Looking for Tooling for my Atlas/Craftsman 101.07403 Lathe
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Welcome to the world of Atlas Lathes, Joe.
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Some questions for you:
What model lathe did you get? ?They made a 6" swing, a 10" swing and a 12" swing, I think, and recommendations will vary.
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The simplest is the traditional ROCKER STYLE (some call 'em Lantern Style) tool post. ?Next step up would be a block tool holder, where you might be able to mount two or more tools and rotate the block to bring a tool into use. ?Finally (and there are variations and opinions here too) would be a Quick Change Tool Post. ?Knowing the size of your lathe will dictate what choices make more or less sense.
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Did your lathe come with change gears or a Quick Change Gear Box?
We'd love to see more pictures of your lathe
Charlie |
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That's not actually a tool holder. It's the compound slide. A T-nut fits in it, and helps clamp the tool holder to the slide. There are a couple common types of tool holders that can fit the Atlas lathes. One is the "Lantern" or American style. Looks like the one in the first photo.? The 2nd type is a quick change tool post, or QCTP. Probably the most common of those is the Aloris style. If you look at recent threads in the group you'll find I normally refer to them as the AXA style. That's incorrect, as Aloris first made them. It's just what I bought first for my Atlas TH42. Which is a 10" lathe. They'll also work on the 12" Atlas/Craftsman lathes. If your lathe is a 6", you'd need an 0XA. Same design, sized for 6"-8" lathes.?https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002YPDQ4G?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title? This is the one I bought, years ago. And they're not necessarily the best deal. There is also a Multifix QCTP. Even the import copies are expensive, but they look sweet!? You can also get a 4-way tool block. The Harbor Freight 7x lathes come with one of those. I put an 0XA on mine, but didn't actually use it before I traded the lath in for a couple Unimats.?https://www.harborfreight.com/7-inch-x-12-inch-precision-mini-lathe-93799.html that's the same lathe I had before I got my TH42. The tool block is visible in the photo.? Personally, I think you need both a lantern style with tool holders and a QCTP. The lantern style is fussier, less rigid, and can be expensive to set up since they're no longer in production ?But they can do things the QCTP cannot. You can really push the size envelope on a lathe with the lantern style and some tool holders.? OTH, the QCTP is rigid, adjustable and repeatable, sometimes hard to do with the lantern style. Great for production work, making multiple copies of something. That's essential in a production shop, but less so in a home or hobby shop.? If you're just fiddling around, either will probably do you fine. If you are restoring an automobile, or motorcycle, firearm, or much of anything else, both are very handy.? If you're perennially broke like many of us are, you can make an early version of the QCTP. A Van Norman style tool post can be made on the lathe. No other machinery required, though a milling attachment or mill would make it easier.? As far as guidance on tooling, I found that most of the tooling I bought for my 7x10 mini-lathe was usable on my TH42. The Atlas/Craftsman 10" & 12" lathes have a MT3 spindle taper, and MT2 tailstock taper. Same as all the 7x?? Mini-lathes. 1/4", 5/16", and 3/8" lathe tools and blanks can be used on them, too. You can get faceplates that will let you adapt the chucks in either direction, too. I'm not familiar with any of the 6" Atlas/Craftsman lathes, so can't tell you what might work on one of those. But Little Machine Shop has stuff that will fit them, too. I've dealt with them several times over the past 16 years, always been happy with them. Shars, and CDCO tools, are also good folks to deal with. Only bought a few things from Grizzly, but was happy with them, too. HTH! Bill in OKC? William R. Meyers, MSgt, USAF(Ret.) Aphorisms to live by: Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.? SEMPER GUMBY! Physics doesn't care about your schedule. The only reason I know anything is because I've done it wrong enough times to START to know better. Expect in one hand, expectorate in the other. See which one gets full first.
On Sunday, October 27, 2024 at 07:56:19 AM CDT, Joseph Azzarello via groups.io <environjoe@...> wrote:
Hello!
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I am very new to the Atlas/Craftsman lathe in fact I picked up a lathe last weekend. I have not touched a lathe in 50 years so am a bit rusty with everything! I have ordered a couple of books to learn from to help bring me up to speed. It had no tooling with it and I am trying to find some I can purchase. The lathe I bought did come with a toolholder but nothing else. {see photo} Can someone direct me to where and what I should purchase to get started. Both Grizzly and Little Machine Shop have tool packages however I am not sure what would work for me. Can someone provide me with some direction? Thanks in advance.
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Joe
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开云体育The tailstock is a late model, probably from the 70’s.?Probably has 1/2” ways too.? On Oct 27, 2024, at 7:40?AM, Charles via groups.io <xlch58@...> wrote:
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I'm not that familiar with the Craftsman model numbers. But it looked larger than a 6" to me. I would not buy a 6" Atlas/Craftsman lathe now, unless it was a real steal, because I have a better idea what I want, and think I need. ;) But if that had been the very first lathe I'd been able to lay hands on, I would have most certainly bought it. Any lathe is better than no lathe.? Maybe I should have several exclamation points on that sentence? :) I currently have 5 lathes. 4 milling machines. One of the machines actually 3) counts in both of those categories. My brother bought me a Smithy CB1220XL a few years back. I think it was a hint he wants me to make some stuff for him... Two Unimats. A SL-1000, and a DB200, which are essentially identical, and can also be either milling machine or lathe. Will have one set up as a mill, one as a lathe. The TH42, and a South Bend Heavy 10L. Also an Atlas MF & Harbor Freight 44991 miling machines. Three drill presses. A 10" shaper, 5 bandsaws, 4 bench grinders...? Hi! My name is Bill, and I'm a toolohaulic! I do not recommend doing things the way I have. I also have ADD. Unfortunately without the hyperactivity. :) Hopefully YMMV! Bill in OKC? William R. Meyers, MSgt, USAF(Ret.) Aphorisms to live by: Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.? SEMPER GUMBY! Physics doesn't care about your schedule. The only reason I know anything is because I've done it wrong enough times to START to know better. Expect in one hand, expectorate in the other. See which one gets full first.
On Sunday, October 27, 2024 at 09:40:08 AM CDT, Charles <xlch58@...> wrote:
He included the model number in his post, but the compound looks like the 12 inch model. Basically a 10 inch compound with platform shoes….. Charles |
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I didn't see a tailstock in his photo, possibly you're looking at the one in my example photo of a lantern style tool post? That was a photo from the group photos that was the first example of a lantern tool post I could find. His compound slide does have the flat top, unlike my TH42. Which is a vintage 1946, according to Robert. So his machine is probably newer than mine.? Hope he has a tailstock... Bill in OKC? William R. Meyers, MSgt, USAF(Ret.) Aphorisms to live by: Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.? SEMPER GUMBY! Physics doesn't care about your schedule. The only reason I know anything is because I've done it wrong enough times to START to know better. Expect in one hand, expectorate in the other. See which one gets full first.
On Sunday, October 27, 2024 at 10:05:28 AM CDT, Jim F <lacityjim2@...> wrote:
The tailstock is a late model, probably from the 70’s.? Probably has 1/2” ways too.? On Oct 27, 2024, at 7:40?AM, Charles via groups.io <xlch58@...> wrote:
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Excellent advice!? Here is a lathe starter kit for Atlas/Craftsman 6" lathes.?https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=6364&category=2122081964 That'll give us a baseline price for a fairly complete starter kit. Here is a much more basic kit, also cheaper, that will fit any lathe with a MT2 taper tailstock, including the 10"&12" Atlas lathes, but without a tool post.? Here are all the LMS tool post options. 4-way tool blocks range from about $23 to $55. The AXA QCTP I bought at Amazon is currently about $142, with 5 toolholders. Others have mentioned making their own tool blocks, and once you have a means of holding a milling cutter, and the cutter itself, you could make a 4-way tool block easily. It's a bit more complicated to make the AXA tool blocks, because they need dovetail cut... and unless you buy a kit that has a T-Nut specifically for your lathe you'll need to cut a blank T-nut to fit your compound slide. I used a hacksaw & files to cut mine. A couple thick washers hold it up above the slight hump on my compound. Joe shouldn't need that on his. See the photo. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p4432023.m570.l1313&_nkw=atlas+craftsman+tool+post&_sacat=0 is a listing of tool posts for lathes. Some are for actual Atlas or Craftsman lathes, some are for 6" lathes, and some are pretty generic. Looks like most of the Aloris style QCTPs are more expensive than they need to be. And the cheaper lantern posts are incomplete. You need, at a minimum, the lantern itself, the screw that tightens the tool in the post, the rocker, and the base washer the rocker goes in to adjust the tool angle. Also a T-nut, and the? screw to connect the lantern and T-nut.? Mine came without the rocker, and I filed a piece of square stock into a rocker. You could make the lantern and such, too, if needed.? Last I looked, Harbor Freight had a 1/2" drill chuck on an MT2 shank for about $15. They also have a kit of very small HSS tool blanks. Last I got some, the kit was $4.99.?https://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-m2-high-speed-steel-mini-tool-bits-for-metalworking-lathes-40641.html these are 3/16" and smaller for the square bits.? https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-mini-lathe-drill-chuck-58728.html He'll need a tailstock to use the drill chuck, as it has an MT2 taper. I've made some of my own tooling, but I did buy a 3/8" MT3 endmill holder. And an MT2-MT3 sleeve, which lets me use MT2 tooling in the MT3 spindle. I made an aluminum tool block for 3/8" bits. I've since gotten an MT3 shank ER32 collet holder, and that lets me hold any size milling cutter or material ease your in the spindle.? Making your own parts and tools is a great way to increase your skills. Even if you mess up a part, you'll know more the next time. Done a whole lot of that! If you don't already have them, you should buy a 1" micrometer and 6" dial caliper, and learn to use them. I had a lot of trouble when I got back into machining after more than 35 years. And it took me until I took another class to figure it out. I had either forgotten, or never had the sense of touch necessary to get accurate readings of the micrometer and caliper. A few hours practice with them and a set of gauge blocks fixed that. Just in case I need to do that again, I also have a small set of gauge blocks of my own, now.? Bill in OKC? William R. Meyers, MSgt, USAF(Ret.) Aphorisms to live by: Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.? SEMPER GUMBY! Physics doesn't care about your schedule. The only reason I know anything is because I've done it wrong enough times to START to know better. Expect in one hand, expectorate in the other. See which one gets full first.
On Sunday, October 27, 2024 at 10:20:02 AM CDT, jmartin957 <jmartin957@...> via groups.io <jmartin957@...> wrote:
Good recommendations on the tool holders. But he hasn’t said what other tooling he has with the lathe. ?Without it the lathe is useless, and that tooling can easily cost much more than the lathe itself. My recommendations for basic tooling would be: headstock center tailstock center dogs of appropriate sizes? tailstock chuck four jaw headstock chuck three jaw headstock chuck faceplate tool bits steady rest Given those, plus the lantern toolholder and an assortment of normal shop stuff - lubricants and cutting fluids, taps, measuring tools and a bench grinder - he can make all of the additional tooling he will want. ?I know, I did. ?And that’s the fun of it. Stuff he can pretty easily make will include: end mill holders center drill holders fly cutters boring bars boring bar holder four way tool blocks cross slide angle plate for milling tailstock die holders arbors of various kinds carriage and cross slide stops spiders and catheads clamp straps, studs and special clamps holder to use hand grinder as toolpost grinder indicator holders And probably a lot of things I’ve forgotten. ?In the end, he can have a well-tooled lathe that will easily and efficiently do anything he asks of it - within it’s limitations of size and accuracy. John On Oct 27, 2024, at 10:23 AM, charles brady via groups.io <ctb11365@...> wrote:
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Apparently lost the link for tool posts from LMS.? https://littlemachineshop.com/products/search.php?tabName=Products&term=Tool+posts William R. Meyers, MSgt, USAF(Ret.) Aphorisms to live by: Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.? SEMPER GUMBY! Physics doesn't care about your schedule. The only reason I know anything is because I've done it wrong enough times to START to know better. Expect in one hand, expectorate in the other. See which one gets full first.
On Sunday, October 27, 2024 at 12:29:23 PM CDT, Bill in OKC too via groups.io <wmrmeyers@...> wrote:
Excellent advice!? Here is a lathe starter kit for Atlas/Craftsman 6" lathes.?https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=6364&category=2122081964 That'll give us a baseline price for a fairly complete starter kit. Here is a much more basic kit, also cheaper, that will fit any lathe with a MT2 taper tailstock, including the 10"&12" Atlas lathes, but without a tool post.? Here are all the LMS tool post options. 4-way tool blocks range from about $23 to $55. |
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charles brady
Bill in OKC too
Jim F