# Introduction - New member



## jrkorman (Oct 31, 2017)

Been hanging out in the forums since this past summer, picking up info here and there.

Jumped on a chance "Craftsman lathe" at an estate sale nearby in Abilene, TX. Turned out to
be a Craftsman 12x24; 101.07403 (Serial # 6069 S) for sale. Was able to look it over pretty well
and it ended up going home with me; now my first operational lathe (I've got parts of a 618 in storage).

(added picture)


First off, thanks to the many folks who have discussed their lathes here. Those comments and references
helped me to go over all of the lubrication points and such to make sure everything was ok.
Once I got power to the lathe I noticed that it was quite noisy at the tumbler. Took that completely
apart, cleaned everything well and applied some lube to everything that moved. Smooth and quiet now.

Still quite a bit of cleaning to go; the carriage is filthy and has quite a few chips everywhere.
Since I haven't used a lathe since the 9th grade (1971/2) I'm "hitting the books" and will be taking
it slow for a bit.

Jim Korman


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## Z2V (Oct 31, 2017)

Congrats on landing your new old lathe. Look forward to you posting pics of it. You know, without pics it never happened!!
Welcome to the forum, there are many here that can answer all your questions and always willing to do so. It's a great place.


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## westsailpat (Oct 31, 2017)

618 parts  ? Welcome to H-M . What parts will you be turning ?


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## jrkorman (Oct 31, 2017)

Jeff, Same as I told my grandson when he was telling me about his 13" bass. Been removing the very old fiberglass insulation
from the shop and replacing it with foam board.

Jim Korman


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## Glenn Brooks (Oct 31, 2017)

Hi Jim,

 welcome to HM.  tubalcaine, aka Mr. Pete, in his older Utube videos has many, very well done videos on machining.  You might check out his list and look for topics that intwrest you. I found dozens of videos that were spot on when I was trying to figure out proper methods for making chips.

Also, the search feature on the forum often will bring up some excellent discussion about how to do stuff.  AS well as throwing a question out to the list - anytime you want to!

Glenn


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## Z2V (Oct 31, 2017)

Nice lathe, I see a QCTP in your future.


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## jrkorman (Oct 31, 2017)

Glenn Brooks said:


> Hi Jim,
> 
> welcome to HM.  tubalcaine, aka Mr. Pete, in his older Utube videos has many, very well done videos on machining.  You might check out his list and look for topics that intwrest you. I found dozens of videos that were spot on when I was trying to figure out proper methods for making chips.
> 
> ...



Indeed - I've been going through his video's for awhile now. Kind of reminds me of our 9th grade metal shop teacher. I've been
using his Atlas/Craftsman 12" videos as a "how-to" to set up the "cleaning order" for mine.

BTW - How'd I end up with two separate threads? Not had this problem on other forums!

Jim


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## Z2V (Oct 31, 2017)

Jim
You might try to reach out to one of the moderators and ask if they can be consolidated before it goes too far. Maybe?


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## francist (Oct 31, 2017)

Don't worry about it, something funny going on with the board today. Lots of double if not more duplicate posts showing up. Weird Halloween thing?

-frank


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## westsailpat (Nov 1, 2017)

It happened to me on my Gilmer 4 in 1 post in vintage machinery 4 times before I realized what was going on . I kept getting a message that my post had a problem and I should try later . One thing that is new (and I really like it) is the attachment (paper clip) for pics . Nice !


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## brino (Nov 1, 2017)

Hi Jim,

Nice lathe!

Here's a couple things that might interest you............

The SouthBend How to Run a Lathe book (in PDF):
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/resources/sb-how-to-run-a-lathe-1966-27th-edition-56-pdf.2909/
A great intro book for any make lathe.

A recent, useful (but really long!) thread on sharpening HSS tools:
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/models-for-grinding-hss-lathe-tools.62111/

-brino


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## wa5cab (Nov 1, 2017)

Jim,

I deleted your duplicate past at the top.  

The illustrated parts list for the 101.07403 is available as a .PDF in the Atlas/Craftsman area in Downloads.  Before looking for it, read the Downloads usage instructions that are in the Sticky area near the top of this Forum.

The other book that you should have to go with the 101.07403 is the Atlas Manual of Lathe Operation...  It is unfortunately not available in Downloads because of Copyright issues (the 33rd Edition is still available new from Clausing).  However, the version that you actually want is one of the many Copyright 1937 editions.  Atlas did not start to put the print year and edition number on the Copyright page until the 16th Edition 1954/55.  And that edition is better for the later QCGB equipped 101.27430 and 27440.  The earlier ones are often available on eBay in the typical price range of $25 to $35.  But the sellers seldom know enough about what they are selling to include a photo of the first page in Part 7 - Threading.  So you usually have to write and ask them whether that page mentions the Atlas F-series Ten Inch or the Sears Master Craftsman.  You want the latter.  If Part 7 - Threading has no pages bound in and the seller is not including the separate Supplement for the Sears Master Craftsman, skip it and keep looking.  There is a Molo History document in Downloads that explains all of this in more detail.


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## thomas s (Nov 1, 2017)

Hi Robert, Could you tell me what time frame the 101.07403 was made thanks. thomas s


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## wa5cab (Nov 1, 2017)

Sure.  1940 (catalog year, so probably from late 1939) through early or mid 1957.

If you have occasion to pull the spindle, be sure to record and report the dates and your machine's Serial Number.  There is a thread at the top of the Forum for doing that in.  The dates are actually the bearing inspection dates but they are our best method for dating an Atlas built  lathe (up through about 1957, anyway).  If you aren't going to pull the spindle, if you report the model and serial number, I'll give you a best guess on year of manufacture based on other reported dates.


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## markba633csi (Nov 1, 2017)

Hi Jim, welcome.  Have fun with your mechanical beastie.  Beware of Ebay; Atlas parts are often way overpriced.  Be patient and shop around.
Mark S.


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## jrkorman (Nov 2, 2017)

wa5cab said:


> Jim,
> 
> I deleted your duplicate past at the top.
> 
> ...



Thank you for cleaning up the threads! I've got both of the documents you mentioned (in PDF) as well as quite a few others.
Was close to getting the "618" going, but we moved and it (and parts) are in storage right now.

Jim


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## jrkorman (Nov 2, 2017)

wa5cab said:


> Sure.  1940 (catalog year, so probably from late 1939) through early or mid 1957.
> 
> If you have occasion to pull the spindle, be sure to record and report the dates and your machine's Serial Number.  There is a thread at the top of the Forum for doing that in.  The dates are actually the bearing inspection dates but they are our best method for dating an Atlas built  lathe (up through about 1957, anyway).  If you aren't going to pull the spindle, if you report the model and serial number, I'll give you a best guess on year of manufacture based on other reported dates.



I've read through that thread (most at least). Mentioned in the first post - 101.07403 (Serial # 6069 S) - The current belt is in good shape and don't see any other reasons for tearing into the headstock so dates may be way in the future! Checked the spindle runout at well less than 5/10s so I'm feeling pretty good about this so far.

Jim


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## thomas s (Nov 2, 2017)

Thanks Robert, I found the label on the bed it only has 10107403 where would the serial number be on the lathe? thomas s


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## Silverbullet (Nov 2, 2017)

Hi and welcome , great starter lathe , good luck and be safe.


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## jrkorman (Nov 2, 2017)

thomas s said:


> Thanks Robert, I found the label on the bed it only has 10107403 where would the serial number be on the lathe? thomas s



Far right corner on top of the way nearest to you.

Jim


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## wa5cab (Nov 2, 2017)

Thomas,

Up until sometime between 1947 and 1957, the model number was on the nameplate, the nameplate was on the rear of the bed, and the Serial Number was stamped into the top of the front way near the right end, in the strip where neither the carriage nor the tailstock run.  At some point in that time frame, the nameplates moved from rear to right end of the bed.  Also within that period, the serial number moved from stamped on the way to stamped on the nameplate.  We don't currently know whether the serial number moved at the same time as the nameplate or later.  So short answer is that if you bed still has its nameplate and the serial number isn't on the nameplate, then it should be on the way.

Jim,

OK.  Not long after I posted the question, I saw that you had put the serial number in your first post.  Sorry that I forgot it.  

On dating your machine, we are hampered by the fact that Atlas production records, which almost certainly existed at one time, do not appear to have survived.  Atlas, on the succession of 10" models (except for the first two or three years of QC model production) seems to have started with Serial Number 000001 in 1935 and run consecutively up to something over 088786 in 1951 (strangely, we have no records of 10" with either higher serial numbers or later dates, but that's another subject).  So with some margin or error, you could ID the original 10" model number from the serial number.  But on the 12" built for Sears, we have enough examples to conclude that each of the three model lines (101.0736x, 101.0738x and 101.0740x) started at 1 and ran up.  So with several caveats or assumptions, your machine was probably made in early 1942.


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## thomas s (Nov 3, 2017)

wa5cab said:


> Thomas,
> 
> Up until sometime between 1947 and 1957, the model number was on the nameplate, the nameplate was on the rear of the bed, and the Serial Number was stamped into the top of the front way near the right end, in the strip where neither the carriage nor the tailstock run.  At some point in that time frame, the nameplates moved from rear to right end of the bed.  Also within that period, the serial number moved from stamped on the way to stamped on the nameplate.  We don't currently know whether the serial number moved at the same time as the nameplate or later.  So short answer is that if you bed still has its nameplate and the serial number isn't on the nameplate, then it should be on the way.
> 
> ...


Hi Robert, I found the serial # it is 25364 thanks for your help thomas s


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## wa5cab (Nov 3, 2017)

Thomas,

OK.  Calculations based on bearing dates of one earlier and one later example puts yours as December, 1949.  Given that from examples where we have both bearing dates, we know that Atlas did not follow any First In - First Out procedure and that the largest time lag we have between the dates on the two bearings is about a year, the best that we can say is minus nothing (couldn't have been made earlier than the earliest known bearing date) to plus a year.  So December of 1949 to December of 1950.

What is the bed length on your machine (choices in your case are 42 or 54, which correspond to a distance between centers of 24" or 36")


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## thomas s (Nov 3, 2017)

Thank You Robert. thomas s It is a 36''


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## wa5cab (Nov 3, 2017)

OK.  I assume that you mean 12x36, so the bed length is 54".


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## thomas s (Nov 3, 2017)

Yes correct.


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## NortonDommi (Nov 3, 2017)

Nice lathe and there is heaps of  literature on them. I gave an Atlas one to a friend a couple of years ago and he has done stuff that I wouldn't have thought possible probably because he is a carpenter and knows not.
  Check out the downloads section page 37.


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## wa5cab (Nov 5, 2017)

N,

If you searched through 37 of the currently 39 pages of files in Downloads to find something, you need to read the Downloads instructions in the Sticky area.  You shouldn't normally have to search manually through more than one page.


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## jrkorman (Nov 7, 2017)

jrkorman said:


> Been hanging out in the forums since this past summer, picking up info here and there.
> 
> Jumped on a chance "Craftsman lathe" at an estate sale nearby in Abilene, TX. Turned out to
> be a Craftsman 12x24; 101.07403 (Serial # 6069 S) for sale. Was able to look it over pretty well
> ...



So a correction! Got looking closer (and using the 1942 Sears Catalog as a guide) - this lathe is a 12x18 - measured the bed at 36 inches.

Jim Korman


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## wa5cab (Nov 7, 2017)

OK.  Thanks for the correction.  I'll correct the database.


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