Shane Whitlock Posted July 29, 2013 Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 (edited) "Back From The Archives" I recently ran into some financial trouble and had to sell a couple of my machines to make a few house payments. One of them to go was my beautiful Heavy 10 South Bend lathe. It took me about a week to start having lathe withdrawals so I posted a WTB ad on the local classifieds and got several calls. I ended up getting a little Atlas 618 6" by 18" metal lathe for a hundred bucks. The lathe is in great original condition and came with a 3 jaw chuck, lantern style tool post holder, and a very nice tool post grinder that is probably worth several times what I paid for the lathe. (crappy cell phone pic) It didn't come with a stand so I took one of my Delta stands out of the rathole and used that. I added some drawers and mounted the lathe to it this weekend. The center section with the drawers slides out of the stand so I can still access the nuts and bolts used to mount the lathe and motor. The light is a 2 dollar light I got from the local thrift shop. It will work for now until I can find a nice vintage one. The drawer pulls I made out of 1/2" bolts. I cut them down so they were about a 1/2 long, faced the back side with the lathe and drilled and tapped them for a No. 10 screw. The wood is all reclaimed wood from some shelves that I took down in my shop a few years ago. I still need to add a switch and I have a quick change tool post ordered for it. Looking for a steady rest and follow rest for it if anyone has one they want to get rid of. They come up on Ebay but they are pricey.The Atlas is pretty much the same machine as the Craftsman 101 and takes the same accessories. I was worried about the lathe feeling like a little toy compared to my South Bend but overall I am very happy with the lathe. It should work fine for what I need it for. Thanks for looking, Shane Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk forty_caliber 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Buskirk Posted July 29, 2013 Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 (edited) Shane, The Delta scroll saw stand looks like it belongs under the Atlas 618 lathe. I like the wood drawer assembly. $100.00?................Dang!!! I can relate to the financial situation, I've been at a standstill for awhile now myself. Edited November 3, 2018 by Larry Buskirk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Van Haecke (ravan) Posted July 29, 2013 Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 (edited) Well The South Bend brought the cash you needed, The Atlas came cheap, The Atlas will do what you need to do, and you gained a bit of floor space. It all looks good from here. Nice work on the rebuild. Your work is always stunning. Ravan. Edited November 3, 2018 by Larry Buskirk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Moody Posted July 29, 2013 Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 (edited) You simply amaze me how you can take anything and make it look like a showroom piece. You inspire me. Edited November 3, 2018 by Larry Buskirk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Nicholls Posted July 29, 2013 Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 Some people just have a gift for making tools look great after so many years of sitting around. I am happy to know that we have several such people here on our forum. Way to go Shane!Charles NichollsSite Hostnicholls61@att.netProud supporter of The Wounded Warrior Project, Homes For Our Troops and the NRAhttp://www.etsy.com/shop/nichollswoodworks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted July 29, 2013 Report Share Posted July 29, 2013 (edited) That's a beauty! Wish I had one like it. Lew Kauffman- Wood Turners Forum Host Time Traveler and Purveyor of the Universe's Finest Custom Rolling Pins! Edited November 3, 2018 by Larry Buskirk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 Nice little lathe. Atlas made lathes like that for a few different companies Sears among them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Whitlock Posted August 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 (edited) Hi Guys. Thanks for the comments. Sorry for being so slow getting back to ya. I have been using this little lathe quite a bit since I got it and so far I am pretty impressed with it. I needed to make a spindle sleeve for a DP that I am restoring so I needed to pick up a steady rest for the lathe. I found a NOS steady rest and follow rest on Ebay for a great price. They were Craftsman blue so I painted them gray. I also found a nice drum switch and mounted that on the left side of the stand. Picture shows rare earth magnets used to hold the wrenches in place. I made a micrometer carriage stop out of an old micrometer and some aluminum that I had. The Atlas badge on the head stock. A few more misc. pics: Gears for threading and carriage feed. I need to pick up a few more gears for threading but the darn things are pricey. Threading chart. 4 inch 3 jaw Union Mfg. Co. chuck. No. 0 Jacobs chuck with MT1 shaft A2Z quick change tool post Atlas motor badge. The compound rest guard was busted on the lathe so rather than replacing it I cut it shorter and used it to hold down a piece of neoprene. The neoprene still keeps swarf from getting into the threads and when I want to use the tool post grinder or follow rest, which both mount on the compound, I can just flip the neoprene up out of the way instead of removing the guard, which is what you normally would have to do. One last shot. So far I haven't done anything to the lathe, other than clean and lubricate it. I am still trying to decide if I should do a full restoration on it. It's in pretty nice shape so I will probably just leave it as-is ... At least until I get bored on weekend and tear it apart. Thanks for looking, Shane Edited November 3, 2018 by Larry Buskirk Artie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Doyle Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 (edited) Wow Shane, we obviously have a similar taste in machines! Beautiful. And that is some incredible cabinet you put together for it. So nice it looks like a limited edition original. By the way, I am pretty sure the "tool post grinder" you got with it is actually the "mica undercutting" attachment, for working on motors. Not to common. I did a LOT of good work on a 618. $100 for that machine is incredible. With a chuck too! Bernie Edited November 3, 2018 by Larry Buskirk Artie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Sayers Posted December 17, 2013 Report Share Posted December 17, 2013 (edited) You did very good with the purchase of your lathe. I have the same lathe minus some of your goodies. The tool post grinder and the quick change tool post are something I don't have. I was lucky enough to get a nice chuck and all the feed gears. Has come in handy but not a daily user by no means. They are very handy lathes to have around when you have the need. Has saved the day many times. Edited November 3, 2018 by Larry Buskirk Artie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted December 18, 2013 Report Share Posted December 18, 2013 (edited) That's a great looking lathe! Probably the best deal on tools you had. Should serve you well. James Edited November 3, 2018 by Larry Buskirk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Quayle Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 (edited) Outstanding. I learned on a South Bend, and I have Dad's Atlas wood lathe and Atlas drill press, so this article hit home for me. Now that I have some space, I hope to extend my woodshop to include a metal lathe and milling machine (some day...). Again, you did an absolutely beautiful job on the restoration and build. Edited November 3, 2018 by Larry Buskirk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Van Haecke (ravan) Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 (edited) Shane, As always, your restores are just to pretty to use, but I see you already did. Great work! Ray Edited November 3, 2018 by Larry Buskirk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Buskirk Posted November 3, 2018 Report Share Posted November 3, 2018 (edited) "Back from the Archives" Edited November 7, 2018 by Larry Buskirk Cal and Grandpadave52 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moldmaker Posted November 12, 2019 Report Share Posted November 12, 2019 Your " grinder " attachment isn't a grinder at all but a mica milling attachment for doing armature work. The milling attachment uses hullhorst cutters p_toad and Artie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tired Daughter Posted October 26, 2022 Report Share Posted October 26, 2022 We recently moved my dad into assisted living and are trying to sell some of his "work area" items. One is an Atlas metal lathe, model #618, serial #019620. I'm trying to find out how much it's worth, but am having a hard time finding this particular model online. Is this something you can help me with? Any assistance you can give me would be greatly appreciated! Sincerely, Joan Goddard Pepperell, MA Grandpadave52 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Buskirk Posted October 26, 2022 Report Share Posted October 26, 2022 10 hours ago, Tired Daughter said: We recently moved my dad into assisted living and are trying to sell some of his "work area" items. One is an Atlas metal lathe, model #618, serial #019620. I'm trying to find out how much it's worth, but am having a hard time finding this particular model online. Is this something you can help me with? Any assistance you can give me would be greatly appreciated! Sincerely, Joan Goddard Pepperell, MA A lot depends on location, what tooling/attachments are included, condition, etc.. Grandpadave52 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forty_caliber Posted October 26, 2022 Report Share Posted October 26, 2022 I was in my late teens last time I ran a metal lathe for Haliburton. I was making flow meter inserts from titanium castings. +.0004 -0 tolerance. It was one of the few jobs in the shop that didn't have a quota. They wanted it right and no scrap. Brings back lots of memories. Thanks for posting. .40 Artie, HARO50, Grandpadave52 and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tired Daughter Posted October 26, 2022 Report Share Posted October 26, 2022 12 hours ago, Tired Daughter said: We recently moved my dad into assisted living and are trying to sell some of his "work area" items. One is an Atlas metal lathe, model #618, serial #019620. I'm trying to find out how much it's worth, but am having a hard time finding this particular model online. Is this something you can help me with? Any assistance you can give me would be greatly appreciated! Sincerely, Joan Goddard Pepperell, MA It's in very good condition and we have several attachments for it. I was told it's "vintage." Artie and Grandpadave52 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tired Daughter Posted October 26, 2022 Report Share Posted October 26, 2022 I tried to add pics here, but they won't upload. ?? Grandpadave52 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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