Atlas Lathe Power Feed Project

[@krisbenvenuto6999]

Just finished building my version of your design, and I must say, it's the best upgrade I've made to my 6 inch Atlas lathe. I now get flawless finishes on steel without having to mess around with the change gears. Used a $20 junk yard wiper motor, an ebay motor controller and an old laptop power source. Works perfectly! Thanks for posting! Kris

[@FredMiller]

Congrats to you Kris! I am very pleased someone actually built something I designed AND that it worked out so well for you..

[@scottkiilsgaard2717]

Excellent video, thanks for sharing so much detail.

[@FredMiller]

Thank you Scott. I needed to provide some payback for all the great videos I have seen on KZbin..

[@joeybobbie1]

Great build. Thanks for showing the Wiring Diagram also. I just bought a Craftsman 12x30 Lathe with the Change Gears. I was watching Mr Pete and he was talking about how the lowest speed on the Change Gears was too fast for a really nice Finish. He also installed the separate Lead Screw Control on his. I think I like this build better, and will definitely install it on mine. Thanks for Sharing.👍

[@hakankinnunen3270]

Sådant gillar jag!!!!!. Jag har redan en elmotor rpm kontrollerar hemma.

[@maxrunout2989]

Nice job Fred. Good to see you back on the tube. W2IOG

[@FredMiller]

Thanks 👍Paul. Good to hear from you. I have been trying to stay busy in the shop during this crazy year of 2020.. Stay healthy..

[@michaelmurray9154]

Nice video Fred. That's a nice neat device. I bet alot of guys with Atlas type bench lathes are going to want one! Tc, Mike

[@FredMiller]

Thanks Mike. I like your mill light too.

[@FredMiller]

Thanks Mike. The speed control allows for varying tool speed to reduce or totally remove chatter and to make glass like finish passes. Stay well! Fred

[@paulbutterfield836]

Cool. As I don't have the quick-change gear box on my SB, this would be pretty handy. Someday...

[@FredMiller]

Thanks Paul. The speed control allows for varying tool speed to reduce or totally remove chatter and to make glass like finish passes. Stay well! Fred

[@clemwyo]

Thanks for posting that Fred. I need to adapt something like that to my antique horizontal boring mill with no power feeds. I'll probably need to find a little bigger motor though. Craig

[@FredMiller]

I have built drives for the lathe and both my vertical and horizontal mills using the same style motors. They have incredible torque for their size. You can roughly work out the force needed by performing a quick foot pound test on the drive wheel of the mill and calculating from there. Best of luck and thanks for the input..

[@clemwyo]

@@FredMiller thanks for the feedback Fred. I have several wiper motors I'll test to see what they'll do. I also got some power seat adjustment motors that seem to be quite powerful also, maybe not quite as much as the wiper motors but they are quite compact. Craig

[@paulbrandenburger]

Wonderful! Can you post a close up of the lead screw coupling?

[@veepsgarage]

Great build. I like the wiper motor idea as they are cheap. Have you ever thought of trying to put a tachometer on the lathe so you can cut threads using the electric feed?

[@tinmanx2222]

Interesting video.

[@FredMiller]

Thanks for the comment. The finest pitch on a 10" Atlas lathe is .0045" per revolution of the spindle. It is just not fine enough to put a great finish on some metals.

[@clutch5sp989]

I'd like to do something like this for my 12" Atlas. Any elimination of gears chattering also wear going on in the gear chain just to drive lead screw & cross feed functions is a plus. Here's a brain fert from an engineer designer....I'd like to have controls on the apron itself preferably a lever control to toggle-bump on or off also F&R with locked on & off. There must also be a limit or safety maybe made to shutoff when carriage stop is contacted. I've seen a wiring link-chain like product that will allow the wiring harness to follow the saddle back behind the bed. Must be neat & clean & KISS fab. Did this make any sense?

[@rodbutler9864]

Outstanding

[@eduardodaquiljr1621]

Can you adopt the system to make a thread?

[@Ginsetsu-The-Great-Fox]

I know that this is a rather old video, but do I have to use a windshield wiper motor or could I just use a basic DC motor with a reduction gearbox?

[@joshsundiwa]

Good one thanks for sharing, does it mean you will have bigger pitch sizes for threads which wasn't supported by gear system

[@FredMiller]

Good question. The mod was to get better surface finishes on all materials by varying the tool speed across the workpiece. Threading is all based on accepted NC and NF pitches and are intendes to be standard. Thanks for the comment. Fred

[@MrSaadi68]

Thank you I really enjoyed your video I just want to ask a question where do we buy it from the supplier thank you

[@fernandogutierrez7053]

I really enjoyed the video I just want to ask a question will this system cut a thread? Thanks

[@FredMiller]

No, change gears would be far superior

[@krisbenvenuto6999]

Great Video. I'm going to make one for my Atlas 6 inch lathe. I notice your printer power source puts out 12V. I plan to use an old laptop power source that outputs 18.5 v and 3.5 amps. Do you think that would work with the wiper motor or should I look for an alternate power source? Also, how did you connect the brass drive device to the motor shaft? I thought I would thread and loctite mine on. Thanks, and keep up the good work.. Kris

[@FredMiller]

Hey Kris, Don't hold me to it but I think 3.5 amps should be enough. All I can say is give it a try on the bench and test the torque. Make sure you have some type of voltage controller so you can vary the voltage to change the speed of the motor shaft and ultimately the lead screw. I put internal threads on the brass coupling that matched the threads on the end of the lead screw and then secured it with a lock nut. Loctite should work but use the type that you can heat to break the bond in case you need to repair or modify in the future. Good luck and let me know how you make out on the build. Regards- Fred

[@keithbaker8212]

I know this was put out three years ago but how does that run the cross slide it’s on a separate thread

[@FredMiller]

Yes, the cross slide feed is proportional to the added power feed as well. It makes parting stock a breeze since you can slow the advance of the cuto off tool to almost nothing thus reducing stresses on the tool post and cross slide. Thanks for asking.

[@davecross4321]

Fred, did the motor controller come from the car wiper system?

[@FredMiller]

The motor controller was from my junk box. They can be purchased from Ebay. Look for "12 volt DC motor controller". The one I had and used had to be modified. The potentiometer had to be removed from the PC board and extended with a cable to the control panel. I would be on the lookout for one that already had the potentiometer on a cable and not on the board.

[@nitroboy2]

i have the same lathe , but i dont have power feed on the front/back direction . i made ur design also , it works good video @ my channel