my chisels and knives on a hand stone all the time with good results.

Still, very pleased with how the DC motor project came out. Much more usable machine.

Now, where's that drill press.....


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## schor

What pulleys do you have setup in that video? What is maximum speed you can go?


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## great white

schor said:


> What pulleys do you have setup in that video? What is maximum speed you can go?


All oem, what came with the lathe.

Baldour motor is the same speed as the ac motor, 1750 rpm.

Haven't had it maxed out on speed yet. I'll check today. In theory, it should be capable of its rated 2072 rpm I guess....


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## great white

So. The lathe maxes out at just a touch over 1000 rpm.

Time for a bigger motor pulley.

It's a 2" right now, same size as the one on the AC motor. Likely chosen to keep the motor speed up as it was only a 1/8 hp motor.

I'll try a 3" and a 4.5" to see what I can get the rpm up to.

Those sizes mostly because I have them lying around right now.

Won't be exceeding the original 2072rpm rating though...


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## wa5cab

The two diameters on the original 10-428 (5/8" dia. shaft) and 9-428 (1/2" dia. shaft) were 4.390" (fast) and 1.930" (slow).  For reference if you don't have the original 2-step countershaft pulley, the matching diameters were 7.5" and 9.0" or so one report said.  So if you have the original countershaft pulley, a 4.5" motor pulley would put you only 2.5% faster than the speeds shown on the original speed chart.

Edit:  That would be with the motor at 1740 RPM.


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## great white

So a 4.5" pulley will overspeed the lathe with the 9" countershaft pulley. Saw 2200 and didn't want to push it any higher.

No problems though as I just won't turn up the variable speed that high. It was pretty close to maxed out at 2200 anyways.


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## wa5cab

OK.


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## atlas ten

great white said:


> Mounted the tach sensor for the rpm gauge today:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The magnet is a small neodymium dot. Hangs on to the spindle just fine all on it's own. Routed the wire through a rubber lined clamp to keep it out of the change gears and added a second clamp on the bottom of the guard for neatness if nothing else.
> 
> 
> 
> great white said:
> 
> 
> 
> Mounted the tach sensor for the rpm gauge today:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The magnet is a small neodymium dot. Hangs on to the spindle just fine all on it's own. Routed the wire through a rubber lined clamp to keep it out of the change gears and added a second clamp on the bottom of the guard for neatness if nothing else.
> 
> I used an old adapter (12v) from my junk drawer to power the tach. It turns on and off with the power bar, which turns everything else off too.
> 
> I popped the connector into the control/display head and powered it up.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Looked good, but I turned the lathe on and it stayed at "0". I did a bit of troubleshooting, but it wouldn't move off "0". I had a second head (bought for the drill press), so I plugged that in and it worked fine.
> 
> I turned them both over and inspected them with the 20X lighted magnifier. Yep, there it is: the first head is missing and OpAmp on the board. Looks like it was knocked off the PCB somehow, you can see where something used to be soldered to the pads. Shipping, birth defect or it happened on my shelf, I have no idea. It was also bought back in feb so any chance of returning it is long gone.
> 
> A stroll through ebay reveals it's as much for an op amp as it is for a new display since the chips had to be bought in quantities. Ditto for non eBay suppliers.
> 
> A quick rummage through the junk drawer again turned up a handful of opamps. Looking up the specs called for a Ic 8-16 mA OA on the pcb, but the closest I had was one spec'd for 50 mA. Well, it's just a diode and an emitter array, the display is useless like it is, so i figure what the heck: fire up the Weller wesd51 station and drop the 50 mA OA on the board. Do or die!
> 
> 
> 
> Out to the shop, plug it in and: bingo!
> 
> Works perfect.
> 
> So I'll put the "as delivered" one on the lathe and put the repaired one away for the drill press.
> 
> Quick vid of it up and running:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Seems to track fine and is plenty accurate for the type of work I'll be doing. Takes a second or two for it to refresh to zero once it stops, but that doesn't matter a wit to me since I'm done with working whatever is in the chuck at that point anyways. It will take longer for me to grab the mic and measure the work than for it to refresh to "0".
> 
> Decent bit of work for about an hour's worth of time. I'm quite happy with the results.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hi. Have you had any clearance issues with the bigger gears and the sensor?
> Jack
> 
> Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


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## great white

not sure if there was a question there, forum won't let me expand your quote so all i can see is the picture in my original post.......


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## wa5cab

Here's what he asked:
******************************
Hi. Have you had any clearance issues with the bigger gears and the sensor?
Jack
******************************
It somehow ended up in the quote.


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## great white

No issues.

Everything clears fine.

But if you copy what I've done, you have to build your brackets so that it clears.

I used aluminum, but it's 7075 sheet. Little harder than the usual 6062 and seems to hold the sensor rigid.

7075 is a bit less forgiving when bending it though...


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## atlas ten

great white said:


> No issues.
> 
> Everything clears fine.
> 
> But if you copy what I've done, you have to build your brackets so that it clears.
> 
> I used aluminum, but it's 7075 sheet. Little harder than the usual 6062 and seems to hold the sensor rigid.
> 
> 7075 is a bit less forgiving when bending it though...


That was the question.  I have plans to get speed sensor for my atlas lathe to. Working other projects right now.
Jack

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk


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## great white

atlas ten said:


> That was the question.  I have plans to get speed sensor for my atlas lathe to. Working other projects right now.
> Jack
> 
> Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk


Cool.

That's just an eBay special. Cost me all of 10 bucks (shipped) iirc.

Had to buy the magnet,but I just grabbed the small cheap pack they sell at PA.

I try to be pretty frugal (ie:cheap) when I build stuff. EBay is a good source for inexpensive stuff for me since everything is expensive/hard to find here in Atlantic Canada.


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