What size is my lathe

M

moptracker

Registered
Registered
Joined
Dec 13, 2011
Messages
11
I have a craftsman atlas lathe that is 6" from spindal center to the ways. Is this a 6" or a 12" or a 6" swing?
 
12" Lathes are sized by the diameter they will "swing".
 
In America,that is a 12" lathe. In England,it is a 6" centre(English spelling) lathe.

Also,when I was first using metal lathes in 1959(the language may now have changed),American style lathes moved the cross slide .001" if you dialed the scale on the knob .001". Then,you'd remove .002" from the workpiece. That makes it necessary to divide what you want to remove by 2.

The "Continental" system,which my Hardinge HLVH lathe has,is much handier. It reduces the amount you dial in by 1/2. So,if you want to take off .005",you just move the dial .005". It has the continental system,though it is an American lathe.
 
I've had to switch back and forth on the "per side" and "on the diameter" lathes, and it sure can be frustrating. On old clapped out lathes, I always stuck an indicator on it anyway, so got pretty used to the "per side" mindset. Now with the DRO so prevalent, you can have it either way, and switch back and forth if you want to.


Dalee, what did I win? :biggrin:

You guys both gave the fuller answer, so you get the higher points. ;)
 
Thanks those are the answers I am looking for. The last time I ran a lathe was about 47 years ago and now trying to get my shop set up so I can learn something. Larry
 
In Japan and China,I'm not sure if they are metric or not. Probably,but if you buy an import lathe,be sure they are made to INCH specs,not with metric lead screws and crossfeed screws and INCH dials. They often do that. The result is dials that do not go 1 revolution and come out even,like .100" or .200" per revolution. The inch dials running on metric screws always have 3 or 4 "leftover" thousanths per dial revolution. It makes it a PITA to "count" revolutions when you are trying to ,say,drill a hole,and move a milling machine's table several inches to another hole accurately. You do not want to have to factor in those extra thousanths per revolution every time you turn the dial. ALWAYS get closeups of the dials when considering a machine purchase. Enco machines frequently have those left over thousanths on their dials,and there is nothing you can do about it except buy and fit a DRO,or make new lead screws,and NEW dials,and graduate them yourself.
 
IMHO there are 2 diameters to consider, for example my 9" x 20" will hold a piece of round stock 9" in diameter and I can do a complete facing operation, however, my lathe has a 6" 'swing', meaning on a transverse cut (say threading) the largest diameter of stock I can cut AND HAVE CLEARENCE for the compound is 6" in diameter. Make sense?

Cheers,
Chazz
 
It's not uncommon to see both the over-the-ways swing given, as well as over-the-crossslide. Especially is this an important specification on a gap-bed lathe.
 
I bought an Enco turret mill some years ago,though I have a Bridgeport type. It had those blasted dials with leftover numbers. It was for my wife';s jewelry shop. I ended up selling it as she quit renting the location she was at anyway. I advise being careful,ask questions. Save yourself a lot of trouble later on. I notice Micro Mark sells their little lathes,advertising "true inch" leadscrews.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top