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Atlas are the aprons ferritic or zamak?
- Thread starter agfrvf
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- Mar 3, 2013
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The main castings are cast iron. Gears and handles are mostly zamak.
Well except for a few late models see this thread: https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/craftsman-atlas-mk-2-6.64500/#post-538169
Well except for a few late models see this thread: https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/craftsman-atlas-mk-2-6.64500/#post-538169
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Only the last run of the Mark II 6" lathe had a zamak headstock and bedfeet. Part of the compound on one of the very early 10" was die-cast also, and I believe the right hand leadscrew support bearing on some models.
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Except on the afore mentioned late (last few hundred made) 6" Mk2 lathes and some 9" and early 10", Zamak parts are limited to change gears, back gears, bevel gears, hand wheels,and cranks, the housing for the carriage traverse gears and shaft (which usually doesn't give any problems), half nuts, a few other small miscellaneous parts, and the afore mentioned right leadscrew bearing. Gear covers are either fabricated steel or cast iron. The lead screw bearing was deliberately designed to be the weak link in the carriage drive train and is supposed to break and allow the lead screw to run out of the driving shaft in the event of a crash. The sole exception is on the final version of the 12" Commercial machines, where the lead screw is equipped with an adjustable slip clutch and a 2-piece steel lead screw right bearing. FWIW, the Zamak half nuts, which do eventually wear out, generally last about twice as long as the aftermarket brass ones that some eBay vendors sell.
Certain people who own other lathe brands insist on referring to Zamak as pot metal, which it is not. Pot metal contains lead. Several batches of Zamak used during WW-II were made with Zinc of insufficient purity and are susceptible to a failure mode known as Zinc Pest. The contaminant was mostly lead. All of these parts should have failed years ago. A case could easily be made that had Atlas not used Zamak for make many small parts including in particular the change gears, any Atlas lathes made would be as scarce today as the other brands because most people could not have afforeded to buy one. Today they would probably cost as much as the others if you could find one. The Zamak change gears don't last as long as the steel equivalents but tend to run more quietly and even new today cost less than the steel ones (you can buy an almost equivalent steel gear today from Boston for less than Clausing's price but then you'll have to pay someone to modify it to fit or tool up and do it yourself). So the finished price is typically significantly more than the price for the Zamak ones. And most of us won't live long enough to reap any benefit.
YMMV
Certain people who own other lathe brands insist on referring to Zamak as pot metal, which it is not. Pot metal contains lead. Several batches of Zamak used during WW-II were made with Zinc of insufficient purity and are susceptible to a failure mode known as Zinc Pest. The contaminant was mostly lead. All of these parts should have failed years ago. A case could easily be made that had Atlas not used Zamak for make many small parts including in particular the change gears, any Atlas lathes made would be as scarce today as the other brands because most people could not have afforeded to buy one. Today they would probably cost as much as the others if you could find one. The Zamak change gears don't last as long as the steel equivalents but tend to run more quietly and even new today cost less than the steel ones (you can buy an almost equivalent steel gear today from Boston for less than Clausing's price but then you'll have to pay someone to modify it to fit or tool up and do it yourself). So the finished price is typically significantly more than the price for the Zamak ones. And most of us won't live long enough to reap any benefit.
YMMV
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