Advice on a Craigslist Atlas 618

[wa5cab]

Another possibility, if you don't have a single-edge blade to expend, is to use a bench grinder to sharpen the end of a typical 1" wide putty knife. If you use this, after the grinder, lay a flat file down flat on the back side of the blade and push it away from the handle two or three times to remove the burr. Advantage of the putty knife is that it is less likely to break off while trying to get it back out. And after lifting both ends, you can tap a second putty knife sideways into the gap as a shim and do the operation again to double the gap. After that, you should be able to get a pry bar into the gap to pull it on off. Pull it a little at a time at each end so as not to bend the taper pins. And when you are ready to reinstall, it should go back into exactly the same place.

 

[SuperTroye]

Another possibility, if you don't have a single-edge blade to expend, is to use a bench grinder to sharpen the end of a typical 1" wide putty knife. If you use this, after the grinder, lay a flat file down flat on the back side of the blade and push it away from the handle two or three times to remove the burr. Advantage of the putty knife is that it is less likely to break off while trying to get it back out. And after lifting both ends, you can tap a second putty knife sideways into the gap as a shim and do the operation again to double the gap. After that, you should be able to get a pry bar into the gap to pull it on off. Pull it a little at a time at each end so as not to bend the taper pins. And when you are ready to reinstall, it should go back into exactly the same place.

wa5cab... I am grateful and humbled by your knowledge and willingness to make sure it gets passed on. Thank you for taking the time to explain and help!

I should probably start another restore thread, but I've made progress with the clean up. I cleaned the bed: de-greased, de-rusted with electrolysis, stripped remaining paint and de-rusted again with electrolysis. Here she is in all her glory (with a thumbs up from the wife).





I started painting a few pieces with Krylon Machinery Gray rattle can:






I've already de-greased the gears, but want to get them cleaner. I soaked these in laquer thinner overnight and did nothing to lift and dissolve the stains.





Question: is CLR (Calcium, Lime, & Rust Remover) safe for cleaning ZAMAK gears? Has anyone ever tried it? I believe that it is bad for aluminum, but because of the mix of metals it may be ok?

Any advice on cleaning these gears would be appreciated.

 

[wa5cab]

I don't have any idea on the CLR question. But if the gears are clean, I wouldn't worry about the stains. Removing them certainly won't make the machine run any better. However, bead blasting would probably be the most effective. If you do that, be sure to plug the bores and don't let the bead stream touch the teeth or bore.

I hope that you removed the screw, spring, detent ball and direct drive pin before you soaked the bull gear.

 

[SuperTroye]

I don't have any idea on the CLR question. But if the gears are clean, I wouldn't worry about the stains. Removing them certainly won't make the machine run any better. However, bead blasting would probably be the most effective. If you do that, be sure to plug the bores and don't let the bead stream touch the teeth or bore.

I hope that you removed the screw, spring, detent ball and direct drive pin before you soaked the bull gear.

Sorry for the lag, I removed everything before soaking. Now I am confused about putting it back together. For the bullwheel, what is the order of reassembly?

Insert pin, insert ball, insert spring, then screw?

 

[wa5cab]

Go to DOWNLOADS and from the A/C Lathe Manuals Category download REV 4 of the 1950 6" parts manual. Then go to the [URL='http://www.hobby-machinist.com/resources/categories/a-c-lathe-repairs-technical-bulletins.516/']A/C Lathe Repairs & Technical Bulletins Category and download REV 2 of the 6" back gears and spindle bulletin, REV 2. The latter tells you how to take it apart. Reverse the procedures to reassemble. DON'T FORGET THE BELT.
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If you removed the inner dust shields, reinstall them first. Put the notch in the front one at 12:00 o'clock (approximately). The front outer shield should have come off with the spindle, driven by the front bearing cone. It can be put in at any time after the spindle is back in the headstock.

 

[SuperTroye]

Many thanks Robert, this has solved my problems.

Now I think I have another. I'm putting the carriage back together and noticed there is an oil hole that looks like it's used to lubricate the cross slide screw.



However, the bearing looks like its turned 180 degrees from where the hole needs to be for the oil to reach the screw. Can anyone confirm this is how you are supposed to oil the carriage slide screw?



If so, and I need to rotate the bearing 180 degrees , how do I do this? It looks like a press fit, and it looks like its gonna be a challenge to do this.

 

[Superburban]

Drop some oil in the hole, and see how long it takes to get inside. I have seen some bearings with a groove on the outside, so that it sorta controls how fast the oil drips down. I can't imagine Atlas going that far.

Instead of trying to line up the hole, I would just drill a new ho;e. What size is the question.

 

[SuperTroye]

Drop some oil in the hole, and see how long it takes to get inside. I have seen some bearings with a groove on the outside, so that it sorta controls how fast the oil drips down. I can't imagine Atlas going that far.

Instead of trying to line up the hole, I would just drill a new ho;e. What size is the question.

It's a great suggestion, I'll try it. It's just been freshly painted and probably won't be until next week until I'm ready for that test.

Your other suggestion is a good one. The hole looks a little smaller than 1/8". I'll wait to see if the oil hole actually produces anything before I drill a hole.

 

[wa5cab]

The bearing is threaded and screws into the carriage, same as on the 10" and both 12" families. If you look carefully, you may find a second oil hole in line with the first. There is adequate thread clearance for SAE20 to flow down to the holes and in to the screw. I know that on my 12", after about four squirts, oil will be visible between the dial and bearing face. You do not need to drill any more holes.

 

[SuperTroye]

Ok, on to the last (I hope) issue in reassembly. I put the headstock completely back together and started turning a test piece. After a pass, the spindle became insanely loose. So, I tightened the collar at the other end and it seemed ok. But, there were like 3-4 threads visible after tightening.

So, I took apart the headstock to troubleshoot the problem. I noticed the bearing is not completely seated against the flange/stop (not sure what to call it).



I remember it looked like this when I disassembled it initially a month ago. I'm not sure if this happened when I was tapping the spindle out and the bearing was held tightly in the headstock?

Anyways, what is the best way to press the bearing against the stop? I have a shop press, various soft hammers and other means. Just want to do it the right way. As always, any advice is much, much appreciated. Thanks!