Craftsman 07301 flea market find

[FanMan]

I wasn't really looking for a lathe even though I don't (didn't) have one, I've managed to turn small things on my mill... anyway I was at a flea market today with my wife, not expecting to find much, when I saw this little gem on the floor with a $100 price tag on it. Looked in good shape, asked if there were any other parts, yes, he brought out a motor and a box of accessories. Upshot is I offered him $70 and he took it and helped me carry it to the car.



I thought it was missing parts, but no:



The rust isn't bad, mostly minor surface rust, everything turns and all the slides move freely, if a bit gunked up from old oil. The cross slide crank is broken, no big deal. I haven't tried the motor yet, but that's also a minor detail, motors are plentiful. Now I just have to clean it up and build a stand for it (just what I need, another project).

I haven't figured out how to make the chuck move (Craftsman 383-22970)... anybody? The holes on the sides aren't for a square or hex key, it looks like the chuck body turns relative to the center, but try to turn it and it'll just unscrew it from the spindle (or lock it on tighter).





I'd also like to know just how old it is, is there a serial number reference anywhere? (6L 025448)

 

[ELHEAD]

You should be ashamed of yourself. But on the other hand I couldn't have passed it up. Great deal!

 

[CluelessNewB]

You should be indicted for grand larceny!

 

[FOMOGO]

Chuck operates with a pin spanner. Soak it in some kerosene, or spray it with some PB blaster. The knurled ring will rotate on the body. Nice score. Mike
Some thing like this.

 

[markba633csi]

Great deal, the steady rest alone is worth 2-3x what you paid

 

[thomas s]

Wow that was a great deal.

 

[dlane]

Tommy bar chuck, as Fomogo said , did you get the change gears for thread cutting? , nice score.

 

[Charles Spencer]

It looks like a stack of change gears in the picture.

 

[machinejack]

I love it when the seller is unaware of what they have. There are deals waiting around every corner. Got a"complete in the metal case" Bridgeport boring head for $50 once. But a whole lathe is a better deal. Good score got my first lathe a 9" Southbend for $45.00 when I was 15.

 

[FanMan]

Got the chuck unstuck and disassembled, it was just gunked up with old grease. Of course knowing what to turn relative to what helped, it's such a close fit it wasn't immediately obvious that the knurled ring was separate from the chuck body, though on reflection it's obvious that it would have to be. A bit of scotchbrite and maybe a dunk in evaporust and it'll be good as new.

Somewhere I saw a suggestion to drill holes in the chuck body so two tommy bars could be used to tighten / loosen it to avoid overtightening/loosening it on the spindle threads. Lathe newbie question: just how tight does it have to be in use?