My “new” Atlas Craftsman 12 inc

[Defender92]

Hello! New member here. I am a full time law enforcement officer but I am discovering my love for metal working. I am building a hobby metal shop in my garage with the possibility of turning it into a retirement job (many years away).

I have recently fell in love with my Craftsmanship Atlas 101.07403 12 inch lathe. I picked it up with a good amount of tools for what I believe to be a good price. Appears to be well taken care of and was owned by a professional metal worker. This will compliment my Langmuir Pro CNC plasma table, MIG, TIG, press brake. Hopefully a small mill soon too.

I added an Accu-Link belt (took a lot of vibration out), Shars AXA tool post, and spent more money on accessories than I paid for the lathe!

Hopefully you guys can answer some questions about my lathe.

Serial number is 16439. When was it manufactured?

I suspect I have Timken bearings and not Babbitt. Is this correct?

Has anyone threaded rifle barrels with the craftsman? What about concentric threads for suppressors? I suspect I need a jig to do it.

Can I get a faceplate for this lathe that I can clamp work to? For example, something that I cut with the CNC plasma cutter that I can clamp to the faceplate and do boring work?

Why is the Practical Machinist forum so hostile towards Altas machines??

Thanks guys!

 

[T Bredehoft]

I don't know about Practical Machinist, found this place first, we're open to all, and friendly by law.

I don't know about gunsmithing, either, but you should have no problems doing what you want on that lathe.

Welcome to the forum.

If you need them, metric threads will be a challenge. Do-able, yes.

 

[Defender92]

I don't know about Practical Machinist, found this place first, we're open to all, and friendly by law.

I don't know about gunsmithing, either, but you should have no problems doing what you want on that lathe.

Welcome to the forum.

If you need them, metric threads will be a challenge. Do-able, yes.

Thank you!

Oh yes I do plan on doing metric threads. I just picked up most of not all the change gears on eBay for metric. Should be in soon.

 

[jwmay]

It looks great! Congrats!

 

[cross thread]

Hi Defender92 , welcome aboard . You found the right place , as for your questions .....
1, the actual manufacture , I don't know my guess around 40's . My machine (Atlas/Craftsman 6") I have pin pointed it's date to 1939 because of some of the parts on it . Check this out http://www.lathes.co.uk/craftsman/page2.html
2, You have Timkens .
3, Thread a barrel I have done it , not on a Craftsman , but you certainly can . Second part to this question , suppressor (recoil arrestor ?) back in the 90's I made 1,000s" of those things , the part that threaded onto the barrel I tapped in a mill . For that matter you could tap it on your lathe . I wouldn't single point it .
Last Q , Yes , just get a face plate .
Keep us posted .
Oh yes , PM . Because most are "A Holes" .

 

[mickri]

Welcome to the forum. You should consider donating. That will allow you to access the downloads section. Lots of good stuff there for Atlas/Craftsman lathes

We are a friendly bunch. Don't be afraid to ask any questions no matter how simple you may think they are. Lots of really knowledgeable people on here that will help you out. Mickey's thread on grinding HSS tool bits is a must read. I also recommend exploring Mr. Pete's aka Tubalcain's you tube videos. He is a retired shop teacher who knows how to teach machining. IMHO he is the best of the best for a beginner to learn how to machine. Lots of other good video sites too for learning more advanced stuff.

Lots of gun people here that will help you out with your gunsmithing questions. Your lathe looks to be at most 24" between centers. That will limit the length of barrels that you can turn between centers unless you buy contoured barrels. Most contoured barrels will fit in the spindle bore. You will need a spider for the outboard end of the spindle. Easy to make. I made one for my craftsman 12x36 lathe. https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/making-a-spider-for-the-lathe.88933/ I also made a micrometer reamer stop. Another easy gunsmithing project. https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/micrometer-reamer-stop-build.89937/

Metric threading is easy for most of the common metric threads. You swap the two 48 gears for a 52/44 combo gear. The info on how to do this is in the downloads section.

 

[Defender92]

Thanks guys! I’m already getting a lot of info from my first post. And I have already discovered Mr. Pete's aka Tubalcain’s channel. He’s great and taught me a lot already!

 

[Bi11Hudson]

Another welcome aboard, Sir. I have a slightly newer version of your machine, a 12X36 Nr 101.27440. From the photos you look to have roller bearings. There are several combinations that are "almost" metric conversion. The most common is listed above. A "true" metric conversion can only be accomplished with 127 and 120 (or 100) tooth gears. But with 16DP change gears, they take a lot! of space. The 52/44 tooth combination works well into over an inch of threads.

.

 

[wa5cab]

Defender42,

Welcome aboard. Atlas originally made their 10" and the Craftsman 12" lathes with two kinds of spindle bearings, split babbit and Timken Tapered Roller. The babbit bearings had two hex head bolts visible with the headstock and belt cover lifted. And the parting line between the upper and lower bearing halves is visible. Your machine has Timken bearings. Up until about 1952, either Atlas or Timken engraved the bearing inspection dates into each cup and cone. Although we know from dates versus serial numbers that Atlas did not practice FIFO with their inventory, we use the later or latest date on the two bearings as the date of manufacture. And extrapolate using the serial number for machines that we don't have the bearing dates on. Your machine was probably made 4th Quarter 1946. -more later-

 

[Defender92]

Defender42,

Welcome aboard. Atlas originally made their 10" and the Craftsman 12" lathes with two kinds of spindle bearings, split babbit and Timken Tapered Roller. The babbit bearings had two hex head bolts visible with the headstock and belt cover lifted. And the parting line between the upper and lower bearing halves is visible. Your machine has Timken bearings. Up until about 1952, either Atlas or Timken engraved the bearing inspection dates into each cup and cone. Although we know from dates versus serial numbers that Atlas did not practice FIFO with their inventory, we use the later or latest date on the two bearings as the date of manufacture. And extrapolate using the serial number for machines that we don't have the bearing dates on. Your machine was probably made 4th Quarter 1946. -more later-

Thank you! Very good information. It’s much older than I thought. It’s incredible how well they made things back then.