Just bought me one of these little vintage craftsman lathe. Seems like a pretty nice lathe back in the day. I'm like you, I'd rather have a vintage American made lathe than a Chinese made lathe. You did a really nice job restoring this one. Looks nice and your father in law will be proud of it.

Nice present for your father-in-law. I did a series of videos on restoring one of those, although mine was the Craftsman version. It turned out well. I would have kept it, but I needed the space, so off it went. Like you said, "I recycle tools."

These 618's have soul. Kinda like a '57 Chevy? You are a nice man.

I do lite manufacturing and have 4 of these same lathes. They are the only ones that can stand up to being started and stopped thousands of times doing repeated operations. I bought a china lathe once and it didn't last a week. I have 4 more lathes of various sizes and they are all old lathes that have been restored. I have no doubt someone will be turning on these lathes when I am dead and gone.

I've had one of those for over 50 yrs. Mine came with the same hacksaw nicks in the bed as yours. It's a good starter lathe and good for small stuff. For a few years I had a 12" Atlas which was better. I now do most of my home shop work on my Heavy 10. The small spindle hole on the Atlas lathes was bothersome. On the other hand they are a lot easier to move than my old 14" Hendey!

I just picked up a 618 yesterday to add to my fleet. Nice work you did on yours there!

Great video, I'm really glad I found your channel!

Very nice presentation. Thank you

Beautiful work

I have 3 618s now,,,one that's never been used,,and every attachment for them,, I'm buying them cheap here in Delaware as the prices are climbing and people realize vintage lathes are the best way to go,,, l use brakes caliper paint really works well and hard as nails.

Nice cleanup!! Picked up one of these locally and love it. I did not like the changing of the gears, when threading, so I installed the Clough42 ELS (electronic lead screw). I also ended up replacing the lantern based tool holder and went with a cheap quick tool change setup. Really nice machine for anyone's basement

Very nice job......

That hole you mentioned that was drilled in the pulley is actually not to pin the pulleys to the shaft. It's actually there for oiling the shaft.

hi, today i bought one, im very hapy and i will repair it, thanks for you video its very important

inspirational video here! Like others have mentioned, I would rather get a good old american, English or German made lathes than the new stuff, old machines have that beautiful design, rounded off, cast iron or cast aluminum covers that look so nice! man your machine sounds so quiet. I recently picked up an older south bend lathe - model A (w/ quick change gearbox) @ 4ft long for free locally, I was lucky to get it as I messaged the owner within 25 minutes of him listing it. Used but in good condition. Will be restoring it and see how worn out she is. Flat flat pulleys on her. Also red in color like this one you painted.

i've got the 1938 version, i fixed it up with my dad and put hammerite ''feuerwehr red'' amazing lathe

618's are very cool. Looks like a very nice job. I'll get around to finishing my series on the Atlas QC42 one of these days. I used the same implement red on mine.

Nice job on the little lathe

If you have the one-piece headstock like this one, then you have tapered roller bearings. Look at the outer race of these bearings and (unless they've been changed) there should be "Timkin" etched and a number hand scribed if they are original to the lathe. The number is the year of install.

I have the same lathe! Mine is mounted on a small dresser drawer cabinet for storage, and it is on wheels!

nice info. on the 6x18 atlas lathe cool.bob

I hope he loves it as much as I love mine. Great job on it.......

I just picked one of these up for my shop. I am in the process of making new locking mechanism for the tailstock. It was missing. I also have to make cross slide hand wheel because it was missing. The ways are in very good condition. I have access to a large lathe so that wont be hard. My only problem is cutting the key slot in the handle.

I have the big bro of that lathe, the 12 inch one. The gears are definitely a weak link in the Craftsman chain. Thanks for the video.

I love the paintjob! ❤

oh my dude ! I want that !

I used one to make stainless steel crimp rings for conduits ! I want one !

Looking forward to the Drill Press videos!

I have 3 atlas metal lathes with the zmac gears,, any gear without grease will wear unless submerged in heavy oil,,,,Paint them smoke gray Chinese lathes are red!!

I was lucky enough to grab an old Craftsman lathe (4x16), 3 and 4 jaw chucks, stand with drawer with an old school light, and tons of bits, holder and change gears. It was the guys Grandpas hobby lathe, but he'd died a while ago. There were attempts at home made suppressors and stuff. I had to rework a few things, but basically it's in decent shape, with original paint. I think I paid the crack head something like 200.00, I think he was Jones-ing. It's a Mid 40's to early 50's as far as I can tell. I use it for tiny little screws and things to hold. I agree with you on these lathes, they work but are pretty much cheap/hokey. If you want it to stay on zero, don't hold your breath, but they will get the job done, basically. Your's has a few more gears/different setup on the side, but it's a 6". Yours turned out looking nice. Thanks for the vids, always something good in them.

Your father-in-law is one lucky man.

You need to keep the videos coming on a regular basis. Congratulations on the 500k views.

ever one came across that was issue..and gears...believe me been machinist 35 yrs

Otherwise for the video! You did a fantastic job on your restoration job my man! Hey the fact is......they'll never make stuff like this again especially when it was originally meant for the home hobbist! It wasn't meant for much more than that really. But they were actually built especially well for what they were. So yeah your lucky enough to have a GOOD one!! With Roller bearings!!! 👌 Nice!! And yes Sir you can't compare these cheap ass Chinese lathes from harbor freight. But your one awesome son in law man!! That is one cool gift for your father in law! That's really cool and I hope he enjoys it and gets to play with it?! To anyone who's into the whole Atlas fan club, and the 618 metal lathes. Heres a dumb question maybe someone out there knows??? What's the determining factor is with the whole Head-Stocks and some of them being journal bearings AkA Bronze Bushings or a set up with Roller Bearings?? I was lucky enough to get mine with roller bearings, but I've heard that there are some with the journal bushings. Was it about money or technology before they changed to roller bearings???

I use Lucas red and tacky on my gears really quiets it down ,, oil just slings off of gears as fast as you put it on,,, hell there useing plastic gears now,,

The gears are fine,,,just people don't grease them properly, thinking oil is enough is foolish.

looking to buy one of these for my son and i to learn. what's do think is a good price for a decent one?? (without a bunch of extra tooling)

didn't think so just checking some one has some

always be sure of yr cuts..no heavy or jam you will bend spindle...ok for small stuff...

So....for a similar size, what would be a top drawer choice? Or top 3? I'm looking for something similar size for my basement.

What do you have to do to replace the belt… by the way you did a good job with restoring it!

I have an Atlas 618/Craftsman 101 that was my Uncle's. It was his father's before him. I want to get it refurbished for him. Anyone know of who could do that? Not looking for a "good deal" per se, just looking for quality work.

Great video I bout one year ago and I look for chuck you can give me the size / Measurements I need? Thank you

Does, or why doesn’t someone make some steel replacement gears for the Atlas/Craftsman lathes?

hi ..looking for opinion..i can buy an old atlas 6x18 lathe for $300.looks like your lathe ..fair cond and works ok.all original ..no extra tooling just basic drill chuck included ..is that a good price ?? or just fair price?...or high price?

What kind of primer and paint did u use on the little lathe ?

need some help please, I need to take apart the back gears from the headstock on my craftsman lathe 618 to change the belt but I don't see the way to do it. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

What would be a common expected price on one of these 6/18 in good condition?

I have one of these im cleaning up for a small wood lathe. Whats the easiest way to get the tooling piece off the lathe for cleaning ?

I know this video is old but i saw one of these similar atlas model 10100 for sale for $700 in great condition with some extra toolng and 4jaw chuck and steady rest face plate...etc......thatvseems high price for such a tiny limited lathe? Or am i wrong?....my chinese lathe even has more capacity at .7 inch....this atlas is 6x18 correct?

1976 is the year model

So here's a Quick Question for you Craftsman guy's....... ? I have a Atlas 6-18 I've restored and that was originally like a dark battle ship Grey paint which I couldn't find the right shade of Grey but it's called Industrial Grey now which is close enough for me. Question is here: We know Atlas made them under the Craftsman name for Sears. Were the Craftsman's painted a different color than the original Atlas paint color??? I've seen the colors all different in the Craftsman parts but don't know how they've looked originally especially when all the advertisements were all in black and white. Any ideas on this would be great to hear. Thanks in advance.

Just use sandpaper,,you have a slim to no chance of turning that true,,,l have a 1938 delta Rockwell bench top drill press,,, it's truer then my new delta,,, payed 50 bucks for it and it's so true I put a xy table on it and use it for milling

What is the mill next to it?

3 jaw 4 jaw hub and top cover

power feed?

not really that size of spindle its common check and youll see

are you selling parts

100 times better than a chinese mini lathe with plastic gears and hand cranks, and a dc motor that will burn up very uickly

I could get Gmail to work do have yahoo. or Facebook message?

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