TH54 Atlas lathe rebuild/refurb project (pic heavy)

I'm trying out some Rustoleum brand Self-Etching Primer on the saddle and apron to see if it helps the top coat lay down any better. I'll let you all know how it works out, but so far it seems to be working fairly well. I forgot to get some pics of the parts after I painted over the primer. I also dismantled the cross slide and painted it today as well.

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Ok you got me there. :LOL: But if I did put mirrors under there, I wouldn't get anything done as I'd always be wiping it down. Probably best not to go there... :rofl:

Got an early start on it today, but my back pain keeps my time in the shop limited, so I came back in the house after a couple of hours working out there. At least I had a helper with me today. He made sure the shop rags didn't jump out of the box and get underfoot.
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I started peeling all the tape off the newly painted parts and putting the small parts back onto the bigger ones.
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I used some red waterproof grease on the sliding surfaces during reassembly.
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Since I plan on mounting an AXA type QCTP to the slide, I went ahead and face milled the top of the compound rest on the Bridgeport. I only took a cleanup cut of .003-.005 more once I hit original narrow flat area around the slot so I wouldn't weaken the slide too much.
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Got the compound rest screw reassembled, but still need to get the gib and adjuster screws reinstalled.
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This is where I had to call it quits for a while. If I feel up to it I may try to get back out to the shop later on today or tonight.

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Wow, glad I found this one. Your doing a great job and she looks better than new, it will be fun to watch.
 
Great job on the Lathe its looking like a better than new one kepp up the good work.

Paul
 
Glad you are liking the thread so far. I'm hoping that documenting this project will help out others with similar lathes.

Today I got the saddle, apron and cross slide reassembled and adjusted to fit the gibs and ways. I put in a little resistance on the gibs to take up slack from previous wear, but not enough to make it difficult to move. The fit is about as close as I'm willing to make it since the gibs are all steel and not brass or bronze.
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After the saddle assembly was set I started cleaning up a few small loose parts like the lantern tool post and some tool holders. I also cleaned up the spare set jaws for the 3-Jaw chuck which led to me starting on the chuck itself. It's a bit stiff so I cleaned up the outside and pulled the jaws off it to get those cleaned up as well. I need to find my impact driver to get the screws off the back plate before I can get it apart to clean the scroll. One nice thing I found while cleaning it was under the crud I found the Atlas name (in cursive script) with the number "67" above it. There was also the part number and "Made in USA" stamped on the face.
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I went ahead and grabbed the 4-jaw to begin cleaning it up next. Three of the four jaws were locked up almost solid so I got some PB Blaster on it to start soaking into the threads. The jaw that was able to move gave me a little bit of an issue with the chuck key. The key was made for the 3-Jaw, but was a little too fat to fit the 4-Jaw without binding against the underside of the jaw. I took the key over to my 7x14 lathe and turned a 1/2" long shoulder just above the tip that was about .050 smaller than the original diameter, When I tested it with the jaw and screw, it now just barely clears without binding. The tip is a little smaller than needed for the 4-jaw, but it works for now. I'll make a couple of new keys for both chucks before I start using them on any parts. After the PB Blaster had some time to work it's magic, I was able to remove the other jaws one at a time. The jaws and adjuster screws all got the wire wheel treatment and came out looking fairly decent. The body of the chuck wasn't too bad under the shallow surface rust and grime and looks to be in good condition overall. The face was marked similar to the other chuck with "Atlas - Kalamazoo Mich", "Made in USA" and an Atlas part number. There was also another number stamped on it, "8-47", but I'm not sure what that one is for.
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GOMOPAR,

I hope, when you finish the overhaul, that it doesn't look so good that you are afraid to use it. :thumbsup:

One comment I'll make, though, has nothing to do with the work you have been doing. Although they could if both sets were fitted to the chuck, chucks don't normally come with spare jaws. If you have two sets of jaws that look alike, one set likely came with your chuck and at least when new was accurate WRT centering. The other set, although if made for the same model chuck will fit fine, can be expected to have much more runout even if they have no wear. At the factory (at least a decent factory) the jaws that ship with a 3-jaw chuck are fitted to the chuck by grinding (same process you can use to restore accuracy to worn jaws).

If the two sets of jaws don't look alike, then probably one is the "normal" set, good for parts OD or ID up to about two-thirds the chuck diameter. The other is for larger parts with diameters up to about the chuck diameter. Or to put it another way, good 3-jaw chucks with one piece jaws come with two sets of jaws, one for smaller and one for larger diameter work pieces. They are often erroneously called OD and ID jaws.

Independant jaw chucks, like most 4-jaw ones, only come with one set of jaws which can be turned around so as to handle the same diameter range.

Robert D.

***I also cleaned up the spare set jaws for the 3-Jaw chuck***
 
The jaws are only different in that one set steps down to the inside and the other steps down towards the outside. Both sets of jaws are number stamped (1, 2 or 3) so the jaws are only aligned when placed in the matching numbered slot on the chuck body. The stamps all match perfectly in both size and font, so I wouldn't be surprised to find that both sets are probably original to this chuck. The 3-jaw chuck I got for my 7x14 lathe is similar in that it also came with two sets of jaws. One set for ID work and the other for OD work. BTW: I understand what you mean about the jaw nomenclature, but it's hard to break the habit of calling them ID and OD jaws. That's what my instructors always called them in Machinery Repairman (MR) "A" school where I first learned machining many years ago.

Don't worry about it being a garage queen. It's only going to look this good until the first chips start to fly. It will be used regularly as a working machine like it was intended. Granted I'll be more inclined to keep it cleaned up after using it because of all the effort that's going into now. All in all that's a good thing. :thumbzup:
 
GoMopar440 said:
Don't worry about it being a garage queen. It's only going to look this good until the first chips start to fly. It will be used regularly as a working machine like it was intended. Granted I'll be more inclined to keep it cleaned up after using it because of all the effort that's going into now. All in all that's a good thing. :thumbzup:
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I feel the same way about the restore I did on my south bend heavy ten, I made it nice but I did also intend to use it. And like you said, keeping it clean will be easier too. She's looking really good and I am enjoying watching your progress and following along.
 
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