Leveling and Aligning My Atlas Lathe

In this video I level and align the bed on my Atlas 10F lathe. I also make an a test bar to adjust the tail stock and eliminate the taper in the turned parts.
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[@douglasbattjes3991]

Steve, Thanks for the response from you too, one I have is a 101 and was never assembled , still in the boxes from Atlas Clausing, was at a school in IN and friend in southern MI picked it up and sold to me, just putting it together now. Thx again for you video

[@joeduda8507]

As a Atlas owner thanks for this video i learned something from it please keep up the great work

[@sharkrivermachine]

Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@RagsdaleCreek]

I need to check mine again have not checked it since I set it up a year ago. Thanks for sharing Steve. God bless & stay safe

[@sharkrivermachine]

Thanks, you too!

[@donaldnaymon3270]

Great job Steve. Great video. Worked out excellent. Thank you for sharing.

[@sharkrivermachine]

Very welcome, thank you for watching and commenting.

[@RumpLeINtiLINsKinnIN]

absolutely loving your channel. thanks for all the great tips and tricks and showing the why and how of what you do

[@sharkrivermachine]

Glad you enjoy it! Thank you for watching and commenting.

[@engleharddinglefester4285]

Thanks for taking the time to explain this.

[@sharkrivermachine]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching.

[@tced2858]

Good fix Steve....nice video ! I hope to soon be rearranging my machines in my shop, while the Lathe is staying put, when I have my levels out, I will re check mine.

[@sharkrivermachine]

Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@AlwaysSunnyintheShop]

Nice job, Steve. Very helpful info for Atlas owners especially. ----Aaron

[@sharkrivermachine]

Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@eyuptony]

Hi Steven. That was a shock seeing the bubble difference before you levelled it. Nice one showing a machinery levelling shim never seen one before. Tony

[@sharkrivermachine]

I purchased a set of the shims from McMaster-Carr. They range from .001 to .125. The set that I got was for a 7/16 bolt size. The funny thing is, I am retired from the automotive industry and I used to sell similar shim sets for front end alignment. Although they were typically not the thin. With the taper that I was experiencing I expected the lathe to be much further out but I also did not check the bed before I leveled the bench. That may have corrected some of it. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@mahmoudfathy8686]

Thanks Steven for these amazing video

[@sharkrivermachine]

Glad you like them! Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@lindsaymcclelland2132]

This is different from what I was showed and have done setting up a 6metre bed. The tail stock needs to remain in the centre. Once you have defined the tapper you then shim the pedestal mounts at the tail stock end to align the bed. If the bed mounts are at 2 metre intervals then at each mount you repeat the process. I do enjoy you shows.

[@sharkrivermachine]

The tail stock was removed for purposes of shooting the video. I would normally leave it on. The shims were placed at the tail stock end. There are actually other issues with the bed that I did not address in the video. I am still working them out. But I have the lathe making good parts. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@bcbloc02]

Better than it was!

[@sharkrivermachine]

Worked out well. Thanks for stopping by.

[@RockingJOffroad]

Looks like you nailed it!

[@sharkrivermachine]

Just came in from the shop. I have been turning some pieces on the lathe today and the taper has been corrected. It was worth the effort. Thanks for stopping by.

[@AmateurRedneckWorkshop]

That is something everyone needs to do now and then.

[@sharkrivermachine]

Thanks for stopping by.

[@theeddies]

Hello Steve, really nice methodical job. I guess I am going to have to add precision level to the list, lol Thanks, Eddie

[@sharkrivermachine]

A level is a nice tool to have in the shop. Not used a lot but when you need it not much else works as well. Thanks for watching.

[@douglasbattjes3991]

Ever need another Atlas , have 4 and parts for them, but 3 are the newer 12" ones. still run great. Go Kazoo

[@sharkrivermachine]

I have 2 618's one is an older model and I have it set up to use. The other is a one owner Late model built in 79' it is a Clausing/Atlas. Thanks for watching and commenting. Also have another 618 for parts.

[@skypiratesrcclub6436]

I believe you are measuring a diameter and adjusting a radius. I think you should move the tail stock by 1/2 the diameter change that you want to achieve.

[@sharkrivermachine]

You are correct. The Tail stock is moved by 1/2. If you will notice I picked up on that and addressed it on my second cut. Not sure how I missed it the first time. I have been doing this correctly for 50 years. Thanks for pointing it out and commenting.

[@p52893]

I learned, you taught good vid.

[@sharkrivermachine]

Thank you for watching and commenting

[@drjwrg]

I have been looking at a method of checking spindle alignment with the ways. It is called Rolle's Dad's method and does not require an accurate test bar nor the tail stock. The method you used seems to be often used just to align the tail stock assuming all else is OK. Great video enjoyed it a lot.

[@sharkrivermachine]

That is why I checked the twist in the bed first. There is still the possibility that the head is out of line with the bed and I have check that also, just didn't cover it in this video. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@sharkrivermachine]

@@brownsuga1168 That is the subject of this video. Using the precision level to match each end of the lathe and using a shim to remove the twist.

[@nicolashulme8194]

Like watching turtles stampeding through treacle.

[@sharkrivermachine]

It is a tedious process but the results are worth it. Thanks for stopping by.

[@tropifiori]

Thanks Frank

[@sharkrivermachine]

Thanks for watching.

[@OldIronMachineWorks]

Very nice Steve, Gary

[@sharkrivermachine]

Thanks for stopping by.

[@abhishektiv4400]

V. Nice mr.steve, My humble request is, if you can make video on VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL leveling using this Level or any Precision level...

[@sharkrivermachine]

That is an interesting idea, I will have to think about it. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@abhishektiv4400]

@@sharkrivermachine Thanks sir, I use the precession level for machine levelling. But you explain very well!!!

[@raymuttart5484]

good video thanks.

[@sharkrivermachine]

Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@TERRYRONALDRACKLEY]

Good to know-how.

[@sharkrivermachine]

Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@andrewevans1658]

Cool video! You can borrow my Edge Technology tail stock alignment bar , I would send it to you. It's quick simple & easy and involves indicating rather than measuring cuts.

[@sharkrivermachine]

I have actually almost purchased the edge bar twice and I deleted it from the cart. I appreciate the offer. I am ok with the results that I got using the turned bar. I may build a bar based of the Edge model. Thank you for watching and commenting.

[@andrewevans1658]

@@sharkrivermachine Building a similar bar would be a neat project! I wish I was able to delete items from my edge Technology cart, but no such luck!

[@JamesDedmon]

Good deal

[@sharkrivermachine]

Thanks for stopping by.

[@par4par72]

Steve- just a shot in the dark, but is your fathers Name Eugene? From Carnegie Mellon ?

[@sharkrivermachine]

No, we are all from New Jersey since the Lang's came over from Germany in the late 1800's. It is a very common name there. My father is Richard and he attended the Academy of Aeronautics in New York Thanks for asking.

[@par4par72]

@@sharkrivermachine Thanks Steven, I used to work for/with Eugene. He used to beam with pride about Steven, I thought it was you? Sorry. !

[@TheMoody876]

I have a 10in atlas lathe I just purchased. I can not get the tail stock centered for nothing. Every time I try to drill I can see the material lift up from the center drill being low

[@sharkrivermachine]

That is a problem that I have not encountered before. If the tail stock center is low it must be completely worn out on the bottom. It would have to be shimmed up somehow. Put a piece of material in the chuck and turn it to a point then put a center in the tail stock and slide the tail stock up to the center in the chuck. Observe the offset in the points of the centers if there is any. This will prove whether the center is low or not.

[@TheMoody876]

@@sharkrivermachine I checked it with a dead center in the spendel and in the tail stock. The tail stock is 9 thousands low

[@georgespangler1517]

Looks like your tool post is leaning backwards out of level also

[@sharkrivermachine]

No, just a little distortion from the camera lens. Thank you for watching and commenting

[@1jtolvey]

SHIMS --- COKE CAN SKIN ??

[@sharkrivermachine]

If I had know ahead of time that would have been fine. The set that I purchased ranges from .001 to .125 thousandths. It is nice to just grab one and done. Thanks for watching and commenting.