Joining the Group: Just Got a Atlas 12 x 18

[TinkerToy]

I won this lathe at Cabin Fever last week. Don't know much about it, but I fell in love with it when I first saw it. I have been reading online and have learned that it is probably from the early 40's. Model is 101.07403, SN 14799.

It looks like new and the more I check it out, the better it seems. I need to get a lot of accessories, manuals, and build a bench, but I'm excited to get going. My previous experience is with a Chinese "Smithy" lathe, which I now plan to sell.

Just reading, I find this group more helpful than the Yahoo Atlas group. I'm glad to have you guys around.
I'll try to attach some pics. Do I need to use photobucket, or can they be directly uploaded from here? Nevermind, I found it.
Thanks,
JD

 

[Dranreb]

Nice win JD welcome the wonderful world of Atlas...

Bernard

 

[stevecmo]

Well, you certainly cant' beat that price! :thumbsup:

Welcome to the forum!

 

[burtonbr]

That's a great looking machine, I know you'll have fun getting it set up and running. I just got my first real lathe this week and am really enjoying getting it set up and being able to turn big pieces of metal into little pieces. )

 

[wa5cab]

JD,

There is a copy of the final 101.07403 Illustrated Parts Manual in Downloads. However, you will need some more posts before the server will allow you access. So download it from the Files section on Yahoo. As far as we know, neither Atlas nor Sears ever wrote an Operations Manual for this model. So also download the manual on 101.27430 and 27440 as there is a little setup information that applies. And the Atlas Technical Bulletin on the 10F headstock which also applies to the early 12".

The second manual you should acquire is a copy of the Manual of Lathe Operations, by Atlas, first printed in 1937. Copies printed 1955 and later have theprint history including the year printed shown on the back of the title page. And some have Craftsman front covers. I have been collecting these for about two years now and have yet to find one with a print year between 1938 and 1954. My conclusion is that they didn't start putting the print history list in the manual and putting Craftsman on some of the front covers until 1955. So the copy that you want is going to say Atlas on the front cover and 1937 on the copyright page. However, so far I know of three different versions that meet that test. Look at or ask the seller to look at the first page in Chapter 7 (Threading). If there are no pages at all or if the first page says Atlas 10F, pass. The one that you want has pages and says Sears Master Craftsman on the first one. The versions with no pages came with a separately bound Threading Supplement. But the only Supplements I have seen or heard of all are for the 10F.

As to when it was made, the factory (now called Clausing) has lost all production records on the Atlas and Atlas/Craftsman machines. The closest that you will get, absent the original invoice, is if you ever pull the spindle. Engraved into the spindle bearings is a date, which is the bearing receipt inspection date. That gives an earliest possible date limit. The actual production date will be sometime in the year following. We have a lathe database that currently has nearly 400 entries. Unfortunately, less than 1% of the entries include both the bearing dates and the serial number. But based on those few, your machine was built in early 1945.

Robert D.