Atlas/Craftsman 12x36" lathe...questions

Jason280 said:
A friend of mine has suggested dumping the entire tailstock in his electrolysis tank, may help breaking down some of the crud.
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It’ll work. I did it once. But it really doesn’t look like it’s in that bad of condition. Anyways you’re the one who has it, so you’d know better than me.
 
But...I think there are some aluminum parts, or zamak (which contains aluminum) which will be ruined(according to gurus on the net) if dumped in an electrolysis tank. So remove them first. I’m thinking that’d be the tailstock bearing housing, the handwheel, the quill locking clamp, and the clamp handle.
 
I'll keep soaking it in penetrating oil, and maybe I can get it apart.
 
Jason280 said:
Never thought about Coleman camp fuel, I have several gallons of it (as well as kerosene) I can use.
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Kerosene would be the better choice of the two. It's a lot slower drying than Colemans. I would check on the volatility of Colemans. I think you will find that is too flammable to be a safe cleaner, about like gasoline.
Dave
 
Electrolysis has been said to degrade Zamak and aluminum. There are no aluminum parts on the tailstock (at least originally) but the handwheel and handle are Zamak, although that's easy to remove. The ram lock handle is but that's even easier to remove. And The two ram lock cylinders are *at least originally), and those are possibly the culprit to begin with. And even if they are not stuck, the lower one cannot be removed without first removing the ram. I don't know about the feed screw bearing. It may be, but I have never checked it.
 
Jason280 said:
I thought I had posted this data plate earlier, but looks like I missed it.
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OK. Then that probably explains the separate model number plate on the QCGB. I don't think that it is present on the 101.27430 and 27440, and I know that it isn't on the half inch bed later 12" machines.

I would put the manufacturing date as around 1951. And we have a few of the 101.27430/440's with nearly the same serial numbers, so the 101.20140 was probably also out. The guy who bought the 101.07403 could have saved a few bucks had he bought one of them to begin with.

Incidentally, your sliding gear should have a steel washer between the 16T and 32T gears of the sliding gear. It should have come as part of the QCGB kit. The early version 10" QCGB didn't have it originally but the 12" version was several years behind the 10" and should have. If any loose parts came with the lathe, look through them to see if he didn't put it on but kept it. Incidentally, the only time that you need to mesh the sliding gear with the 32T is when you are cutting 7.5 through 4 TPI threads. So if it isn't there, it won't cause much of a problem.
 
Dave: Kerosene works too, but it's so stinky. I like the faster evap of Coleman fuel, I consider it an advantage especially if used indoors
Some use paint thinner; it's about the same price as Coleman, at least in my city
M
 
No steel washer, but I can't imagine it would be difficult to source.

What is the correct HP rating for this lathe, and any suggestions on a quick-style tool post?
 
Jason, I don't want to startle you, but from the pics (and it is hard to assess from pics) it appears the bed is worn heavily near the head stock. Have you measured this, by any means available? It's hard to tell for sure in that light, but you might want to find out what the extent of the wear is, and if that particular wear point is going to be a problem for you. You can have the bed ground, and you can find another bed easily.
 
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