Subject: New Spindle for Craftsman 6" Lathe?

From: [email-masked] (MikeT nyc)
Date: 19 Oct 1994 01:22:03 -0400

I am restoring a Craftsman 6" lathe, and have already gotten quite a bit
of good advice here about it.  One thing I eventually planned to do was
make a new spindle, since the old one is in bad shape and the taper does
not run true.  Then it occurred to me that a Sherline spindle looks as
though it could be made to fit, since it's about 3/4" on the outside and
the Craftsman is 1/2".  This would involve remachining the headstock
bearings, and changes to the backgear, which currently lives in the middle
of the lathe pulleys, but such a change would give me a larger spindle
bore and a more commonly available taper (MT #1 instead of MT #0).

Has anybody ever tried anything like this?  Also, can someone with a
Sherline give me the relevant dimensions of the spindle [length behind
front flange, outside diameter]?  These things cost about $35, so I
wouldn't want to buy one unless it's going to work.

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From: [email-masked] (Russ Kepler)
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 1994 04:06:07 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
>wouldn't want to buy one unless it's going to work.

That's a lot of work, and you're likely to spend a lot of money on
bearings and the like - is Clausing all out of the spindles?  I've not
had trouble ordering old Atlas/Craftsman parts from them - just
ordered a new screw for a 4-jaw chuck this morning.

If they are out you might have better luck getting an old spindle from
a beat lathe, or making a whole new spindle yourself.

-- 
Russ Kepler posting from home  [email-masked]

                      Please don't feed the Engineers

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From: [email-masked] (Greg Dermer)
Date: Fri, 21 Oct 1994 19:04:07 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (MikeT nyc) writes:

...
|> Obviously, the point is to change to the modern Sherline spindle size,
|> which has a larger bore, and for which hundreds of well-made accessories
|> are currently available.  Whether I could buy / make another old, obsolete
|> spindle for which no accessories are available is not really relevant. 
|> Incidentally, the 6" lathe was not made by Atlas.

The 6" WAS made by Atlas; Sears sold an 8" that was not.

Greg

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From: [email-masked] (MikeT nyc)
Date: 21 Oct 1994 01:26:06 -0400

>ordered a new screw for a 4-jaw chuck this morning.

Obviously, the point is to change to the modern Sherline spindle size,
which has a larger bore, and for which hundreds of well-made accessories
are currently available.  Whether I could buy / make another old, obsolete
spindle for which no accessories are available is not really relevant. 
Incidentally, the 6" lathe was not made by Atlas.

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From: [email-masked] (Russ Kepler)
Date: Fri, 21 Oct 1994 19:58:41 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
>spindle for which no accessories are available is not really relevant. 

Sorry, you did say that you were rebuilding the lathe, and not that
you wanted simply to change the spindle,

>Incidentally, the 6" lathe was not made by Atlas.

None of the ones I've see were - I just checked the bed on a Craftsman
6" and it had "ATLAS" on it like the others.  I guess that it's
possible that Craftsman had a couple of different models, likely so as
this one has a spindle nose taper of MT#2.  If yours really does have
an MT#0 then it'd have to be a different model.

You might want to check - the inside of the bed about 1/3 down from
the headstock should have the ATLAS name cast in if it is an Atlas
model.

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From: [email-masked] (MikeT nyc)
Date: 22 Oct 1994 01:03:02 -0400

In article <[email-masked]>,
[email-masked] (Russ Kepler) writes:

>I just checked the bed on a Craftsman 6" and it had "ATLAS" on it like
the
>others.  I guess that it's possible that Craftsman had a couple of
different
>models, likely so as this one has a spindle nose taper of MT#2.  If yours
>really does have an MT#0 then it'd have to be a different model.

Perhaps we're having trouble with American/British terminology.  The 6"
Craftsman I'm talking about is a miniature lathe with a center height of
3" and a distance between centers of 1 foot or less.  It has a spindle
with a 1/4" bore and takes #0 Morse tapers.  I once wrote to Atlas about
it, and they informed me plainly that they did not make it.

At any rate, the issue of interest to me is not my lathe's history; it's
whether someone out there with a Sherline lathe can measure its spindle
for me and tell me its dimensions.   If someone can, I'd appreciate it, so
I won't buy one and find out too late that it's unusable.

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From: [email-masked] (Greg Dermer)
Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 23:28:59 GMT

You learn something every day.  A long time ago, Atlas
did make 6" lathes for Sears, but evidently Sears sold
lathes made by someone else as well.

Although no one probably cares at this point, Campbell
Tools, (address in FAQ) sells parts and accessories for Atlas
lathes including the 6" model.

If Clausing (Atlas) disavows "makership" of the particular lathe
in question, they must know what they're talking about.

Greg

[email-masked]