Absolute Rookie Needs Restoration Advice

madsweeney

madsweeney

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just got my first lathe; a 1970's Atlas/Craftsman 6 incher. It seems to be in good shape but needs a good scrubbing as a minimum. It's got a lot of "patina," which I think is latin for "I forgot to oil my lathe." It was used most recently for wood turning and is covered in very fine oily sawdust.
The only documentation I have for it so far is a reprint of the 16 page Atlas operator's manual/parts list.

While I have had some machining training, it's all been on big, modern machines, and the only maintenance discussions were along the lines of "if you don't clean up them chips you're gonna flunk this course!" So I'm looking for any sources of more detailed tear-down and reassembly, advice on what cleaners and lubricants to use (or not use) alignment techniques, etc. Assuming I get'er going, then I need input on stuff like replacing the toolholder with something easier (It came with a box of what looks like all of the parts for a lantern type.)

Any advice, encouragement, documentation is gratefully accepted
 
Morning, That is a good starter lathe!

If you haven't discovered the http://vintagemachinery.org website, go check it out! They have an excellent library of machine manuals that you can download for free.

Warning! That site can become as addicting as this one! So enter at your on risk!
 
Everyone has an opinion on what to clean with. My personal choice is odorless mineral spirits (paint thinner). Diesel fuel and kerosene also work and are less expensive. I use the odorless mostly to make my wife happy since kerosene and diesel both stink. Since I have a friend who was burned real bad using gasoline, I personally think it is a very, very bad idea. Some people use water based cleaners like Zep purple degreaser. This works it seems to take the gloss off paint and you must rinse and dry everything real well to prevent rust. If you are repainting loss of gloss might be a good thing.

Take lots of pictures! They can be real helpful when you go back to reassemble your machine. Bag and label small parts.

Get a copy of the Atlas / Craftsman "Manual Of Lathe Operations" (MOLA) Check this link out to find a version that best matches your lathe:

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/thre...on-selection-chart-with-files-attached.24714/

As mentioned above the Vintage Machinery site is a wealth of knowledge. Make sure to check out the "Publication Reprints" : http://www.vintagemachinery.org/mfgIndex/detail.aspx?id=51

And last be certainly not least check out the Atlas/Clausing/Craftsman Forum right here on Hobby Machinist: http://www.hobby-machinist.com/forums/atlas-clausing-craftsman.86/
 
In case you're anxious to get started, clean the top of the ways (the two horizontal bars everything rests on) on the right end, down to clean metal. Once you have cleaned a section, lightly oil it so that any movement on it is lubricated. then loosen and slide off the "Tailstock" that' the piece with the hand wheel on the right end. Now clean the ways up to the "saddle" that's the part with the several hand wheels on it. Before moving it, verify that the "engage lever" toward the right, on the apron is horizontal and that the head of the clamp screw (a 7/16 hex,) is loose.The hand wheel on the left, when rotated will move the carriage to the right, onto the newly cleaned and lubed ways. You may notice as it moves onto the clean ways that it is leaving dirt/rust behind. If so, it should be removed, (another day, another lesson) and cleaned thoroughly inside. With the saddle moved you can clean and oil the rest of the ways.
Turn the chuck, if is doesn't make a grinding sound, you should be OK to go. You may not have to engage in restoration, just use your lathe.

Yes, the lantern post is 19th century technology, there is 20th and even 21st century stuff available.
 
Sometimes I get carried away and write a lot... :grin:

I'll second the recommendation for the MOLO guide. It was, I think, the 4th book on lathe operation that I read, and by far the best. It also convinced me that the Atlas lathes were great machines. My father grew up using his father's Craftsman-branded Atlas, and the fact that his half-brother who never even learned to use it got it when their father passed away is still a sore subject. He ended up with a couple of Logans, and I have one of those now. Also a great lathe, but I am jealous of the reverse feed mechanism of the Atlas lathes which can be changed without stopping the motor first. That's cool!

I'll also second the recommendation for mineral spirits if you aren't set on truly restoring the machine. It won't strip away every bit of oil, so it's arguably better than the Purple Power type cleaners which break down the oil. As said, if you do intend to repaint it then you do want to eliminate every bit of oil, in which case Purple Power, acetone, and trisodium phosphate or other "liquid sandpaper" product would all be advisable. Purple Power goes A LONG way (I'm still using the supply I bought in 2008). Use it for the heavy cleaning, then acetone to finish up, and a fairly heavy concentration of the ultra-cheap TSP if any gloss remains.

When you're done cleaning, lube it up. I like graphite-molybdenum grease for the gears. I have been using a tube of "engine assembly lube" which is a slightly thinner, squeezable form of that. It was on the clearance rack at O'Reilly's a couple years ago for 50 cents per tube, so I bought both. MUCH easier to apply than the kind in the tub. For my woodworking machines I've always used white lithium grease in a spray can, but the manual for mine says graphite grease for the gears so that's what I use. Same in the chuck, which may need to be overhauled. No lightweight oil in an open centrifuge, thank you! I do use the white lithium for the leadscrew. I have been using "zoom spout oil", a lightweight machine oil of very simple composition, for spindle oiling points (lathe and surface grinder) and most everywhere else. It's comparable to the typical machine oils that were ubiquitous when these machines were made.

Finally I use "WAY LUBE" for the ways. I have no idea what variety. That and its blue-green color are all I know about it. I went to a machine shop we used for a number of projects at a place where I was working at the time and asked them about it, as I was frustrated that I couldn't buy less than 5 gallons locally or 1 gallon online, and a quart would last me for years at the rate I would use it. They happily gave me about a half gallon from a big barrel with "WAY LUBE" printed on the side. They had no idea what Mobil Vactra or Chevron Vistac was. They said they have a commercial supplier who refills their fluids for them, so they leave the decisions to them. If it's good enough for their Mori Seiki CNCs then it's good enough for my mid-century screw lathe. :)

One more recommendation, if you have any inclination to keep a mixed shop environment as I do: get a tarp for each of your machines. I just use the Harbor Freight free-with-purchase tarps. Only one machine is uncovered at any time. No surface grinding dust on my lathe ways. No table saw dust on the lathe or surface grinder ways. Air is clean and dust is settled before uncovering a machine. As you've seen, wood shavings/dust is not compatible with proper lubrication of your machines.

Good luck, and don't forget to post photos! (I find it easiest with the Tapatalk mobile app.)
 
Way lube: Vactra 2 or equivalent (Mobile 68 etc). Grease: I use the pink Mobile One stuff, but any good grease is fine. MoS helps, so does a lithium soap, but for a tool like this, grease is grease. You could use pig fat just as easily, except it stinks in the summer. Guy Lautard wrote a treatise on oiling- if you can find it, that'll help. Remember! 30 weight ND oil, not the stuff you put in your car! (NAPA still carries ND oil)

EDIT: ND oil is used because it will NOT suspend metal particles. Detergent oils do. One wants the detritus to settle, not circulate, in a machine tool. In this case -belts, not gears in the spindle- it probably doesn't matter. It's one of those according to the art things.

Tool post: that lantern mount is a great fishing weight. Buy or build the equivalent of a BXA QCTP.

EDITED TO ADD: <blushes> Oops. Yes, BXA is too big! Running on memory, shoulda looked it up.

Clean-up: any good organic solvent, from kerosene to WD40. Don't use gasoline.

Tarp comment is world-class advice; take it.

And, while you're at it: tear down/strip everything, and clean and repaint. You will be glad you did. First, you'll find a whole bunch of things that need attention. Second- a clean machine gets treated well.

And, finally, to quote my first teacher: if you leave the shop with chips on the machine, you should consider whether you have the qualities needed to be a machinist. I can walk into a shop and tell you at a glance whether the operator is a machinist or a potzer.
 
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I think BXA would be a touch too big on a 6in lathe :) OXA is just right. Don't be in too much of a rush to buy a QCTP, you can do plenty of fine work with a lantern tool post, it just takes more time setting up the tool.

I use hydraulic oil for the spindle and ways, lots of it every use, works fine for me. Can't remember if it's ISO32 or 68, too lazy to get out of my hammock to check. Before that I used 20W motor oil and that worked fine too. One day I'll probably get proper way lube, but it's working just fine as it is right now.

I second tearing it down. They're small and simple lathes, but they also get somewhat abused so getting everything tight, clean and oiled will do it a lot of good. You'll also understand much better how they work too.
 
Lots of good data!! Thank you! Given the adventures I've had in the past with disassembly/reassembly, I think the first thing I'm gonna do is to take about 42 pictures of each piece in place, then maybe a few more as I yank bits off. Once I get the project underway I will post pictures (assuming I figure that stuff out-I'm a semi-Luddite - no wireless, no smartphone, and frequently, no clue.
 
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