# Craftsman 07301 flea market find



## FanMan (May 27, 2018)

I wasn't really looking for a lathe even though I don't (didn't) have one, I've managed to turn small things on my mill... anyway I was at a flea market today with my wife, not expecting to find much, when I saw this little gem on the floor with a $100 price tag on it.  Looked in good shape, asked if there were any other parts, yes, he brought out a motor and a box of accessories.  Upshot is I offered him $70 and he took it and helped me carry it to the car.




I thought it was missing parts, but no:




The rust isn't bad, mostly minor surface rust, everything turns and all the slides move freely, if a bit gunked up from old oil.  The cross slide crank is broken, no big deal.  I haven't tried the motor yet, but that's also a minor detail, motors are plentiful.   Now I just have to clean it up and build a stand for it (just what I need, another project).

I haven't figured out how to make the chuck move (Craftsman 383-22970)... anybody?  The holes on the sides aren't for a square or hex key, it looks like the chuck body turns relative to the center, but try to turn it and it'll just unscrew it from the spindle (or lock it on tighter).







I'd also like to know just how old it is, is there a serial number reference anywhere?  (6L 025448)


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## ELHEAD (May 27, 2018)

You should be ashamed of yourself. But on the other hand I couldn't have passed it up. Great deal!


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## CluelessNewB (May 27, 2018)

You should be indicted for grand larceny!


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## FOMOGO (May 27, 2018)

Chuck operates with a pin spanner. Soak it in some kerosene,  or spray it with some PB blaster. The knurled  ring will rotate on the body. Nice score. Mike
Some thing like this.


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## markba633csi (May 27, 2018)

Great deal, the steady rest alone is worth 2-3x what you paid


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## thomas s (May 27, 2018)

Wow that was a great deal.


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## dlane (May 28, 2018)

Tommy bar chuck, as Fomogo said , did you get the change gears for thread cutting? , nice score.


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## Charles Spencer (May 28, 2018)

It looks like a stack of change gears in the picture.


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## machinejack (May 28, 2018)

I love it when the seller is unaware of what they have. There are deals waiting around every corner. Got a"complete  in the metal case" Bridgeport boring head for $50 once. But a whole lathe is a better deal. Good score got my first lathe a 9" Southbend for $45.00 when I was 15.


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## FanMan (May 28, 2018)

Got the chuck unstuck and disassembled, it was just gunked up with old grease.  Of course knowing what to turn relative to what helped, it's such a close fit it wasn't immediately obvious that the knurled ring was separate from the chuck body, though on reflection it's obvious that it would have to be.  A bit of scotchbrite and maybe a dunk in evaporust and it'll be good as new.  

Somewhere I saw a suggestion to drill holes in the chuck body so two tommy bars could be used to tighten / loosen it to avoid overtightening/loosening it on the spindle threads.  Lathe newbie question:  just how tight does it have to be in use?


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## Nogoingback (May 28, 2018)

If you don't run in it reverse is doesn't need to be very tight at all.

GREAT score.


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## FanMan (May 28, 2018)

Nogoingback said:


> If you don't run in it reverse is doesn't need to be very tight at all.



I don't mean the chuck on the spindle, I mean the tightening of the chuck onto the workpiece.


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## westsailpat (May 28, 2018)

Nice score @FanMan if the ID tag is still on it , it's on the back side of the bed . What you have there is a Atlas MK1 6" 101.07301 , badged Craftsman .
http://www.lathes.co.uk/craftsman6inchmk1/ As far as it's actual date of manufacture , I don't think there is a way to tell , the 6" was made roughly 39-57 . It's predecessor (but from what I understand they were made along side each other) is the 618, it came with Timken spindle bearings , a 10tpi x 1" spindle and some other stuff . For mine I would like to get the factory stand but for right now I bought a HF stand and shortened it up .



DSCF2431 by mark westi, on Flickr


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## wa5cab (May 28, 2018)

FanMan said:


> I don't mean the chuck on the spindle, I mean the tightening of the chuck onto the workpiece.



FanMan,

As a rough rule-of-thumb, about as tight as you can get it without lengthening the arm on the spanner, using one hand.


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## 34_40 (May 28, 2018)

That's a great piece at a great price. Congrats!


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## FanMan (May 28, 2018)

westsailpat said:


> if the ID tag is still on it , it's on the back side of the bed . What you have there is a Atlas MK1 6" 101.07301 , badged Craftsman .
> http://www.lathes.co.uk/craftsman6inchmk1/ As far as it's actual date of manufacture , I don't think there is a way to tell , the 6" was made roughly 39-57 . It's predecessor (but from what I understand they were made along side each other) is the 618, it came with Timken spindle bearings , a 10tpi x 1" spindle and some other stuff . For mine I would like to get the factory stand but for right now I bought a HF stand and shortened it up .



Yes, the tag is there.  Good link.  The HF stand looks like a good option, though I may build a wooden stand.  I'll probably sandwich a metal chip tray (an oil drip tray from the auto parts store) between the lathe and the stand like I did with my mill.



wa5cab said:


> FanMan,
> 
> As a rough rule-of-thumb, about as tight as you can get it without lengthening the arm on the spanner, using one hand.



That sounds like more torque than one could oppose by holding the belts... is that within the strength of the reverse gear?


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## wa5cab (May 28, 2018)

The Atlas 618 (and for a few years the 612) came out in the Summer of 1937 and was made with no significant changes except for two revisions of the Countershaft Assembly up through the Summer of 1972.  The differences between it and the 101.07301 were those associated with sleeve bearings on the spindle, the spindle nose threads being 1"-8, and the 101.07301 started and ended with the second version Countershaft Assembly.  From the Summer of 1957 until 618 production stopped, the 618 was also produced for Sears as the 101.21400.


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## FanMan (May 28, 2018)

OK... now what about collets?  I have the 3 jaw chuck, but the toolmakers at work use 5C collets for nearly everything.  Can't use a 5C, of course, but I can get a set of MT2 collets and make a drawbar, or a set of ER collets with the MT2 shank for twice the money but a slightly wider range of sizes... but either  way the solid 3/8-16 drawbar means I still couldn't turn the end of a long piece of stock extending through the spindle.  I guess that's just the way it is with these small lathes?


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## westsailpat (May 28, 2018)

The tool post you have there is called a lantern post . Do yourself a BIG favor and get a QCTP https://www.ebay.com/itm/Shars-Up-t...436344?hash=item4d3b9a1878:g:GBsAAOSwu4BVtmTg 
There is also a guy on the bay that sell the "T" nut .


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## westsailpat (May 28, 2018)

I did the MT2 set up it was cheap and easy . Only problem is that the MT2 collet won't go all the way in the spindle . The factory way was to use a sleeve in the spindle that excepts a 3c collet . With that set up you have a thru hole spindle . Here are the goodies that Atlas offered .
http://www.lathes.co.uk/atlas-6-inch-lathe-accessories/


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## FanMan (May 28, 2018)

westsailpat said:


> I did the MT2 set up it was cheap and easy . Only problem is that the MT2 collet won't go all the way in the spindle . The factory way was to use a sleeve in the spindle that excepts a 3c collet . With that set up you have a thru hole spindle . Here are the goodies that Atlas offered .
> http://www.lathes.co.uk/atlas-6-inch-lathe-accessories/



Ah, the sleeve makes sense, then you're just pulling on the 3C collet's external threads with the hollow drawbar.  Looks like LMS sells a similar drawtube, but only for MT3, not MT2.


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## westsailpat (May 28, 2018)

The whole 3c set up comes available now and then on the bay . There in a guy on the bay , joelr that sells a lot of 6" stuff  . He has the 3c tooling . https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-ATLAS-...672029?hash=item25f507151d:g:AQEAAOSwa3BZ6S-6
This is not for the 6" but this is what he sell for the 6" . Caution : I don't know this guy and I'm certainly not endorsing him .


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## westsailpat (May 28, 2018)

One thing that our 6's' like is a proper fit on the spindle bushings . I recently just put in new but it did no good because my spindle is worn about .006 .  Thanks to Robert I know the proper way is to install new bushings and the clamp holds them into place . This was not going to work for me so the fix was to split the bush on one side and over tighten , just a little . It worked . I'm looking for a new spindle.
Here is a handy vid that shows the tear down (it's easy).  http://www.deansphotographica.com/machining/atlas/spindle/spindle.html


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## FanMan (May 28, 2018)

OK, another thing... where do you find the recommended 20 weight oil?

Edit:  looks like the Mobil DTE Heavy Medium I use in my mill is ISO 68, which is equivalent to SAE 20, so I should be good.


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## wa5cab (May 29, 2018)

FanMan,

Yes, the Mobile DTE Heavy Medium works well.  I've been using it for the past five or six years.  Also, about once a year, check the usual suppliers around town.  SAE 20 ND turns up now and then.  For example, several years ago, Tractor Supply didn't carry it.  Then about two years ago, they did.  The Mobile is just as good, but it isn't carried locally last time that I checked so to the cost of the oil had to be added the cost of shipping.


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## wa5cab (May 29, 2018)

With regard to collets, first the proper name for the internally threaded tube used to close most common collets is "Draw Tube", not "Drawbar" and not "Sleeve".  Second, the collets that Atlas actually advertised were 3AT and a smaller but similar one that I have seen referred to as 1AT but I think 1AT is something else.  At least according to at least one dimension chart that I have.  Atlas apparently would also supply 3C collets (the threads are near enough to the same to be functionally interchangable) but 3C and 3AT are not otherwise interchangable - significantly different compression angle and collet length.  So they take different draw tube lengths and closer-adapters.  And neither 3C nor 3AT will even come close to fitting a 6" because the collets themselves are already much larger than the spindle bore or 2MT taper.  They are only usable in 10" and 12" lathes.  The largest workpiece that could be handled by the Atlas collets that fit the 6" is about 0.281".  So unless you had a lot of work smaller than that, the best choices are 2MT for short workpieces (but only in 1/16" increments) or ER25 using a collet chuck that screws onto the spindle nose threads instead of being mounted on a 2MT drawbar type arbor.


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## FanMan (May 29, 2018)

Thanks Robert, that explains it nicely.  Sounds like the ER25 would be the way to go.  Do you know if anybody actually makes the ER25 chuck you describe (that screws onto the nose threads)?

The DTE sounds like the way to go.  Where I work they buy it in 55 gallon drums.

The ways cleaned up nicely with some Evaporust soaked paper towels, it was only very light surface rust.  Other than the chuck, which I will finish cleaning tonight, everything else is nice and shiny.  It looks like this lathe was well taken care of by somebody who knew what he was doing but didn't use it much, and didn't sit for long after that, probably an estate sale.  When I pulled the carriage off there there  were copper chips under it, makes me think of the armature repair kit but there was no such kit included with it.


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## FanMan (May 29, 2018)

Looks like Beall Tool makes an ER32 chuck for a 1"-8 threaded spindle.


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## pontiac428 (May 29, 2018)

I think the Morse taper ER collet holder with a drawbar is a great setup at a far lower cost than scrounging together the equivalent spindle collets.  I just finished setting up my 10" with ER32 collet holders on both ends, and am very happy with them.

Great steal on the lathe, you really scored on that deal.


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## FanMan (May 29, 2018)

pontiac428 said:


> I think the Morse taper ER collet holder with a drawbar is a great setup at a far lower cost than scrounging together the equivalent spindle collets.  I just finished setting up my 10" with ER32 collet holders on both ends, and am very happy with them.



With the MT holder and drawbar you can't turn long pieces extending through the headstock.  With the threaded on ER collet holder you can.  Though a MT collet might be more accurate than the threaded adapter for diameters too large to run through the spindle anyway.


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## Suzuki4evr (May 29, 2018)

Congrats FanMan. You are a very lucky man. What a great find and nice little project getting it nice and ready for making chips. Enjoy your new toy.


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## pontiac428 (May 29, 2018)

FanMan said:


> With the MT holder and drawbar you can't turn long pieces extending through the headstock.  With the threaded on ER collet holder you can.  Though a MT collet might be more accurate than the threaded adapter for diameters too large to run through the spindle anyway.



True, but I don't do much through the headstock anyway.  It's a capability worth having, but for small work it is also easy to live without.  Using an Atlas lathe is a game of working within limitations, straight from the word go.  I guess I rarely worry about spindle pass through capacity when my lathe only passes 3/4" to begin with.  If I really needed to, I could bore my collet holder out to 3/8 or so and do the same to my draw bar (10" lathe, MT3 collet holder).  Don't think I'll need to, though.  I do have a 3AT setup, but with very few collets to choose from.  I guess the reason I haven't hunted down more of those collets is because I don't find myself hitting a wall over the extra needed clamping depth.


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## westsailpat (May 29, 2018)

It would be a game of chance to use a MT holder with no draw bar in the spin and machine on it , seriously the odds are not good . If concentrisity is a factor plus thru hole , I would look a precision 3 jaw chuck . I wonder if Buck makes something small enough for our lathes ? Plus could something be adapted that had soft jaws ?


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## westsailpat (May 29, 2018)

insurgent U ? I typed B   U   C   K   as in chuck


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## FanMan (May 29, 2018)

I don't think anybody's suggesting using a MT taper adapter without a drawbar, I don't think that would end well.  The ER adapters I'm talking about screw onto the outside of the spindle and never touch the taper.

Never heard of B uck chucks before but looked 'em up (they do have a 4" precision chuck. .0005" TIR), man, their stuff is pricey.

Edit:  weird, if you type "B u c k" without the spaces the forum converts it to "insurgent U", but if you edit the post it still shows as "B u c k".


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## Silverbullet (May 29, 2018)

Great find , were you carrying a six gun , cause YA stole it. Congratulations


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## wa5cab (May 31, 2018)

I think that I recall that mymachineshop.com was offering a screw-on ER collet chuck, but don't recall whether it was 1"-10, 1"-8, or both.

The diameter of the work piece should theoretically anyway have no effect on accuracy.  If the register area in fron of the threads is properly made, there shouldn't be any real (or meaningful) difference in accuracy between MT mounted and threaded.


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## westsailpat (May 31, 2018)

Here would be a good set up for thru hole spindle .


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## kopeck (May 31, 2018)

Holy cow, what a deal.

My stand is a generic workbench base with two 3/4" pieces of plywood on the top.  Works well for what the machine is.

K


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## jdedmon91 (May 31, 2018)

westsailpat said:


> Here would be a good set up for thru hole spindle .



I have one of those mounted to a Grizzly backplate for my lathe. Works great


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## Nogoingback (May 31, 2018)

westsailpat said:


> Here would be a good set up for thru hole spindle .



What brand is that chuck, and how accurate is it?  I'm interested in that setup for my lathe.


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## wa5cab (May 31, 2018)

That one appears to require a backing plate.  It will have the disadvantage of sticking out from the spindle much further than it has to.  We or I actually have a drawing of one that screws directly onto the spindle but unfortunately it has a recent copyright date plus is threaded for 1-1/2"-8 and is for an ER40.


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## francist (May 31, 2018)

I have one of the ones that mymachineshop used to offer. It's threaded 1"-10 and I'm able to use it on the 618. I'm not sure if he still has them though -- I looked on his site and couldn't see them anymore. I got mine several years ago, and have been very pleased with it. Uses ER25 collets.

-frank


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## jdedmon91 (Jun 1, 2018)

Nogoingback said:


> westsailpat said:
> 
> 
> > Here would be a good set up for thru hole spindle .
> ...



Don’t know the brand I found my on EBay several years ago. You can do a search for them. 


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## jdedmon91 (Jun 1, 2018)

wa5cab said:


> That one appears to require a backing plate. It will have the disadvantage of sticking out from the spindle much further than it has to. We or I actually have a drawing of one that screws directly onto the spindle but unfortunately it has a recent copyright date plus is threaded for 1-1/2"-8 and is for an ER40.



Couldn’t one custom make a mounting plate that you could move the recess for the collet plate behind the threaded hole somewhat to reduce the stick out?


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## westsailpat (Jun 1, 2018)

Of course one could custom make a backingplate that could take up the recess , the only problem I see is the recess is not ground precision . Here is Jinping's finest offering , https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-80MM-DIAMETER-ER-32-COLLET-CHUCK-Compact-Lathe-Tight-Tolerance/112352365393?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649
And here is a faceplate https://www.homedepot.com/p/3-in-Face-Plate-for-1-in-x-8-in-TPI-9029/206997690
there are many other 3" face plates out there .
Here is another one https://www.ebay.com/itm/1pcs-80mm-...m=132464599314&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851
Really this thing only sticks out 2" , also I found a bay add for a set of ER 32s' for 35 bucks , now I kinda ' wish i didn't go down the MT 2 rabbit hole . Oh well I 'm just getting started , it's all good .


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## jdedmon91 (Jun 1, 2018)

westsailpat said:


> Of course one could custom make a backingplate that could take up the recess , the only problem I see is the recess is not ground precision . Here is Jinping's finest offering , https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-80MM-DIAMETER-ER-32-COLLET-CHUCK-Compact-Lathe-Tight-Tolerance/112352365393?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649
> And here is a faceplate https://www.homedepot.com/p/3-in-Face-Plate-for-1-in-x-8-in-TPI-9029/206997690
> there are many other 3" face plates out there .
> Here is another one https://www.ebay.com/itm/1pcs-80mm-...m=132464599314&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851
> Really this thing only sticks out 2" , also I found a bay add for a set of ER 32s' for 35 bucks , now I kinda ' wish i didn't go down the MT 2 rabbit hole . Oh well I 'm just getting started , it's all good .



Yes but you can indicate the bolt on adapter in on your mounting plate. This is what I did plus index the mounting so you mount it in the same place 


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## westsailpat (Jun 2, 2018)

I wish that on the backside of the collet chuck that the recess was not there . And yes of course being able to indicate it in is key .  I think a collet chuck that could just thread onto the spindle (like the one Robert has) would be the best . I wonder if the er 32 faceplate  and a faceplate would be too much weight for our 6" or would it act like a flywheel ? And if it did act as a flywheel would that be a good thing .


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## FanMan (Jun 2, 2018)

westsailpat said:


> I wish that on the backside of the collet chuck that the recess was not there . And yes of course being able to indicate it in is key .  I think a collet chuck that could just thread onto the spindle (like the one Robert has) would be the best . I wonder if the er 32 faceplate  and a faceplate would be too much weight for our 6" or would it act like a flywheel ? And if it did act as a flywheel would that be a good thing .



It wouldn't weigh any more than a 3 or 4 jaw chuck.

The beall collet holder doesn't need a faceplate, it screws directly onto the spindle.


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## jdedmon91 (Jun 2, 2018)

westsailpat said:


> I wish that on the backside of the collet chuck that the recess was not there . And yes of course being able to indicate it in is key . I think a collet chuck that could just thread onto the spindle (like the one Robert has) would be the best . I wonder if the er 32 faceplate and a faceplate would be too much weight for our 6" or would it act like a flywheel ? And if it did act as a flywheel would that be a good thing .



My thought is find some stock similar in diameter and the correct thickness to mount to the threaded spindle, machine a mounting plate to mount the ER 32 adaptor to. As other poster said it won’t be as heavy as a 3 jaw chuck. Mine with the Grizzly backplate is way lighter than the chucks



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## FanMan (Jun 2, 2018)

http://www.bealltool.com/products/turning/colletchuck.php


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## FanMan (Mar 3, 2019)

Well, it's been awhile, life and other projects got in the way, but I finally got around to setting up the lathe.  I had made up my mind to build a heavy wooden stand for it, then I got the idea of starting with an old wooden cabinet or dresser, some of them are pretty solid.  Looked at a couple of flea markets  but couldn't find anything, finally decided to use the wood cabinet that came with my mill, since it's already in my shop, it's quite solid and I really don't have room for much more.  Now I jsut gotta  find room for the stuff that was on top of it...

I did what I originally planned, using a steel drip tray under the lathe, but different from the mill I notched it in a couple of places and bent it up in the back, and around the belt drive.  On the bottom I bolted the cabinet to a couple of 2x8 crossbars with screw in leveling pads to widen the base for more stability, then hung the motor off the back of the cabinet.  Finally made the first chips this afternoon, just  a scrap test piece, but it looks like I'm ready to go... ready to spend more $$$ on more tooling, that is...


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## 34_40 (Mar 4, 2019)

Hey that came out great!  Nice job.


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## A618fan2 (Mar 5, 2019)

Nice get, to put it mildly, and good to see it all set up and ready to go.  The cabinet looks like it belongs with the machine - nice period touch. I've got the Atlas version your lathe and they do good work within their limits.  I think you're going to like it.  A 4-jaw would be a good addition to your tool kit.

John


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