May I Get A General Opinion On This Atlas Machine...price Ok Or Not, Etc...

barryww1956

barryww1956

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This is a machine I'm considering. I know that thousands were built over the past decades. Now, I know one can't tell too much from a couple of pictures. But all things being equal, i.e. no broken gears, no binding, everything working as it should....does this sound like a pretty decent, reasonable deal...assuming of course that the description is correct? Is the pricing in-line with what one should expect to pay for a decent lathe of this type? I'm a hobbyist, but don't want to buy a cheap "hobby" type of lathe either. I love the older machines as I know there's gold out there if I can find it:
(Thanks in advance for answering the ten-thousand-ish such kind of question posted here on this site I only discovered yesterday)

10" Atlas lathe with attachments, parts list and manuals. Lathe was completely rebuilt less than two years ago. New reversible motor. Very light use since rebuild. Many attachments including: 3 and 4 jaw chucks, thread cutter, knurling tool, work supports, bits, holders, etc.

$1900

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I'd think it's at least $700 to much money ... just guessing that the used machine market in your area is a bit dry .

Here in the rust belt I'd say the asking price is about $1000 to high .

One of my personal red flags is when it's advertised as " rebuilt "
 
Well, unless you are in an absolute machinery wasteland I'd pass on that Atlas 10" at that price.

With similar tooling I'd put the value at less than $1,000 - with a budget in the $2,000 range you should hold out for at least one of the 12" ones with a QC gearbox.

A lot of operations need fine tuning of speeds and feeds and this one doesn't have that option - and doing any threading at all with one of these with the manually changed gears gets to be a real pain.

Also the single belt drive will tend to slip under even the slightest load.

Just my $0.02 - advice worth what you paid for it.

Stu
 
Well, I have a lot to learn is what this tells me. I thought "rebuilt" was maybe a virtue, but I guess it really means "watch out". I'd love to get an older cast iron beast but I can see this is going to be treacherous if I don't know what to look for. Well, I have a lot of homework to do, but I've learned something already. Thanks for the honesty.
 
Frankly I don't think that I'd pay $500 for that lathe. Even in Oklahoma. I sold one in much better shape and with more accessories for $695.

Be patient and keep cash on hand for a deal. I just did a quick Craigslist search for Tulsa and Oklahoma City and saw a couple that looked like better deals.

Don't automatically reject imports.

If you have the room then also consider a larger lathe which are frequently very good deals.
 
Rebuilt two years ago and now he wants to sell it? I don't think you are getting the entire story here, and the tooling that comes with it is not likely a working set of someone who rebuilt the lathe two years ago. I could be wrong, but my gut tells me Caveat Emptor. Also, that is a fairly light lathe with no quick change gear box. Go look at it. Look closely. Listen closely as well. Make sure you see it run and put it through all its paces. Do that on multiple lathes. Soon you will be a more savvy buyer.
 
I'm inclined to agree with most of the above comments except for the less than $500 one. Assuming that the machine is in good running condition, at least in the TX and OK area where small lathes don't show up too frequently (great big ones do, about every bust in the Oil Patch, like right now), just the bare lathe itself would typically be around $300, maybe a little more, without a quick change gear box. But for major accessories on the used market, for a quick sanity check you can just count them and multiply by about $150 and that's about what you would expect to pay for them if you bought them one at a time. Plus the cost of the lathe. Major accessories are items like spindle chucks (2 visible), steady rest (1), follow rest (1), milling attachment (0), commutator undercut sets (0), taper attachments (0), tool post grinder (0) (actually those usually sell for more like $300), quick change tool post set (0), original stands (0) (the bench that it is on has minimal value), etc.. The visible tooling and various small items that mount in the tailstock maybe $100 total. So assuming that everything is OK (except the spindle belt, which isn't), I would say $600 to $800.

As to spindle belt slippage under moderate to heavy load, the link belt actually on the machine does have that problem sometimes. Especially if it gets a little oil on it. If the machine had been properly rebuilt two years ago, it would have a proper V-belt.there, which doesn't have that problem unless the belt tension is set 'way too light. I have a 3996, which is the final much heavier 12" version. It has a larger motor and came with dual spindle V-belts. It has (for reasons that I won't go into) been running for 34 of the the past 36 years with only one spindle V-belt. Which has never ever slipped.

As a general statement, you can generally count on more responses to a question of this nature if you ask it in the badge-specific Forum that matches the badge (brand) of the machine that you are asking about. And less likely to get negative comments from people who just happen to dislike whatever brand you are asking about. For the Beginner's Forum, you got a much better turnout than I would have bet on. And no one particularly putting the machine down simply because of the badge. :)
 
Rebuilt can be a good thing. I'd favor rebuilt but want to know what was done. The price is high for what it is.

Save the money and cruise Craigslist cities in a 300 or more mile radius. Search Ebay with "Location first" option so you could go check something out. You would need a trailer to get anything home anyway so what's another 30-60 minutes on the road? Most important don't be in a hurry to buy, time is powerful if you have the money on hand.
 
The "rebuild" part is a real heads up. Nice to see in a sale ad, ....if it can be verified......by a rebuilder/machine shop. But just because cousin Joe cleaned the gunge out and oiled it doesnt neccessarily make it so

Cheers Phil
 
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