Atlas 618 lathe

[Charles scozzari]

I was wondering what this part was for. The accessories catalog shows it as a coil winding attachment. Probably something I’ll never need.
View attachment 487472

I had the second tool ( still have ) up from the bottom that was used for turning wood as possibly the the third tool also.

 

[Troubled1]

Today I ordered the traverse gear assembly off flea bay. The rabbit hole has opened up underfoot. I pulled the tail stock off, disassembled it and blasted it with glass bead. The original flaking paint came off no problem at all.

Does the piece on the end of the tail stock thread in or is it pressed in? I would like to remove it before painting if possible.

 

[mvagusta]

It screws in. It is part M6-30 and the thread is conventional right-handed. Soak the joint in Liquid Wrench or something like it and then use a tool to unscrew it. A washer or Woodruff key inserted in the slot and a Crescent wrench should work.

 

[Troubled1]

It screws in. It is part M6-30 and the thread is conventional right-handed. Soak the joint in Liquid Wrench or something like it and then use a tool to unscrew it. A washer or Woodruff key inserted in the slot and a Crescent wrench should work.

View attachment 487640

Thanks for the reply. I found a thick washer that fit perfectly in the slot, sprayed with liquid wrench and used a 10” crescent wrench. Worked like a charm.
Things are moving along again.

 

[Aaron_W]

No idea on the age. The Atlas made Craftsman 6x18" lathes have some easily spotted features to help date them into very early (1936-37), mid production (1938-1958) and late (1959-74) models. The Atlas 618 by comparison had very minor changes over the nearly 40 years it was in production.

If yours was used for wartime production, that would be a neat bit of history to own.

Looks like it needs a bit of cleaning but decent shape, and a nice collection of goodies to go with it.

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?

I like the light. I don't know if it is original Atlas, but it certainly looks period correct for 1940-50s.

These suffer from the issues of all small lathes. They are small lathes, so limited to small parts and they have struggles with rigidity, so need to take little bites.

On the plus side, they are basically just a scaled down version of the Atlas 10" lathes. These were not just marketed as a garage toy, even if that is the life many lived. Unlike a lot of small lathes which have limited accessories, these got all the same features as Atlas's bigger lathes except for the option of a quick change gear box.

One example showing this difference in intent, is many small lathes like the competing 6x18" Dunlap / Craftsman lathes ceased production after Pearl Harbor, and was not reintroduced until 1948 or 49. The Atlas 618 remained in production throughout the war as a legitimate small machine tool for the war effort, including some wartime only options like a manual turret tailstock.

Something like 30,000 were made over a 35 year period, so that averages to about 857 per year.

You need to be careful distributing numbers evenly, particularly for anything in production during WW2 where numbers either plummet or sky rocket depending on priority to the war effort. The early years were still under the effects of the depression, and the last few years before the "new and improved" model was introduced also likely saw some slump in sale.

 

[mvagusta]

You need to be careful distributing numbers evenly, particularly for anything in production during WW2 where numbers either plummet or sky rocket depending on priority to the war effort. The early years were still under the effects of the depression, and the last few years before the "new and improved" model was introduced also likely saw some slump in sale.

All true. My lathe serial number is 011020 and I believe it was built in 1947-1948. Using the average of 857/year starting in 1939 the serial number should be between 7713 and 8750. There was a big surge in demand during WWII.

You probably know this already, but another clue is that Atlas started using the tall M6-20B countershaft bracket in 1940. This bracket mounts to the table instead of to the lathe bed. Here is an image lifted from the 1940 Instructions and Parts manual.



It looks like the bed-mounted countershaft bracket was only used in 1939 on the 618. What do you think?

 

[Troubled1]

All true. My lathe serial number is 011020 and I believe it was built in 1947-1948. Using the average of 857/year starting in 1939 the serial number should be between 7713 and 8750. There was a big surge in demand during WWII.

You probably know this already, but another clue is that Atlas started using the tall M6-20B countershaft bracket in 1940. This bracket mounts to the table instead of to the lathe bed. Here is an image lifted from the 1940 Instructions and Parts manual.

View attachment 487686

It looks like the bed-mounted countershaft bracket was only used in 1939 on the 618. What do you think?

I was over poking around on lathes.uk and that site says the 618 started manufacture in 1936. If so, that’s probably when my lathe was built. There was a tall version of the bed mounted countershaft assembly that superseded the low mount.

 

[Aaron_W]

It looks like the bed-mounted countershaft bracket was only used in 1939 on the 618. What do you think?

That is the kind of thing I was referring to. There are small details which can help estimate the age, but almost a game of "which one is different" comparing to catalog pages. Well beyond my experience.

I expect left over parts and mix and match with replacement parts over the decades adds much confusion as well.

I have a Craftsman from the other end of production estimated at probably 1971-73. Pretty amazing how little they really changed over 4 decades.

 

[mvagusta]

I was over poking around on lathes.uk and that site says the 618 started manufacture in 1936. If so, that’s probably when my lathe was built. There was a tall version of the bed mounted countershaft assembly that superseded the low mount.

That is the kind of thing I was referring to. There are small details which can help estimate the age, but almost a game of "which one is different" comparing to catalog pages. Well beyond my experience.

I expect left over parts and mix and match with replacement parts over the decades adds much confusion as well.

I have a Craftsman from the other end of production estimated at probably 1971-73. Pretty amazing how little they really changed over 4 decades.

Well that is interesting. I could have sworn that back in 2022 lathes.co.uk had info that showed a goodly number of black & white images of a 1938 Atlas lathe that was in good shape, not back-geared, and it had a second knob connected to a shaft through the headstock casting for adjusting the belt tension. It is not there now. There are photos of a 1938 Atlas-manufactured Craftsman lathe model 101.07300 that looks like that but they are not in black and white and they are not in the Atlas section. Either it was there before or I am mistaken. It's 50/50 these days on that kind of thing.

Another confusion is that the 618 is described as a new machine tool offering in the catalogs from 1937 through 1940. However, the catalog images and descriptions show that they are the same lathe. The only differences that can be seen are that the models from 1937 and 1938 use a 3-point mounting system with 2 screws holding down the foot at the headstock end and 1 screw holding down the foot at the tailstock end, and the bed-mounted countershaft bracket. The 1939 catalog shows the 4-point mounting system with 2 screws at each end, as does every catalog thereafter. It also has a bed-mounted countershaft bracket, which was replaced by the M6-20B in 1940.

There is no mention of a 6-inch lathe in the 1936 catalog I have.

As has been said, it's all pretty much a guess. We can say for sure the lathe is old. And almost certainly built before 1940. And maybe built in 1939, since it has 4-point mounting and a bed-mounted countershaft bracket. And possibly as early as 1936. Clear as mud, eh?

 

[Troubled1]

There is no mention of a 6-inch lathe in the 1936 catalog I have.

Has me thinking they started building these in 1936 so they would have inventory for when it was released in 1937? From what I gather, the low countershaft setup gave way to the taller one which of which the belt passed through the uprights which was then dropped for the bench mounted countershaft assembly.
The lamp that came with it probably isn’t an original Atlas piece as all the ones shown in the catalogs have the flexible next whereas the one I have is solid tubes with swivel balls on them. Still pretty cool looking nonetheless.