TH54 Atlas lathe rebuild/refurb project (pic heavy)

[GoMopar440]

This will be a SLOW going project as I have a couple other projects ahead of this one. I got this lathe from a motorcycle shop I worked part-time at in MS when I was stationed over there around 2002. They let me have it for free with all the tooling in the bench under it. They just wanted it out of there to free up that space in the shop. I toted it around with me till I retired from the Navy 2009, and then finally settled down in MT in 2011. I now have a permanent space I can set it up and work on it and built a sturdy bench for it. After that I got around to breaking it down to asses the overall condition. The bed is pretty worn but I'm going to address that issue after I get it back to being functional again. For now I just removed the worst dings on the edges of the ways so they wouldn't bump the saddle around as it travels on the ways.

When I disassembled it I found a few issues that needed attention:
- The upper side gear door had the lower hinge broken off (I had a local shop weld it back together recently)
- The QCGB (added sometime long before I got it) had a broken arm under it (this was fixed at the same time by the same shop that fixed the side door)
- The lead screw support bearing at the far end of the bed fell apart during disassembly (bought a beefy aluminum one with a bronze bushing from Ebay already)
- The electric motor pulley was banged around and will need to be replaced (I'm waiting till I verify that the motor is still good before getting a new pulley)
- The belts are pretty ratty and are long overdue to be replaced (I'm not sure if I want to use those twist belts or not. It depends if I need to take the head pulleys out or not)

I'm sure I'll find more things that need attention as I give the parts a thorough cleaning before repainting.

Today I cleaned up the bed and pedestals to get the years of swarf and congealed lubricants out of all the nooks and crannies. I also pulled the gear rack from the front of the bed and got the teeth and mating surfaces back to spotless condition. The teeth look great on the rack and the bed had zero rust on it. I had given it a thorough initial cleaning after I got it and had been keeping it oiled the entire time I had it, so that seems to have paid off. While the pedestals and rack were off I fixed up all the screw slots by tapping them with a small hammer and then cleaning them up with a file. Only one screw looked like it might give me a problem (it did). After degreasing and then wiping down the bed and pedestals I taped off the areas I didn't want painted. For the paint I picked up some Rust Stop paint from Ace in Medium Grey. So far I have a single coat on the bed and pedestals and let it dry enough for me to put the pedestals back on the bed. After I pulled the tape I then reinstalled the rack. This is where one of the screws that looked iffy gave me a slight problem. As I tightened it down the screw slot peeled away from both sides as it was brought to full torque. The screw is tight, but can't be made any tighter. Luckily the sides of the slot needed to remove the screw are still intact so I should be able to pull it out easily enough when I get a replacement screw. Since it's tight, I'll let it stay in place for now.

Here's the progress so far:





I found a bunch of photos from before the teardown that show what I had to start with, as well as a bunch of the accessories that came with it.


















I'll update this thread whenever I make progress on this project. The goal is to try to get it up and running this summer before I have to go back to school in August. I'm taking classes to get an AAS in Drafting Technology (mostly for the AutoCAD training).

 

[GoMopar440]

The milling attachment is missing a little wedge pin and the gib IIRC, but it's otherwise complete. I was kind of surprised at how much they go for on Ebay when I finally saw one on there while looking around for Atlas parts. The attachment will get cleaned up, painted and the missing parts replaced or remade as needed. Other than that it'll probably just end up on the wall as a conversation piece since I have the Bridgeport and the X2 to use for my milling jobs.

This lathe will primarily be used for stuff I can't fit on my 7x14 mini-lathe. The small spindle bore is the main limiting factor, but the long bed helps to make up for it. I plan to put an AXA type QCTP on it when I can swing the funds to buy one and some extra tool holders for it.

 

[robert1352]

This is going to be a great project!! I cant wait for more pictures.

 

[ML_Woy]

The milling attachment is missing a little wedge pin and the gib IIRC, but it's otherwise complete. I was kind of surprised at how much they go for on Ebay when I finally saw one on there while looking around for Atlas parts. The attachment will get cleaned up, painted and the missing parts replaced or remade as needed. Other than that it'll probably just end up on the wall as a conversation piece since I have the Bridgeport and the X2 to use for my milling jobs.

This lathe will primarily be used for stuff I can't fit on my 7x14 mini-lathe. The small spindle bore is the main limiting factor, but the long bed helps to make up for it. I plan to put an AXA type QCTP on it when I can swing the funds to buy one and some extra tool holders for it.

Looks like a great project and the price was right! I think the best thing about the lathe is the gearbox that was added to it. I upgraded my Craftsman 12" a year ago with a gearbox and it has made a big difference in its' functionality. I also bought a tangential tool holder for use with my quickchange toolpost. A great addition. Did the lathe come with the proper gear cover. I had to change my gear cover when I added my gearbox. I found it on E-Bay. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

M.L.Woy

 

[GoMopar440]

Yes, the upper and lower gear side covers for the QCGB came with it. Looks like it was a well done and thorough conversion as all the right factory parts appear to be there.

The upper side cover got the lower hinge broken off in one of the many moves I dragged this lathe through, but it's been welded back together already.

 

[GoMopar440]

Didn't get much of a chance to work on the lathe today. I was fixing the carriage door on the barn to get it where it can swing freely again. All I did get done was to clean up the threading dial and get it spinning again. Whatever was inside of it had hardened up and locked the shaft to the body of the part. I finally got it freed up with a combination of purple power degreaser and brake parts spray by working it back and forth and tapping it up and down. It cleaned up nice but I didn't have my phone with me to get any pics today.

 

[GoMopar440]

I got a few more parts cleaned up and painted today. Both upper and lower gear train side covers, side cover mount bracket, lead screw end support bushing, faceplate, thread dial and the Atlas lantern wrench. I also gave the bed and feet a second coat of paint while the brush was still wet. The lead screw was also cleaned up and it looks almost like new now. BTW: The cover that was repaired was the lower one, not the upper. The shop did a good job of fixing it and you'll never be able to tell it was ever repaired unless you open the cover since the weld is only visible from the inside.



The hinge pin for the side doors was bent pretty bad at the beginning of the threaded part so I tried to straighten it out. Unfortunately the bend was in the threaded area and it snapped in two before it ever got close to being straight again. I'll just make a new pin on the 7x14 lathe to replace it since it's a very simple part to make. The two broken pieces are all the way to the right in this pic.

 

[GoMopar440]

Yesterday I made a new hinge pin out of some 3/8" CRS I had in the shop. I used a die for the threads and it came out fine. I did have to move the shaft to the bench vise to keep it from spinning while I was tapping it though. Here it is assembled with the doors on after polishing it up a bit.



Today I worked on the tailstock, getting it all torn down and inspecting for wear as I cleaned up the parts. So far everything in the tailstock assembly looks to be in good shape and perfectly serviceable. After cleaning the main body I took a file to the top surface to remove some hammer marks where someone had been using it as a small anvil.:angry: Once again everything got a coat of paint after all the parts were taped off and hung up for painting.



Tomorrow I'll start on the saddle, apron and cross slide assemblies. I got a little bit of a head start by pulling a couple of handles off the saddle and cleaning them up tonight before calling it a night.

 

[schor]

Great job so far. I didn't notice it in the post, what type of paint are you using?

I've got a th54 also. But no QC. Mine is in use and is going to be restored over time piece by piece.

 

[GoMopar440]

How is the Ace Rust Stop working for you? :thinking:

I didn't notice it in the post, what type of paint are you using?

It's Ace brand (hardware store here in the USA) Rust Stop paint and it's ok for what it is. It would probably go on better with a primer coat under it. The paint color (Medium Grey) on the label looks like an exact match for the original Atlas Grey, but it actually came out more of a light grey, even after a LOT of shaking to get it mixed up well. Without primer it looks like most pieces will need two coats to get even and complete coverage of the parts. If I wait a little while (1/2 hour or so) after applying the first coat I can add the second coat while the first is still tacky. The second coat sticks better and tends to self level that way. I've been using regular bristle brushes to apply the paint.

looks really nice, how did you clean the chrome up so well?

I start by using Purple Power to degrease the parts first and then address any flaws with files, 3M scrubby pads and sand paper as needed. After that it depends on the part what I do with it next. Usually I will hit it with the wire wheel (usually not on chrome parts though) on my bench grinder and if I really need it to shine up I'll swap over to the buffing wheel on the other side of the grinder. I have been using a grey polishing compound (got it from HF but it's also available at Home Depot/Lowes) on the cotton wheel for all of these parts so far.

Today was I only working on cleaning up and inspecting the saddle and apron parts. It's a bit more involved than the other parts I've done so far so it's taking a bit longer for this assembly. I've got it about 3/4 cleaned up before calling it a night. Some of the internal apron parts were a bit rougher than I liked and some of the parts were hanging up on each other (half nuts, slide and scroll mostly). Those pieces got a full debur job after the normal cleanup. The half nut threads look about 50% washed out so I'll need to get a new set of half nuts for it soon. The miter gear has the internal spline broken off and someone made an interesting field repair for it. It looks sturdy enough to hold up so I'll put that back together as I found it for now. I'll order a new mitre gear when I get the half nuts.




Close up example of the polishing. These parts slide like butter now.)


Here's the mitre gear fix I found. They brazed a key to the collar on the end opposite the teeth.


I may be going just a little bit overboard with the polishing...:whistle: