Old Member, New Atlas Owner

PHPaul

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Dec 5, 2017
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Haven't been here in several months, been busy with other stuff.

My first lathe was (is...) a Seneca Falls Star 30. While I've learned a lot with it, it IS 120+ years old, parts are NLA and some pretty important parts (crossfeed and compound) are loose as a goose and accuracy under 10 thou is more luck than skill. So, I've been contemplating upgrading for a while now, and came across what seemed like a good candidate:

atlas1.jpg

I picked this Atlas 3995 up today. Serial #100788, 12x24. Everything is tight, the ways are in good shape (some minor dings near the headstock) and it runs quietly.

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It came with a goodly assortment of accessories: 3 and 4 jaw chucks, faceplate with dogs, steady rest, tailstock turret (which I understand to be somewhat unusual) multiple lantern-style tool holders, live center, dead centers, 2MT Jacobs chuck and some other odds and ends.

atlas3.jpg

Probably the biggest score was this cabinet chock-a-block full of HSS, brazed carbide and insert-style tools in various sizes and profiles. I bet there's 20 or 30 pounds of stuff there!

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Finally, it included the original manual with full parts list and lube chart. I'll spend tomorrow cleaning and lubricating it. Might get some Evaporust and clean up things like the tailstock turret and chucks as they have a bit more "patina" than I'd consider ideal.

I looked around a bit for a serial number look-up and didn't see one. I imagine 1970-ish but if there's a link I missed, I'd appreciate hearing about it so I can be sure.
 
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Great catch! Getting the cabinet base with it saves a bunch of setup. I've never seen a tailstock turret like that, it might be handy.
 
Kind of looks like the Atlas/Clausing 3996 . Cab ( Robert ) has one I believe . I had one in the garage for a week or two when I didn't have space .
 
I love these things! I hope it’s everything you hoped for.
 
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