6 inch atlas lathe

[Little lathe]

Thanks for letting me join. I'm retired working on antique cars. I'm having trouble keeping the back gear engaged 0n my 6 inch atlas. Manually holding the lever it works well. What is the fix, new parts ?

 

[DavidR8]

Welcome to the forum!

I’n not an Atlas expert but my South Bend used to jump out of back gear also. The shaft that carries the back gears has an eccentric at both ends. It was a matter of loosening a couple of set screws and rotating the eccentrics ever so slightly so the shaft moved further away from the main gears. That way when I engaged the lever, it went ‘over center’ and would stay engaged.

 

[markba633csi]

Is this one of the early 6" lathes or a newer "square head" style machine?
-Mark

 

[Little lathe]

To be honest I'm not sure if it's atlas or craftsman. The motor is Dunlap Sears. Looks to be original. There is no decals or data plate to be found.

 

[mattthemuppet2]

is the ball bearing under the handle (on the right side) still there? That gives a positive detent when the back gears are engaged or disengaged. As David wrote, you need to adjust the back gear so that it's fully engaged when the handle is in the position closest to the spindle.

 

[phubbman]

The spring and ball for the detent in the back gear lever is very easy to lose during disassembly / reassembly. My guess is that yours has been apart at some point in the past and that the ball bearing got lost in the process. Pull it apart to see. If yours is missing, i believe that part is available through Clausing. If you need something to get by in the mean time, i believe that the spring / ball for the indexing pin in the head stock is the same size as that in the back gear lever. You could scavenge the part and set the indexing pin aside, then reinstall it when the new part arrives.

If you're ordering a new ball bearing from Clausing, probably order a few extras. The part is probably cheaper than the postage.

paulh

 

[Nogoingback]

To be honest I'm not sure if it's atlas or craftsman. The motor is Dunlap Sears. Looks to be original. There is no decals or data plate to be found.

That should be an Atlas.

 

[Little lathe]

Thanks to everyone for the help. There is no spring and ball and no place for one. Just the oil hole no detention in the shaft. I pulled evering apart to replace the belt , found the eccentric on the handle side was 180 out from the other side. Tomorrow the new belt arrives I'll put it back together and see what happens.

 

[mattthemuppet2]

this is easier to show than explain and I have my lathe in pieces right now so:

indent holes in chuck side of headstock


3/16 ball and spring in the inside face of the back gear handle


even properly adjusted, without that ball and spring the back gears won't stay in

 

[Little lathe]

this is easier to show than explain and I have my lathe in pieces right now so:

indent holes in chuck side of headstock
View attachment 350961

3/16 ball and spring in the inside face of the back gear handle
View attachment 350962

even properly adjusted, without that ball and spring the back gears won't stay in

Boy a picture is worth a thousand words. knowing were to look and cleaning found everything but the ball and spring . A spring from a ink pen and a bb might just work. Thank you