Atlas (Craftsman) Lathe : Babbitt Headstock Bearing Adjustment 

Glad I could help. I’d be curious if you have any play in your bearings and if so, if your shims are original thickness

@@DustinRogersinMO I had about 5-6 thousandths of play up and down, the shims seemed to be original thickness (around 10 thou") and I only had to remove a single lamination to take the play out almost completely, I also used a torque wrench to try and ensure even tightness

Thanks. Wish I got to use it more often

Just following the manual, but the front bearing also has a lot of weight on it. The rear bearing not so much.

McMaster-Carr

Mine is roughly 9”, but I’m running a link belt so I don’t know if that’s “original” spacing.

No hablo español, pero puedo usar el traductor de Google. Solo haz preguntas en los comentarios.

It’s a Shars. I added a link to it in the video description. All the tool posts require you to buy or machine a T-Nut that fits your cross slide.

I checked out and saved your lathe playlist. There are some videos in there that I haven’t seen yet.

@@DustinRogersinMO , I have a bunch of other documents I’ve found over the past two years. I also checked out your play list. I bought Mr. Pete’s Atlas Craftsman video series. It is well worth the money in my mind. Probably around 40 hours. Breaks down every major part of the lathe, with how to use and maintain and fix. Also talks about tooling. I got my lathe from the original owner’s son. The father was a navy machinist. The lathe is kind of grubby , as it’s been in storage for the past 10 years. It was put away well oiled. There are a few broken parts. The cross slide handle and that bracket on the back of the skirt. I’ve got replacement parts already as well as tool holders. It came with a complete gear set and a 4 jaw Chuck. I’ve picked up a 3 jaw Chuck. Original motor runs very smoothly with no vibration. I very much enjoyed your description. I’ve taken the caps off and the Babbitt are in great shape. I didn’t think to measure the shims. Great Idea. I haven’t measured it but I can’t feel any play. I have been working on setting my shop back up after our move to our new house. Going slow because I just had a hip replaced. Need the other one and both knees done so my set up will be slow going. I have an Instagram page sewing_machine_restoration. I’m not very good on how it all works yet. I’m thinking of documenting my lathe refurb. I also have a 1934 Delta DP220 14” that runs great but again needs a face lift. Thanks for responding.

@@americansewingmachineresto1545 sounds like you have plenty of projects lined out. You definitely should document and post your lathe refurb.

@@americansewingmachineresto1545 Thabk you for posting! & @dustin rogers- thank you very much for your video It Will help me on my TH 42

Yours has Timken spindle bearings. They are adjustable, but it’s a different procedure. I’ve seen some videos online showing the process.

@@DustinRogersinMO Thank you for the info.

There’s a collar on the left side of the spindle by the gear. Loosen the small screw and tighten it in small increments until you don’t have any more play in the spindle.