# New Atlas 10" Lathe!



## ChandlerJPerry (Aug 9, 2020)

Uh oh... A new machine followed me home. A couple months ago I got my first lathe, a Mk 2 Atlas 6 inch. While it has been fun to tinker with, and a good little machine, I've been finding my eyes wandering in search of something larger. Being located in Utah, the market is pretty dry. What does come up isn't great, I would really rather not pay $1,600 for a dirty South Bend 9" with little tooling.

But then a stroke of luck occurred Thursday, someone listed a Craigslist ad for a tool sale, which mentioned a lathe. I emailed the seller and asked for details on the lathe, received pictures, and deduced it to be a 10" Atlas with a 54" bed. But there was one problem, it was in Montana, about 6 hours, or 450 miles away. Briefly considering my options, I braved telling my significant other that I wanted the machine, and took my mandatory beating. I called the seller and arranged to pick up on Saturday, and got in touch with a good friend who's willing to drive to the middle of nowhere with me at the drop of a hat.

We're both total night owls, so we left home at midnight on Friday, arriving in Helena, Montana at about 6:30 AM. We met the seller and picked up the machine, despite his skepticism about whether or not it would fit in my chosen vehicle: a 2000 Saturn LS2 sedan. We cruised back home and here we are now. Here are pics of the haul and photographic evidence that you can in fact fit an Atlas QC54 in a medium sized sedan if the rear seats fold down.

It came with the taper attachment, steady and follow rests, 3 and 4 jaws plus drive plate and dogs, a handwheel for collets, the milling attachment, the motor + mount and countershaft, plus myriad other goodies like cutters, inside and outside micrometers, Morse taper adapters, etc. Total cost for the trip including the machine and all its goodies, gas and food, was about $530. 

The machine is dirty but seems to have been well kept, the spindle spins freely and all the gears look immaculate, it mostly looks like accumulation of grime, dirt, and light rust from years of sitting in storage. I'm planning to strip it down and at minimum clean everything, potentially repaint it too depending on what mood strikes me, I'm very excited to have a lathe with all the bells and whistles I've been wanting, I think it will keep me happy for a long time.


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## ChandlerJPerry (Aug 9, 2020)

Oops, forgot the pictures of it loaded in the car! Here they are. The headstock was in the trunk with the bed sticking through the hole.


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## Dhal22 (Aug 9, 2020)

Oh wow,  in a car.....


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## ChandlerJPerry (Aug 9, 2020)

Dhal22 said:


> Oh wow,  in a car.....


The seller was just as incredulous, the car performed fantastically though. I figured the 400-450 lbs of stuff in the back really wouldn't be much worse on it than a couple large guys sitting in the backseat and it looks like my theory was correct. I have a truck but the concept of 8 MPG on a 1,000 mile round trip really wasn't appealing to me, not to mention the truck doesn't have A/C, or a very good stereo, or speakers that aren't blown out.... The car has a 3.0 liter V6 so despite the extra weight I was able to comfortably go 60-70 MPH in the mountains of Montana, and 80 MPH in flat areas. I had to brake a little earlier too, which isn't shocking.


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## larry4406 (Aug 9, 2020)

I think for net $530 you got quite a deal.


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## jcp (Aug 9, 2020)

I'm with Larry....you got a fantastic deal!!


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## Moderatemixed (Aug 9, 2020)

You sir found a “Unicorn”. You could recover most if not all of your expense if you were to part with wither the milling attachment or the taper attachment.... but don’t. The “missis” clearly said yes, so no need to step backwards. Not only does it have all that you mentioned but it’s got the QCGB too!!!!! And look at the tooling! Those taper drills alone are a fortune!! You have to feel like a million bucks. If you do decide to do a bit of a restoration, see if the bed needs to be reground. Mine was close, so I elected to get it done and despite a few rigidity issues (which I am confident I can overcome) the lathe is a great hobby machine. I can’t tell you how awesome it it to see guys score SO well! And hats off to your buddy! That guy deserves a bottle of something..... we can all use pals lime that. Have fun just sifting through all the goodies and know that so many of us are jealous as hell! 

Cheers. 

Derek


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## Gaffer (Aug 9, 2020)

The stars were in perfect alignment for you - an amazing deal, a great friend and all of it fitting in your car! And an understanding wife! Well done sir!


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## gonzo (Aug 9, 2020)

70 mph AVERAGE ! I would have gotten about a dozen tickets.


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## ShagDog (Aug 9, 2020)

As stated by many, you got a great deal. Hope you enjoy it.


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## Papa Charlie (Aug 9, 2020)

Congrats on the great find. Even got a bunch of tooling that is rare to be included. Wouldn't mind just finding the MT Drill bit set. 

Good to have friends that will help us on these adventures.


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## markba633csi (Aug 9, 2020)

Even for a grand that would be a good deal. You almost never see a taper attachment _and_ a steady rest included with an Atlas
Congrats
-Mark


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## chippermat (Aug 9, 2020)

Great find congrats


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## wa5cab (Aug 9, 2020)

I agree with the other comments.  You got a bargain just on all of the major attachments.  The lathe, which is probably shown on the nameplate as a QC54, could be considered as a freebie.  When you get time, report the new acquisition including model and serial number in the long-running thread at the top of the Sticky area.


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## pontiac428 (Aug 9, 2020)

I would go with the others and say that the sun was shining on you, but the truth is you did the legwork and pulled off a 1000 mile haul to get it, so in my mind you earned every bit of that shoot-eatin grin that you should be wearing right now.


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## graham-xrf (Aug 9, 2020)

I'm with @larry4406  and the others. $530 including the trip? That is a bargain! I see there is a steady rest in there also, and most of us would take years to put together a collection of tailstock drills like that.

BTW - At HM, you might be allowed to use the phrase "followed me home", if not dragging a trailer, only once.


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## VSAncona (Aug 27, 2020)

Wow, I just logged on to the forum to gloat and share some photos of the 10” Atlas lathe I picked up today. But there’s no comparison with the deal you got! Pretty rare to find all those accessories with the lathe! Nice score!


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