New member with Atlas Craftsman QCGB 12” and a few questions

I suppose the next question is do I even need that stack of extra gears since it has the QCGB? I did see a YouTube video showing how to slow the feed screw down even slower than the GB would allow by changing out a couple of gears on the banjo. I’m having a blast with the old lathe. I’ve contemplated re-painting it but I think I’ll wait. It appears to be really tight. I’ve been running all over the place looking for potential projects. Thanks again. The Timken bearings upgrades my view of the old girl! I attached a photo of the collets and drawbar that came with it.

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Dave, you got yourself a heck of a great lathe! One tip, your link belt will run quieter if you reverse it- the tails of the links are supposed trail in the direction of travel. Happy turning!
 
Pontiac, Thanks for the heads-up on the belt. I'll reverse it when I get home this evening. I've never used a link belt and wasn't sure on the orientation. When I got the lathe the drive belt was in good shape but much too long, to the point that the pulley was so far back that you couldn't close the drive belt cover. In fact someone had broken one of the drive ears off the cover. Repairing that cover and fabricating a hinge replacement was my first project on the lathe. I didn't want to remove the head-stock to install a new conventional belt so bought a link belt. Thanks again!
 
I ran mine "backward" for almost 2 years before I realized it. Still smooth, just runs quieter and grips a little better in the "forward" direction.

Again, great lathe!
 
Although a newer model than your's, a 101.27440, I have acquired a set of change wheels in addition to the QC mechanism. I do a lot of (electrical) coil winding, and other "non-standard" feeds. It could well be that the "extra" gears are for this purpose. There are several charts for this, some on this site. This is in addition to the above comments, not in opposition to.
Bill Hudson​
 
There is a paragraph in the Atlas/Craftsman Manual of Lathe Operations that says:

Between the coarsest thread, 4 threads per inch, and the finest feed, .0018 inch or 553 threads per inch, over a thousand threads and feeds have been charted by Atlas engineers. Tables I, II and III, pages 128-133, give proper gear set-ups for a wide variety of special threads and feeds. (MOLO, part 7 "Thread Cutting", page 125 in this PDF copy)
Click to expand...

I noticed some of those settings require extra copies of the gears included with the original lathe. Since you have the gears you might want to keep them for the day you might need an unusual thread or feed, or need to wind a coil as Bill Hudson does. They are not cheap on ebay, and not all sizes are readily available.

Wally
 
Wally,
I think that’s good advice. Having too many gears doesn’t really present a problem. And you never know, I may need them some day.
Thanks,
Dave
 
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