Atlas 618 lathe

[Troubled1]

I picked up an old 618 last evening and it has me wondering just how old it is. I’ve been online searching pictures of them and the only difference I see in mine is the countershaft assembly. The setup on my lathe is bolted to the bed just under the headstock. The lathe came with a 3 and 4 jaw chuck, change gears, steady rest, a couple of wrenches, some cutter holders and what appears to be an original work lamp.
There isn't any manufacturer tags on it, either on the front of the headstock or the right end of the bed. The gear cover however has 4 small holes in a cross pattern where it looks like drive screws were once installed. I checked the right end of the ways and on the front found M421 stamped into it. Is this a serial number? I guess I’m curious about this lathe because if it was built during WW2, it may have been used in my city for the production of parts for the Hawker Hurricanes that were built here.
I'll see if my pictures load.

 

[Troubled1]

Some more pictures

 

[markba633csi]

Nice collection of goodies

 

[mattthemuppet2]

I had one just like that, even down to the motor and bed mounted countershaft. Used the heck out of it for several years, it was way more capable than its size suggests and it was a great lathe to learn on. You’ll love yours I’m sure!

 

[Troubled1]

I had one just like that, even down to the motor and bed mounted countershaft. Used the heck out of it for several years, it was way more capable than its size suggests and it was a great lathe to learn on. You’ll love yours I’m sure!

It is a nice little lathe, unfortunately I have to find the gear assembly for the apron to be able to move the carriage manually.

 

[mvagusta]

Robert is our expert on the age of these machines, but I am pretty sure this is from the first year of production for the Atlas 618, which was 1939. It has the side-mounted countershaft assembly, it is back-geared, and the serial number is less than half the average over the production span. Something like 30,000 were made over a 35 year period, so that averages to about 857 per year. Here are some pages from the 1939 Atlas catalog. Congrats on your great find.

 

[Troubled1]

Robert is our expert on the age of these machines, but I am pretty sure this is from the first year of production for the Atlas 618, which was 1939. It has the side-mounted countershaft assembly, it is back-geared, and the serial number is less than half the average over the production span. Something like 30,000 were made over a 35 year period, so that averages to about 857 per year. Here are some pages from the 1939 Atlas catalog. Congrats on your great find.

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Thank you for the information. I was actually shocked at the size of this lathe when I went to look at it. In the photos it looked much larger. It was listed as only a metal lathe. I sent the link to my brother and right away he messaged back saying it’s an Atlas lathe. Do you think the light is an original option for this lathe?

 

[mvagusta]

Here are the 1939 pages for Atlas 618 tools and attachments. Page 52 shows a lathe lamp that you can compare with the one you have. I notice the code word for it is "YEERP." Perhaps if you say that to the lamp it will turn on and off without having to touch it. Just kidding.

 

[Charles scozzari]

I had one just like that, even down to the motor and bed mounted countershaft. Used the heck out of it for several years, it was way more capable than its size suggests and it was a great lathe to learn on. You’ll love yours I’m sure!

Me too, was my first lathe.

 

[Troubled1]

Here are the 1939 pages for Atlas 618 tools and attachments. Page 52 shows a lathe lamp that you can compare with the one you have. I notice the code word for it is "YEERP." Perhaps if you say that to the lamp it will turn on and off without having to touch it. Just kidding.

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I was wondering what this part was for. The accessories catalog shows it as a coil winding attachment. Probably something I’ll never need.