Craftsman Lathe Build Dates ?

Jamie,

I thought I had answered this pulley dimension question earlier but maybe it was over on Yahoo. There is in Downloads a dimensioned photograph of an M6-428 6" motor pulley. Someone (if I knew whom, I would have put his name on the PDF) took an edge-view photograph of an M6-428 and dimensioned it. And I cleaned it up a bit. I am not too confidant about a couple of the dimensions but it would do I think. The V-grooves should be made according to the dimensions given in Machinery's Handbook for a 2L pulley instead of using the dimensions shown. And the V-groove to V-groove center to center dimensions should be the same as on the countershaft pulley. The diameter dimensions given should be close enough to work.

Robert D.
 
Hi! Everyone.
I have a Craftsman Metal lathe that my father-in-law said was pre WW-II. It's a101.07301 model with a metal late for the logo attached to the end of the gear covers. It is the shape of the above stick-on, but is pinned to the housing. The serial number, I think, is aI_027125.
He says the booklet may or may not be the original, don't know.

Any help in dating it is appreciated as he is no longer with us and it is a full lathe including the change gears for different threads.
 
Hi Dave , interesting your machine has a serial # , mine does not , just the 101.07301 tag . Here is a website that talks about all things Atlas http://www.lathes.co.uk/craftsman6inchmk1/
Lathes UK is a good resource , but please talk about your machine here . I found some interesting things about my machine , I believe it was a machine built when Atlas was making the first back geared 6 inch machines so I think they were using up parts on hand making the transition . The first 6 inch machine was made 37' it had no back gear , it also had a LH 3/8-20 double lead cross feed screw also the first 6 inch machines (non back gear) did not have a leaf spring clip to hold the gear cover in place . My machine has the 3/8-20 lead screw and no leaf spring clip and no way to fit one .
Some pictures of your machine would be nice .
Good luck , Mark .
DSCF2546 by mark westi, on Flickr
 
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Dave,

Where did you find the serial number? Given the S/N, I will guess that it was stamped onto the nameplate which also has the model number 101.07301 made onto it. And the nameplate is riveted to the right end of the bed. The two characters stamped before the S/N should be 6L. If the serial number is 027125, it was probably made in 1953.

If the booklet that you mentioned is an Atlas MOLO (Manual of Lathe Operation), there should be a year printed on the Copyright page. However, it is probably "1937" although it was probably printed in 1952 or 1953. Not until 1954 did Atlas start printing the actual print year in the MOLO, 1937 is the year of the initial printing and copyright. Despite the fact that up through 1953 there had been at least 6 0r 8 different revisions and 15 years of re-printing. The one printed in 1954 was identified on the Copyright page as being the 16th edition.

If the booklet is an operators manual and parts list, it may not have a date on it.
 
Mark,

That was the first version of the Craftsman 6". The first version of the Atlas 618 6" appeared a little earlier and aside from a few details, was mostly the same as the third and final version. Meaning that it always had back gears, Timken bearings and 1"-10 spindle nose threads. The only significant changes were that there were three versions of the countershaft assembly and two versions of the half nuts and associated parts.
 
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