618 sight unseen.

[Cheeseheadkeith]

Hey guys and gals.
First post as I’m new to the forum
I recently bought an atlas 618 sight unseen.
I’ve had a 618 before so I knew about what I was getting into
For $225 I got a functioning lathe on atlas 10” leg castings. An extra bed And an extra carriage

What I did not know until my brother brought it across the pond ( Lake Michigan) is that it was stripped of all power feed and threading capabilities.
No lead screw. No reverse tumbler. No backgear assembly. And to top it off the bull gear had the teeth machined off.
I’m still confident I got a good deal just now am on the search for a bunch of parts
I’ve already acquired the lead screw with banjo and the reverse tumbler

Oh well looks like the daily eBay check is a part of my schedule for a while.

 

[Latinrascalrg1]

Honestly with that amount of parts missing you would be better off parting out and selling what you have and find something more complete. What you are gonna find if you try to piece it together is that you would spend enough to buy a brand new fully tooled lathe for the same cost without all the hassle.

 

[francist]

Wow, that’s a significant portion of the machine that got taken away! Too bad.

Good luck on the search though. I have one 618 as my main lathe and another Craftsman version of the same machine that is in the wings. Neat little machines. Parts are out there as you have found, but not for cheap unfortunately.

Happy hunting.

-frank

 

[Cheeseheadkeith]

Apparently the machine was custom made for a contact lens maker. Makes sense that none of that stuff was needed.
Latinrascalrg1 you’re probably completely correct. I’ve thought about parting it out but I kind of enjoy the thrill of the hunt.....for now
I also picked up a south bend 9 recently so if my 618 hunts yield nothing I may have to go with parting it out
Interestingly the tags on the machine are for the lens maker. I think they may have had atlas custom make (butcher) the lathe

 

[matthewsx]

pictures or it didn't happen.

Oh, and welcome to the forum

John

 

[Cheeseheadkeith]

Hahaha. Just went to the garage to snap a few

 

[benmychree]

Part it out and buy a real lathe, made of cast iron and not pot metal; you will be happier with a South Bend or similar machine.

 

[BrianT]

Since you got the leg castings I think you did good. Those alone usually sell for much more. Trying to piece it all back together would cost way too much.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[Martin W]

Yeah. Bought sight unseen. I feel your pain, I have done the same. Mine was an old Hough payloader. The guy had a video on youtube that showed it working. ( wasn't the same loader Lol ) Everything he told me wasn't true. It has actually worked out and is a pretty decent machine.

Parts are abundant for Atlas lathes. Like guys said you may be better parting it out.
Cheers
Martin

 

[Cheeseheadkeith]

I did also pick up a south bend 9 as well. I wouldn’t say the guy ripped me off I just don’t think he knew much about machining. It is functional just no power feed or threading capabilities and only the different speeds from the pulleys alone without the back gear. I did see a complete headstock with the back gear and correct spindle stuff for $180. Should have jumped on it but I missed out.