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Early craftsman 618 identification.
- Thread starter Rage10
- Start date
That is a Craftsman badged Atlas made 6" lathe. I have the same model - Craftsman # 101.07301.
It has bronze bushings for head stock bearings - easily replaceable, but will wear out, and best run at lower speeds than the Timken tapered roller bearing head stocks that came later. Because of this (and its fairly light build), the lathe really is designed around HSS tooling rather than carbide. Not that you can't use carbide, but you won't get the full benefit of using carbide at high speeds and heavy cuts. I've been using my lathe for a couple of years now. It's my first metal lathe, and i'm still firmly in the "novice" class. That said, i've done a lot of good work on this lathe. It's very capable if you work within its size limitations.
Yours looks well accessorized - with the quick change tool post, steady rest, chucks, and what looks like a micah undercutter and possibly a milling attachment??? Nice bench as well, with a reversing switch, good lighting, and most certainly more tooling in the drawers.
It has bronze bushings for head stock bearings - easily replaceable, but will wear out, and best run at lower speeds than the Timken tapered roller bearing head stocks that came later. Because of this (and its fairly light build), the lathe really is designed around HSS tooling rather than carbide. Not that you can't use carbide, but you won't get the full benefit of using carbide at high speeds and heavy cuts. I've been using my lathe for a couple of years now. It's my first metal lathe, and i'm still firmly in the "novice" class. That said, i've done a lot of good work on this lathe. It's very capable if you work within its size limitations.
Yours looks well accessorized - with the quick change tool post, steady rest, chucks, and what looks like a micah undercutter and possibly a milling attachment??? Nice bench as well, with a reversing switch, good lighting, and most certainly more tooling in the drawers.
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Aluminum model and SN plates on my early 1950s 101.07301 are also "...on the back side of the bed, close to the middle."
Yours looks to be earlier than mine, based on the blue paint and the nameplate on the gear cover (which I can just barely see in your 2nd photo.) It looks like a nameplate style common ca. 1937-1945, but would be nice to see a better picture. There are good discussions of Craftsman logo style changes on the OWWM site (e.g. Craftsman Badge/Decal Study, among others)
Yours looks to be earlier than mine, based on the blue paint and the nameplate on the gear cover (which I can just barely see in your 2nd photo.) It looks like a nameplate style common ca. 1937-1945, but would be nice to see a better picture. There are good discussions of Craftsman logo style changes on the OWWM site (e.g. Craftsman Badge/Decal Study, among others)
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The extra gears are stored in the middle door on a post. Most of the big stuff was on display for the pic. Just the change gears and some random parts were in the cabinet.
Yeah it's not sturdy enough to really take full advantage of carbide tooling, but carbide lasts a lot longer then HSS for the same type of cutting. I've burned out all the good HSS tools that came with it. You can really let fly with carbide in a way that doesnt work well in HSS. Also I dont really want to have to grind HSS bars, of which this lathe came with plenty.
Where is the placard for the model number on yours? I cant find anywhere on mine.