Da 90 Year Old Lathe

[cheesy]

I figured I'd just start a thread on the lathe.


I did some learning. It is a Craftsman Metalcraft 918, not the 910 as I was told. Pretty darn simple name. 9" swing with 18" between the centers. It's the same age as my Dad. It was made by Atlas for Sears and the only difference between the Atlas and Sears 9" lathe was the style of the feet of the bed. The feet on the Sears version were somewhat stylized and the Altas feet were plain. $64.50 out the door in 1935. I probably paid the same amount, but in 2024 dollars.

I moved all the toys from the west bay of the barn, swept the floor, and backed the truck to the door. I took off the motor, a heavy puppy, and the tail stock while it was in the truck. Then maneuvered it, carefully, on to my ramps.


From the ramp to the creeper.


And from the creeper to magically getting itself up on the bench and back together.


Actually, it took three hands to slide the heavy poop up the ramp. I got smart and took the chuck off. I poked a large eye screw into the bench and ran a chain through it to the bed. Looped the chain to the bed, then simultaneously pulled the chain towards me while pushing the lathe up the ramps. And also keeping it straight. Once the head stock was on the bench, I could swing it and get the whole thing on the bench. I put the motor back on, swung it another 180 and moved to where it's going to live. Then I stopped for lunch.

Tomorrow, it gets bolted down. I found a reprint of the manual and once that arrives, I'll start going through it and hopefully figure out that funky transmission. I found my old copy of 'How To Run A Lathe' in a box with our old high school year books. It was an old copy when I got it.

[XLsior]

$64 in 1935 would be about 2 ounces of gold in terms of rough value.

[TominMO]

I don't care if it works or not, it is very cool! I'm sure Mrs. cheesy wouldn't mind you sticking it in the living room so you could just admire it.

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by TominMO

I don't care if it works or not, it is very cool! I'm sure Mrs. cheesy wouldn't mind you sticking it in the living room so you could just admire it.

Mrs.C is going to have to just look at me for the next few weeks.


Broke my ankle last night at the roller rink during a race. Laid up for four to six weeks. And I lost the race.

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by cheesy

Mrs.C is going to have to just look at me for the next few weeks.


Broke my ankle last night at the roller rink during a race. Laid up for four to six weeks. And I lost the race.

Ouch! I broke my ankle a few years ago. That sucker still hurts every time the weather changes.

[cheesy]

Originally Posted by JerryHawk250

Ouch! I broke my ankle a few years ago. That sucker still hurts every time the weather changes.

What's one more ache at my age?

[TominMO]

Originally Posted by cheesy

Mrs.C is going to have to just look at me for the next few weeks.

Broke my ankle last night at the roller rink during a race. Laid up for four to six weeks. And I lost the race.

Bummer.

On the positive side, you now have another great reason to not travel for your old job, should they ask. And lots of time to learn macrame.

[2LZ]

Geez..... Dress you all up, can't take you anywhere, cheesy!

[TominMO]

Unfortunately this will also put his dreams of being a professional tap dancer on hold for awhile. But Irish dancing might not be a problem.....

[Bruces]

I think I am missing something here ,is the lathe 90 years old ,or the roller skating owner with defective porcelain ankles ?

[cheesy]

The lathe is 90. Porcelain bones is 68.

[2LZ]

When I first started reading this thread and then saw your foot, I thought maybe you should have had more help moving that heavy lathe. I once had a beer can fall out of the freezer when I opened the door and land on one of my toes. It popped like a grape. I pictured worse in your case.

[cheesy]

Dropping that lathe on my foot would have really really hurt. I damn near got taken out by the lathe chuck when I killed the power at high speed and it unscrewed itself. SOB came after me pretty quick.(Note to self:disengage transmission before cutting power)

The operators manual came today and it reads like my former company's operator manuals, meaning next to useless. I'm on the hunt now for an Atlas/Craftsman 9" Maintenance Manual. That one looks like it will be a tough one to locate. There is a pretty good site in the UK that has good info on this puppy, like belt lengths and how to actually work the transmission. Also, this lathe may be closer to 1932 than to 1936. Either way, it's old.

As to my boo boo, I see a bone doc on Tuesday to get my hard cast and have him/her/it take a gander at my knee. I hope it's just a sprain and not a torn ACL. The ankle is letting me know that I screwed up, but the knee has been whining more than it did Thursday night.

[TominMO]

You've probably searched everything I could come up with, but just in case (scroll down to the 936; the 918 is just below it):
http://www.lathes.co.uk/atlas/page2.html

These manuals might help: https://store.lathes.co.uk/print/ma731
Second one seems to cover care and feeding of a lathe.

Also this: http://www.lathes.co.uk/craftsman/page2.html

[cheesy]

Yes and thanks. I've printed out the 'Craftsman 9 inch' page. More info there than the operators manual.

I've also found the parts list at VintageMachinery.com. I can probably wing the service without the maintenance manual.