A Trio of 618's

M

MillersvilleProf

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I seem to be finding Craftsman 618 lathes wherever I go lately. These were picked up locally at different points. They all came with tooling and countershafts with the exception of the one without the cross slide. The red one is the older solid bearing version with a 1-8 spindle thread. Think that might be my winter restoration project. It came with the most tooling including a minty milling attatchment, 4-jaw, collet set, and an interesting shop made tool post grinder. I got the one missing the cross slide to get a few parts needed for the other one on the bench, but truthfully it is in decent condition and I kind of hate to cannibalize it at this point.
 

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Hey, I have one of those.
Don't know much about them.
One of these days I need to check it out.
Thanks again Ulma Doc!
 
I’ve always had a soft spot for Atlas/craftsman 618 lathes.
If I find a good deal on a decent one I shall purchase it.
Like I need another machine tool....
 
I admit to liking them to, though not sure why I ended up with so many. Seem like a good investment these days though. Here is my dedicated one in the basement workshop.
 

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I guess technically these are all either Craftsman 101.07301 or 101.214 lathes, basically though they are rebranded Atlas 618's. The 101.07301 is an early variant with bronze bushings and a 1-8 threaded spindle. The later 101.214 models had Timken bearings and a 1-10 spindle.
 
Welcome to the forum MillersvilleProf. I have a good idea what you do for a living. I spent many hours staring out some windows and feeding the ducks in Millersville. That was a few lifetimes ago.

Those all look in good condition. I have 3 myself, although one is the newer model (most folks call it a mk II, but that gets you a letter from the Atlas god himself). I had one since high school back in the 80's, and have moved it all across the country. Within its size window, there is not much that the 618 cannot do. Keep posting, especially when you have pics to add.
 
Superburban said:
Welcome to the forum MillersvilleProf. I have a good idea what you do for a living. I spent many hours staring out some windows and feeding the ducks in Millersville. That was a few lifetimes ago.

Those all look in good condition. I have 3 myself, although one is the newer model (most folks call it a mk II, but that gets you a letter from the Atlas god himself). I had one since high school back in the 80's, and have moved it all across the country. Within its size window, there is not much that the 618 cannot do. Keep posting, especially when you have pics to add.
Click to expand...

Good to hear from former Millersville graduate. I will be posting some additional information on the 618 as time permits. I am using the one in my basement regularly and it serves my needs very well. For larger work I can always use the lathes I have at the University. My future plans are to restore the older red 07301 lathe in the pictures above which is the older style with the 1-8 spindle thread and bronze bearings. I will make sure to document this as I proceed. I have always heard that the older model produced better surface finishes so I guess we will see if that is true or not.
 
I never did graduate. When my National Guard unit was activated for Desert Storm, they made me with drawl, When I returned, they had revamped the computer science program, and reregistering, I would have had to meet the new requirements. Over the years, I worked with both Pennsylvania, and federal law makers to get some of that changed for later National guard & Reservists.

The only real difference between the old & newer machines, is the headstock. I would not hesitate to use either one. My shop is a bit of a walk from my house, so I have the newer one setup at the shop (along with many other machines), and one of the older ones in the garage attached to the house. So to save the walk, I do a lot with the lathe in the garage.
 
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