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View Full Version : Really How Fragile are Lathes

alamo_red
06-20-2006, 02:26 PM
I am new to the board. Just purchased an Atlas/Craftsman lathe which I hauled back to Texas from Florida. It is a 12x36 101.28990 s/n in the 104xxx.
The road was quite bumpy in stretches and although tied down, the lathe took quite a few hard bumps. I don't detect any broken pieces, but some bolts vibrated out. Is there any real probability that I did damage this thing?

Also, in good condition, what should this item bring? Don't want to sell it, just want to know whether I should feel foolish for the effort I made to go and get it.
Wrangler
06-20-2006, 04:05 PM
It probable just needs to be put back together and checked for being true. Did you enjoy the trip? If so it might be that it was worth the ride.
alamo_red
06-20-2006, 04:53 PM
thanks for the reassurance that the piece is probably usable. And I must say, that's the most tactful way of saying that the lathe isn't worth very much I could have imagined. :smile: has me chucklin. thanks.
tp555
06-20-2006, 09:25 PM
You got a 12" atlas lathe. That'a a prize. Now you have to scrounge up
parts for it . My 1st lathe was a 10" atlas. The manual was 1st class. It
explained lots of things to the noob machinist. I made lots of parts on that machine which earned me money.If you can get the jobs, you can make a living.
Look at it this way. Lets say you invested $1000 in the machine.You make parts and sell them for money. If you got the jobs you can make $10000 or $20000
in 2 years (if you got the jobs or connections) from a $1000 investment.If there's no work just let it sit.It doesn't complain,you don't have to feed it. It takes up space. Compare this to a player in the stock market.The stock investor
gives his/her money to a broker and gets back pieces of paper with funny ink on
it saying they own a piece of some company.What % do they get back on their investment and how long did it take? If the company dies what does the investor have left? fancy toliet paper.What do you have? A machine.Physical assets. Finding work is always the big deal, but you can make a living. Its what i do. regards.