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- Feb 2, 2013
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looking good Frank!!! 
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Just some minor surface rust...
- Thread starter francist
- Start date
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2013
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- 302
One thing to think about on the lead screw bearing is Atlas made that out of ZAMAK so it would intentionally self-destruct and break if you crashed the lathe.
Making the replacement out of something much stronger will result in a much more expensive part being damaged if you have a crash.
Making the replacement out of something much stronger will result in a much more expensive part being damaged if you have a crash.
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2013
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Yes I am aware of that story and gave it consideration. Ultimately I came up with the resolve that this machine really should be dead already, if for some reason I do manage to crash it seriously enough to want to destruct a Zamak bearing then it was meant to be.
Personally, I think other things would break before the bearing on my 618 but it'd rather not put either to the test. Thanks for the tip though.
-frank
Personally, I think other things would break before the bearing on my 618 but it'd rather not put either to the test. Thanks for the tip though.
-frank
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2013
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- 5,418
She's looking great Frank. I know I had fun redoing my 12". I think the screw bearing will be just fine. I can't remember if there is a shear pin on the drive end or not, but I'm thinking that's where I would put any kind of crash disconnect. Mike
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- Dec 25, 2011
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- 10,552
There isn't any shear pin in the carriage drive system. It wasn't until 1967 that Atlas (by then renamed "Clausing") did finally redo the basic drive design and add a slip clutch at the left end of the lead screw. At that point, they also re-did the right lead screw bearing, and added ball thrust bearings to it. That setup can be added to any of the Atlas machines that have 3/4" diameter lead screws. But unless you could acquire all of the parts as salvage from an otherwise dead late 12", it would probably be prohibitively expensive. The same comments apply to converting the power cross-feed engagement method from the pull-out knob to the lever.
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- Sep 5, 2013
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Made more parts. Many of the apron parts had suffered damage either before or during the fire. The parts on the inside of the apron though, remarkably, were completely unscathed. Half nuts, traverse gear, etc in like new condition. Hand-wheels and knobs, melted and misshapen.
The half nut lever was broken and missing for the most part, so I made another from a scrap of hot rolled mild steel. I got a nice fit on the square hole to shaft so I got away with just peening to hold things together. The knob was a light press fit.
I just happened to have a brand new M-23 handwheel that came with my MF milling machine, so I used it for the traverse on the carriage. I'll install the heat-damaged one on the tailstock where it's not as frequently used.
The ballcrank off the cross slide was a different matter though. It was heavily damaged to begin with, and I also had to slice it in order to get it off the lead screw so there wasn't much to salvage. Yes I could have purchased one, but I opted to try making one instead. There were some challenges as far as holding the part and how to achieve certain shapes, but in the end it worked out acceptably. My silver solder job was less than perfect but I'm trying not to dwell on it. I was able to reuse the handle and press it into my new crank so that saved a bit of time.
And finally the tailstock. The two segments that pinch against the tailstock quill to lock it had been fused into the casting from the heat of the fire. They had actually started to drip out the bottom of the bore. Needless to say, I couldn't reuse those and had to make a couple new ones. I thought about aluminum but went with 360 brass instead, thinking that the brass will be less likely to gall in the holes. Used the sine plate on the milling table for cutting the angle on the ends, worked good.
So here we are looking more or less lathe-like again. I'm still missing a compound casting, some pulleys for the countershaft and motor, as well as a stand or bench to mount everything on. Oh, as well as a place to set it. First things first, though.
Thanks for looking!
-frank
The half nut lever was broken and missing for the most part, so I made another from a scrap of hot rolled mild steel. I got a nice fit on the square hole to shaft so I got away with just peening to hold things together. The knob was a light press fit.
I just happened to have a brand new M-23 handwheel that came with my MF milling machine, so I used it for the traverse on the carriage. I'll install the heat-damaged one on the tailstock where it's not as frequently used.
The ballcrank off the cross slide was a different matter though. It was heavily damaged to begin with, and I also had to slice it in order to get it off the lead screw so there wasn't much to salvage. Yes I could have purchased one, but I opted to try making one instead. There were some challenges as far as holding the part and how to achieve certain shapes, but in the end it worked out acceptably. My silver solder job was less than perfect but I'm trying not to dwell on it. I was able to reuse the handle and press it into my new crank so that saved a bit of time.
And finally the tailstock. The two segments that pinch against the tailstock quill to lock it had been fused into the casting from the heat of the fire. They had actually started to drip out the bottom of the bore. Needless to say, I couldn't reuse those and had to make a couple new ones. I thought about aluminum but went with 360 brass instead, thinking that the brass will be less likely to gall in the holes. Used the sine plate on the milling table for cutting the angle on the ends, worked good.
So here we are looking more or less lathe-like again. I'm still missing a compound casting, some pulleys for the countershaft and motor, as well as a stand or bench to mount everything on. Oh, as well as a place to set it. First things first, though.
Thanks for looking!
-frank
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2013
- Messages
- 3,793
It's been a while and I still have a few missing pieces to come up with, but I was at a point where I really wanted to get the machine off the rebuild cart and on to something more permanent. So I built a stand.
I had a slab of quilted cherry that came from a salvaged fireplace mantel, and it's been in my shop for easily twenty-five years waiting for that perfect calling. This might not be perfect, but I figured if I didn't use it now I may never. It's got some decent bulk to it, and the figure is pretty nice too.
For the base I wanted something that could knock down if necessary. And I didn't want to horse around with solid wood joinery, so I went with MDF. I kept the size to an absolute minimum, put in a few minor shelves mostly for blocking, and then tied everything together with threaded rod and knock down hardware. It's extremely stiff.
A few coats of paint and varnish later. I still want to do something nicer with the rod nuts but for now it works. The separate motor mount hangs off the rear with about an inch of vertical adjustment, and there's a piece of 1/4" thick cold rolled flat for the front dashboard surface.
Here it is with the lathe in place. I need to scare up a motor, a compound slide, and make two more pulleys but that's for another day. Thanks for looking!
-frank
I had a slab of quilted cherry that came from a salvaged fireplace mantel, and it's been in my shop for easily twenty-five years waiting for that perfect calling. This might not be perfect, but I figured if I didn't use it now I may never. It's got some decent bulk to it, and the figure is pretty nice too.
For the base I wanted something that could knock down if necessary. And I didn't want to horse around with solid wood joinery, so I went with MDF. I kept the size to an absolute minimum, put in a few minor shelves mostly for blocking, and then tied everything together with threaded rod and knock down hardware. It's extremely stiff.
A few coats of paint and varnish later. I still want to do something nicer with the rod nuts but for now it works. The separate motor mount hangs off the rear with about an inch of vertical adjustment, and there's a piece of 1/4" thick cold rolled flat for the front dashboard surface.
Here it is with the lathe in place. I need to scare up a motor, a compound slide, and make two more pulleys but that's for another day. Thanks for looking!
-frank