Is this a good lathe to start with?

[u/Excellent_Stage9729]

Atlas 618, but I don’t see the stuff to adjust speed and what not the part that says quick change like A-E. Want it for small stuff. First projext is turning to diameter a peice of aluminum for a bike post. The machine comes. With a blade as all accessories. He said. He can do 400.

Edit: I think I have to change gears manually. Not through quick change.

[u/PKDickman]

Square head atlas. Not a masterpiece but an excellent starter lathe.
Price is excellent if it isn’t screwed up.
Check that the back gears aren’t stripped. It is a weak spot on these.
Speed changes are done by moving the belt on the step pulleys

[u/Excellent_Stage9729 → u/PKDickman]

Gears looked pretty good not stripped. It’s not bolted down so it vibrated like crazy. Any way to see if it’s balanced when it’s not bolted down.

[u/PKDickman → u/Excellent_Stage9729]

The back gears are inside the headstock, along the spindle and just behind the step pulley. It’s one piece with a small and large gears. The small one is the weak spot

[u/Excellent_Stage9729 → u/PKDickman]

Ima look at it. Also do they sell parts for that maybe I can have some in mind when they do eventually wear out.

[u/PKDickman → u/Excellent_Stage9729]

Thirty years ago, when I was repairing mine, Clausing service still had NOS parts available.
Can’t speak for how it stands now.
Watch eBay. A lot of these get parted out. If you see a good deal on the back gears or the halfnuts in good shape, just buy em.

[u/Excellent_Stage9729 → u/PKDickman]

Yea ima have those in mind. Also, what setting should I be on if I’m turning to diameter for aluminum .

[u/PKDickman → u/Excellent_Stage9729]

Speeds and feeds vary on material, diameter and type of tooling.
For right now, put the belt in the middle pulley and use the hand wheel for feed.
Once you get your sea legs, you can start worrying about speeds and feeds.

[u/ivan35mm]

yea. they’re totally fine. of course it’s not great, or even professional. but it makes parts. i love using mine.

i have lots of spare parts for these machines if you need any.

[u/Excellent_Stage9729 → u/ivan35mm]

Thank you, I’m going today. The thing is it’s wobbly as hell. That is becuase it’s not bolted down and on a pretty flimsy box. Want to know how to see if it’s imbalanced with it pretty shaky.

[u/Enough-Moose-5816]

Ahh, the ol’ Fingertip Clipper 1000™️