A friend of mine asks me to help him pick up tools from his grandpa's house, ie; welders, bandsaws,drillpresses,planers, wood lathe and he tells me if help him I can have "the big old metal lathe" my question now is what can be made with it? I am far from being a machinst... so should I take a 60yr old lathe? it 's free... I'm thinking yes... gimmie some input guys! thanks Brian.
By all means!.....Yes I use mine virtually every day. Bushings , shafts , fasteners , widgets , geegaws....you name it you can make it with a metal lathe.
oh my god i wouldnt even touch it! those suckers are dangerous!! tell me where it is and ill dispose of it properly!!
How big? I am a lathe junkie, but sometimes bigger is not always better if you don't have room for it. I just upgraded from this... ...and had a heck of a time selling it because it was 13 feet long. If you have room and it's a working machine...then YES, bring it home. It's always handy to be able to make square things round. Neal
yes take it , Im looking right now to buy one and even a 60 year old lathe is $1200 . you can make all kinds of parts And get hurt bad to if you dont know what your doing . Take a class or have somone teach you the safty end of it , loose clothing or leaving a tool in the chuck are some of the really bad things you can do .
I had to pay several hundred bucks for my 60 year old metal lathe. I get real nervous when my sons use it.
How big is it? I've always thought a big enough lathe would make modifying wheels at home practical. Mines big enough to modify lawnmower wheels.
Absolutely YES. You'll be amazed at how you got along without it once you start making bits and pieces!
Ive made my own cam bearing installer, bushing drivers for everything, Bushings for everything else, 9" narrowing jig, heck I cant even remember what all ive made with my old atlas lathe. I used it on this adapter I made to mate a saginaw 4 spd to a corvair diff for my v-8 vair.
Definitely get it. You can do all sorts of stuff with a lathe, even an old POS. And while you are there, get everything that looks like it could be even remotely related to the lathe, some of those odd looking accessories are a life saver for odd jobs.
If you've got the space then sure. Being the USA you might have some power supply issues to sort, but they are very useful machines, even if not in the best of shape. I acquired this old beast (around 70 years old now) a year or two back and have used it a bit. When you need one, nothing else will do!
Can't go wrong man... Don't worry about "not being a machinist"... You'll figure it out. Just buy good tooling and you'll be set!
Visit that auction site and get a Atlas lathe operation handbook. There are several sellers that have it on a dvd also. It was writen back in the 30s-40s and is great for info on everything you can do with a lathe.Just search Atlas lathe.
I used my old lathe today to make up some spaces mine is that old it did have a leather belt from the motor to the chuck but it broke so I had to replace it with a rubber one I would be lost with out it now if it is for free grab it it will come in handy
Oh hell yes I use mine more than my welder as well!!!!!!!! Mine is a 53' south bend And it cost $1200 and that was a good deal
Big is better. The more you can do with it. As far as old that also can be a good thing. Some of the old lathes are better made. You would be suprised going in some of the local machine shops just how old some of the machines are. You may have to go to 3 phase to get it wired in but that should only run a few hundred dollars. Just check it over for wear.
I just like that one to look at. What a great looking lathe. WTF did you upgrade to? Now to the original question. Very useful bit of gear. I'm DEFINITELY no machinist but I couldn't live without mine. I just do the basic stuff but I don't know how I'd do most of it without a lathe. Pete
well a 60 year old lath may have a switchable motor my bigest one has a 32" swing no problem to put a car or tractor rim in there, built a set of special application wheels for a tractor and the guy described the backspace wrong so i had to make spacers to keep the customer happy some 80 year old lathes are like new ,some may be a little junky I got a 440 volt lathe and only have 220 3 ph and had to get a transformer and thats a power eater, but love the 3" through hole
Do it, do it, do it!!! You'll never ever regret the decision. From Alloy gear knobs to spacers to well you name it, get a vertical slde and you can use it for milling too.
You'll be sorry if you don't get the lathe. The suggestion on obtaining an Atlas Manual is a good one. You can do milling on the lathe. And not only make round stuff, you can machine a perfect square on a lathe using standard lathe tooling and operations. This lathe tool-holder was made on the lathe. Cut from a partially round scrap piece, all operations except for drilling and tapping for the cutting bits was done on the lathe. Recent set of cutouts knocked out in a few hours. Fuel log knocked out in an hour or so. Home-made PCV fittings. Ball bearing steering column. Easy projct. Cost about $25. You're limited only by your imagination....
THE most valuable tool you can own! Big or little, don't matter. GET IT. THe old South Bend Lathe booklet is also a good referance for operation and will show you things you never thought were possible to do. I've never gotten hurt by my lathe, but chainsaws, that's another story.
Totally depends on what you are making whether swing or bed length are more important. I'm of the opinion that the average hot rodder would benefit from more swing but length is nice for steering columns (nice looking parts C9). It takes a lot more setup and skill to turn a long part and properly support it. About 16-1/2" diameter:
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