Considering Altas MF Mill Purchase

All great info guys, I also adopt the never bid until the last minute approach to eBay. Although sometimes I will bid $1 so the seller can't easily cancel the auction without giving me the option to complain. I live out in the country so this kind of thing is rare within driving distance. Even this one will be a full day return trip. As I said I'm not going to bid at $1200au. You are right about the size, I don't need an industrial strength machine in my shed. Also 240v single phase is portant. For some reason 3 phase converters are very expensive here.
David
 
Re: Considering Altas MF Mill Purchasehttp://www.hobby-machinist.com/forumdisplay.php/86-ATLAS-amp-C

One thing that I forgot to comment on is the extra support bar that came with the MFC (and M1C and MHC). If you eliminate the overarm guard, it can be fitted to the earlier models. But you also have to change the original support block. There are some other minor parts differences between the MFB and MFC but the support bar is the major one.

Robert D.
 
I have an Atlas Horizontal probably manufactured in the early 1940's. When I purchased it their were a few broken parts I had to make.

The origional universal joints for table power feed are fragile zinc die cast. Mine are now steel. The motor and jack shaft pullys were missing.
I put on aluminum cone pulleys and use the first 2 steps of 4. The key way, cut into the table screw had sharp edges and burrs that badly wore the nut.
I made a nut and wore that out as well. When installing the second newly made nut I deburred the keyway edges with a wire wheel, NO problems with that since.

In general I am very satisfied with mine mill for the size of work I do.

I have built a lot of tooling which I will photograph and show in the future.
My mill came with a 7/8 arbor and I have built a 1 inch. Keep the cutter diameter down around 3 inch to avoid overloading the gears when machining steel.

Keep cutters sharp, minimize cantilever situations when holding material and vibration will be minimal.

Check setups prior to engaging the power feed. If the overarm support contacts the vise a crash will occur.
The zinc die cast gears and universals in the power feed will not tolerate a crash. They break, then you have to machine replacements.

If an Atlas mill can be obtained at a reasonable cost, it is an excellent choice for the home shop.
 
nine4gmc said:
The original u-joints are probably lightweight cast on purpose, to be the weak link.
Click to expand...

It's all new to me too, but as an engineer I'd say the right way to provide a "weak link" is with a properly designed shear pin.
 
I picked up an Atlas MFC in a package deal so I can't really comment on the price. The little mill has it's limitations but for the most part they are very well built for their size. It does offer some challenges when it comes to clamping work to the table as there is only one T-slot. Mine also has some parts that came broken such as the cam lever that switches it in and out of back gears and the crank that raises and lowers the table was broken. These things will be easy to repair.
 
Love those mills, I have already warned my wife that if I every have the room, oh and the money of course, I would get one, and maybe a 7" shaper too!

Good luck!
 
I love shapers too. Always underrated. I used to use a planner which is like a shaper except the tool is stationary and the table moved. Table was about 6' long and 3' wide. Great fun to use if it didn't bowl you over.
Still no bids on the auction :)
 
Papermaker,

I have a parts MFC that I bought mainly for the stand to go under an MF (MFA) I bought that still hasn't been delivered. If the MFA doesn't need it, the table handwheel (crank) on the MFC is intact and should clean up OK. The back gear eccentric and lever has the lever broken off, which unfortunately seems to be a common situation. I'm still waiting to find out about the one on the MFA. And a few other parts.

Robert D.

papermaker said:
I picked up an Atlas MFC in a package deal so I can't really comment on the price. The little mill has it's limitations but for the most part they are very well built for their size. It does offer some challenges when it comes to clamping work to the table as there is only one T-slot. Mine also has some parts that came broken such as the cam lever that switches it in and out of back gears and the crank that raises and lowers the table was broken. These things will be easy to repair.
Click to expand...
 
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