Subject: Re: Craftsman miniature lathe

From: [email-masked] (Barry Workman)
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 06:46:53 GMT

[email-masked] (MikeT nyc) writes:

>I own a Sears Craftsman miniature lathe, Model No. 1092063, that's about
>3" center height and 12" between centers.  I've had it in storage 7 years,
>during which I moved to New York City, started a new career, and moved
>into a very tiny apartment.  Now I'd like to do amateur lathe work again,
>and am planning to set it up inside a small closet, treadle-powering it to
>avoid noise and vibration problems, as described in "Using the Small
>Lathe" [Argus, 1985]. 

The Craftsman 6" lathe.  You actually have about 10" between centers
when using a chuck.  Most of the Craftsman lathes were built by the
Atlas Lathe Co., however, Atlas Lathe Co. sez that they did not build
all of the 6" models.  I too have one.  I'm in the process of fininshing
a casting to use as a motor pulley for the countershaft.

>On the plus side, it has a full set of change gears and seems in decent
>shape, except for a few nicks in the bed near the head.  Also, it has a
>very neat and expensive-looking adjustable headstock bearing, which made
>me think it is capable of precision results.  On the other hand, all the
>gears and much of the backgear assembly are made of zinc castings rather
>than steel, which I've always associated with junk.  

Don't sell zinc short.  It is a very durable material when used properly.
Dave Gingery seems to think it to be superior to most aluminum alloys in
some applications -- including the splitnut casting on his lathe.

>Can anybody tell me the history and original intended market of this unit?
> Also, the swing and distance between centers are adequate, but the
>spindle bore is 1/4," and #0 Morse taper tooling is almost impossible to
>find.  Has anybody ever modified a lathe for a larger spindle, using only
>that lathe?  What taper to the modern miniature lathes use, and could I
>adapt it to use that tooling?

Don't try and bore the spindle taper.  The next available size is a 
#1 Morse and you don't have enough spindle to do it.  The OD is only
1/2".  Rather you should contact Sherline Lathe Co. in San Marcos, CA.
They advertise in HSM, PIM, Live Steam and other places.  Their little
machine uses a #0 MT center in the tailstock.  Buy a couple of dead
centers and maybe their #0 MT live center and be done with it.  Their
chucks are threaded 3/4 NC.  By making an adapter collar on the little
lathe that goes from the 1/2 NC to 3/4 NC you can adapt chucks from 
both Shearline and Micro Lathe.
The lathe itself was designed for the model hobbiest.  The copy of
the Sears pages I have are dated 11-1945 to give you an idea as to 
the age.  The niche for this size lathe is now being filled by
Shearline at $450 Micro Lathe starting at $250, and the small Prazi
selling for $1000.  Enco also makes a similar machine.

The cross-slide gib IMHO is the weak point of the whole lathe.  It
is a single thumbscrew adjustment with no locknut.  This will tend
to loosen and the work is turned.

The gear reduction of the "backgear" is 5:1.  If you have any other
questions about the little beast, E-mail them on or post here.

-- 
    - Barry Workman