Lathe help - can I use it?

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watch_art

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Dec 21, 2011
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hot springs, ar
My dad has an old late 40s/early 50s Craftsman that he'll let me borrow, but I want to know if it will take modern attachments that I'll use to turn pens.

Here are some pics...


001 by snennewton, on Flickr


005 by snennewton, on Flickr


009 by snennewton, on Flickr


008 by snennewton, on Flickr

a view from headstock

007 by snennewton, on Flickr

Here's the belt thingy. It needs a motor. And my dad's argument (b/c he doesn't want to help me load it up probably) is that I'd be better off getting one of those $150-175 Harbor Freight lathes b/c they have built in motors. What I want to know, is would this be better than one of those little bench top models?

006 by snennewton, on Flickr


003 by snennewton, on Flickr

Tool rest. He's also convinced that I won't be able to use this b/c the tool rest is so big. Well I could just put a smaller one on couldn't I?

002 by snennewton, on Flickr
 
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tim self

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IF you can the spur drive out (DAMHIKT), you could use a screw on mandrel on the head stock. The live center center does come out eventually so you could use a 60 degree point in it. The head stock is 3/4 x 16 and the tool rest is to large as you know. Slow speed is approx 500 and high is about 3200. Now honestly, I have one and would never try to make a quality pen on it, as the tail stock is not exact enough to be alligned properly. But you could always use it for turning blanks round and bowl/platter turning.

With all that said, spend the money and get a mini/midi lathe and don't look back.
 
Last edited:

ed4copies

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My dad has one, very much like that.

Then, he also has the Mini lathe I sent him to save him the trouble of trying to make the old one functional.

Could it be done?? Probably. Is it worth the trouble? Probably not.

YMMV
 

fernhills

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Hellertown, PA, USA.
I have one. It works well. I also have a modern midi lathe because the tool rest on the Sears is a pain to move around. When i got my new lathe i chucked the sears in the corner of shop and left it there for years. Last year i set it up again because i am thinking about using the indexing they have on it. I also use a 1x8 nut from PSI on it to hold various chucks. That way i have two lathes, that makes it easier to go back and forth between the two. I know there is a lot of people who have them and they put out nice work. I put on a 1725 1hp motor only b/c i had a spare one setting around.
 

widows son

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Jan 1, 2011
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round rock, tx
I have some spare parts from a Sears lathe that will probably fit yours. I will send them to you if you PM me. I can ship them to AR from TX for not a lot of money. I think I have a couple of tool rests that will fit the lathe. The lathe is probably a #1 Morse Taper. The lathe can turn out decent projects. I have an 3/4 X 16 adapter that will fit a Wood River chuck too.
 

MesquiteMan

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As hinted to above, that lathe may work but it has a #1 morse taper and a funny size spindle. Not a problem if you already have all the accessories for it but I would not want to spend any money on new centers or chucks since they will not fit most other lathes. Also, with the tube design for the bed, it makes is easy for the centers to get out of alignment. Of course, it is also easy to re-align them too. I had a Ridgid lathe that was basically the exact same as that Craftsman for my first lathe. I HATED it! Ended up giving it away and going with a HF 34706 which was a big upgrade! Later I sold it for almost what I had in it and bought a Nova DVR, another huge upgrade.

The Ridgid was frustrating to me since I was doing bowls and the motor was way under powered. Also, one good catch and the tub would turn just a little, throwing the centers out of alignment. If I forgot to check them each time, I would have problems.

My verdict...it is not work messing with!
 
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