Steam powered Machine Shop 87 Makin do...

This time I re-make a part for the Liley steam engine cylinder on a 1937 Atlas 9" lathe. I hope to finish machine work and fully assemble that engine in the NY shop this spring. Comments, discussion and questions always welcome here. Thanks for watching.....Dave

[@benbusfield6498]

Awesome to see a new post from you. We have missed you a lot 😊 glad your back hope all is well.

[@PhilRable]

I regularly watch a few “machine shop” channels, ranging from full on “true” commercial shop involved with heavy machinery (the tube being a little on the side) through to a shop with CNC. Always find the steam driven shop a great watch.

[@Woodman15]

Good to see you back at it. Can't wait for more videos from the Old Steam Powered Machine Shop!

[@CameronMcCreary]

I would like to say, you have a very nice, clean and well laid out shop. The Atlas lathe is good however one needs to make fixtures to work with it. As for the threading work I use thread checking micrometers and gages to get very tight thread fits.

[@corycurtis6315]

man i hope you have an apprentice. what a wealth of knowledge

[@90762709]

Just love the videos. I wish you could make more of them.

[@roberthocking9138]

I went to an all boys secondary trade college in the 1960s in Australia, we had similar, atlas lathes in our turning and fitting class rooms, they were so worn out and abused by generations of schoolboys, but they still worked. The idea was to turn out a large number of all kinds apprentices in the 60s as demand for them was massive . Seeing your videos always takes me back to those machine shop classes or my uncles engineering works. I can almost smell the cutting fluid.😁 wonderful work.

[@davidrichards5594]

Thanks Robert for your great comment, it was the same here in this country and large industries that would take high school grads into their apprentice programs. Sadly, the industries and school shops have disappeared now and we are at the mercy of foreign suppliers.....Dave

[@jimwilloughby]

Every winter , for the last few years, I miss seeing you up in New York. I really like that old style machine shop. Until the spring, I'll be content to see this video, and any others you put up while in Florida.

[@RL1911]

Excellent work Dave! Always a pleasure watching and learning from you!

[@RRINTHESHOP]

Nice work Dave, keeps you busy down south.

[@gerarddumais5198]

watching you work,, I feel like I am watching my father when he use to make brass nuts for boat shafts.. Thank you for my trip down memory lane. Keep up the good work

[@bcbloc02]

That little lathe is nice and quiet with no geared head.

[@PaulA-yh7kr]

As you say Dave it's all in the set up, and never make mistakes only make corrections. Thanks for your time. Paul

[@ht2941]

Hi Dave, Nice job! shows what can be done on an old machine. I have a 1940's raglan lathe and I am about to try my hand at threading, seeing this video has made it a little less daunting, thank you! The thread is most likely whitworth pipe thread which was 11 TPI from 6 1/2 inches down to 1 inch and 14 TPI below that.

[@Journeyman53]

Yes, pretty close to 1 1/2" BSPT.

[@Journeyman53]

And 55 degree thread angle..

[@MrChevelle83]

its great to see you again dave!

[@Bobbycat115]

Good to see you and a happy new year .From the north of the 49th West coast Canada

[@davidrichards5594]

Stay warm up there guys, throw another log on the fire, get your lathe going and make something.....Dave

[@Duckfarmer27]

Dave - A good video to watch with my after lunch tea. You're not missing anything up here in Tioga County today - raining and 39. Enjoy the sunshine down there. Dale

[@davidrichards5594]

Thanks, could be alot worse....Dave

[@swanvalleymachineshop]

Nice one Dave . Looks a great little lathe . 👍

[@CraigLYoung]

Great to see you again! Thanks for sharing and enjoy the Florida weather. 😅

[@dannittohell]

I love watching that little lathe make good quality parts.

[@mauricelevy9027]

I'm pleased to hear that You found the little Atlas lathe quite capable for the job David because at Lotus in the mid 1950s one of those was our sole lathe but the Boss did buy a vertical attachment for Me ! Soon be time for You to venture back up North and get that fire lit isn't it ?Thanks for the video -as ever .

[@BarryClements-d8x]

Looks exactly like my "old" little Craftsmen lathe.

[@davidrichards5594]

Probably is, Sears sold them as Craftsman....Dave

[@BarryClements-d8x]

thanks for the info Dave. I'm a 66 y.o. journeyman machinist. Still making a good living by myself in my own shop. "The Old Way" I enjoy your videos. Thank you sir.@@davidrichards5594

[@Warped65er]

Great to see another vid.

[@Radiotexas]

Old school at its best! Thanks pal. Good to see you back!

[@jdr1469]

This is a wonderful video Dave. You are a great teacher, and your patience with correct decision making shine through. Thanks for the lesson.

[@rhavrane]

Bonjour David, Bonne Année ! You are too rare on videos and I hope we see you soon surroundeed by steam again 😉 Amicalement, Raphaël

[@Workshopfriend]

Nice to see the hexagon made by hand. Good result. Thanks for sharing.

[@pilgrimm23]

that lathe (which OSHA would NEVER approve of) with those exposed pulleys and belts. reminds me of my restored Dalton Lot 4 which is missing the casting for the pulley cover. I first got it as scrap covered in rust and spent about a year restoring it.

[@gerilarryogle970]

Great to watch you work, even without the line shafts. Sadly, it took 2 days before I found your video tucked way below all the other silly stuff that youtube wanted me to watch. Keep warm.

[@ronsue1000]

Awesome!

[@ltc9562]

Thank you for your effort and quality of work and everlasting legacy! Greetings from Romania!

[@davidrichards5594]

Thanks, very good to hear from Romania....Dave

[@normanfeinberg9968]

Something peacful about all this.I like that lathe,but not as much as my old south bends.As my skills improve watching your videos,theres even hope for an old guy like me trying to find peace in a crazy world.Thank,s Dave

[@normanfeinberg9968]

Found more southbend pieces including a 36 inch bed with nearly all the original scraping frosting!How did that happen?it was under my work bench for 20 years?I felt like a little kid and I'm 79 years old.It's drilled for the auto gearbox too!I love this stuff,You are a great inspiration to us all keep up the good work I can't wait for your next video

[@PorkBarrel.]

Nice work Dave good to see you again!

[@linasvelavicius330]

Nice job! I enjoyed the video.

[@williamstone476]

Great to see another video from you. I like to sit back and reminisce about my 43 years as a machinist in the steel industry. Look forward to the assembly of the Liley engine when you back to New York. I appreciate your descriptions of what you are doing. Hope all is well.

[@philhermetic]

Nice work, really enjoyed that! I am also a great believer in sneaking up on the best fit. Every thread, especially on old machinery, is slightly different! Phil UK

[@henkvanderwal2424]

Hallo David, Good to see a new video. All the best for 2024 from us in Friesland in the Netherlands

[@davidrichards5594]

Hi Henk, good to hear from Netherlands. What are you building these days?....Dave

[@henkvanderwal2424]

@@davidrichards5594 Hello David, At the moment I am rebuilding an old Belgian Motorcycle . Make Minerva from 1902. I need to make a lot of new parts. Tank,brake in the rear wheel ,ignition, carburator (from a brass casting)and so on. I hope to start driving this summer. At the end of summier I have a special run in Germany for motorcycles made before 1908. Sorry I keep myself bust. Greetings from Me. Keep up the food work. Ps how are you doing with you generator is there some progress?

[@charlesgause8224]

Good video hope to see you at the meet and greet at Florida flywheelers in February. if you need anything while in Florida let me know.

[@stevengrotte2987]

VERY VERY GLAD TO SEE YOU BACK, PROBABLY THREE MONTHS BEFORE YOU ARE BACK IN THE NEW YORK SHOP,.

[@robertlusnia506]

Enjoyed your video

[@pkav8tor]

Nice to see ya back make'n parts. Take care

[@floridaflywheelersantiquee7578]

Thanks for sharing

[@ypaulbrown]

looking great.....cheers from Orlando, Florida, Paul

[@tubeu28]

Until the parts get back to the other shop, it would make a great paper weight! Great work Dave!

[@husmanraceengineering]

I so miss your videos!! Glad to see all is well Dave. Thank you for another great video!!

[@donwright3427]

Nice. That's pretty much identical to mine but the compound slide is more square . I have turned Honda 90 cylinder heads to rebush the cam bearings, Made many rollers and shafts for conveyors,scraped keyways and even made plastic gears as I have a 60 hole indexing plate which is so useful and not found on modern machines much

[@davidrichards5594]

Interesting Don, this lathe has a ring of 60 holes on the side of the spindle pulley gear with a plunger stop that could also be used for indexing.....Dave

[@oldtractors]

I just made a packing gland for a Huber portable steam engine. It was also a 1 7/8-11 thread. There was also a nut that was 2 1/4-11. I figured Huber was the only one to come up with such an odd thread.

[@davidrichards5594]

A Huber return flue engine. Interesting to know...Dave

[@cad68m_m]

Nice to see you enjoying that great Florida winter weather, Nice nut job also.

[@grahamhenley2951]

Nice work as always David. I was expecting you to explain the use of an 11 tpi chaser though!

[@stevennederhiser7125]

Have an old Atlas just like yours but with the timken head. Love the overhead drive, smooth running. Not a production machine but have produced a lot of parts over the years!

[@davidrichards5594]

Yeah, I wish this one had roller bearings....Dave

[@johngibson3837]

Hey up mate that was another beautiful job loved how you sneak up on the thread, have watched all your videos but i do miss the clock when you're in Florida hope the hot rod is seeing some action

[@garthbutton699]

Thanks for the video from sunny Florida, NE Ohio kinda soggy today and temps in the low 50's🤗😎🤗😎

[@byrnejr]

Nice to see you

[@terrycannon570]

Always good seeing you, Dave. Send some of that warm Florida weather to Texas. We promise not to waste it.

[@davidrichards5594]

Hi Terry, Good to hear from you again.....Dave

[@terrycannon570]

Always a pleasure seeing you Dave. @@davidrichards5594

[@noneofabove5586]

Nice work!

[@MattysWorkshop]

Gday Dave, fantastic to see you back, the Atlas does a brilliant job mate, cheers

[@davidrichards5594]

Thanks, the Atlas was a cheap lathe for the masses that anyone could own.....Dave

[@jonrowsam6793]

Nice work Dave Have a good time down in the worm weather

[@brustar5152]

Dave; the problem you've faced and conquered is the fact you're cutting a fairly fine pitch thread on a lathe without prismatic ways so cross slide slop has to be watched closely. The Atlas was notorious for the teeny little small diameter graduated thimbles on the compound and cross slide. That makes cutting of threads a very exacting experience. I noticed you engaged the lead screw with tool bit at a bit of distance from the piece so you obviously know this lathe's flat-ways-cross-slide-wobble-take-up well and managed as expected.

[@edmedlin2936]

Good to see you at work again, Dave! Bet you are glad to be down south about now with all that cold winter going on up north. I miss steam machinery, so I should make me one. All I have for a shop is a mini lathe and a Hobby class mill. Should be enough to make a small one.

[@georgehill6569]

Love it please make more videos

[@keithwyckoff1175]

Dave, Thanks for the refresher on cutting threads. Might want to comment on the adjustments made to the cross slide and compound tool post. (i.e., why 29 not 30 degrees) . Minus 20 Hon for your file technique. You know files only cut in one direction...🙂 God Bless! KW

[@davidrichards5594]

Keith, you know why, you Techo.....Dave

[@johnalexander4356]

It's great to see a new vid! I hope your having a good winter in the warmth!

[@dansvec5411]

I always enjoy your videos and solid old school craftsmanship.

[@davidsnyder2000]

That’s really cool. I appreciate the great video 👍🙂

[@shjones27]

Good to see you post a video! We all missed you!! ❤

[@chuckthebull]

I was like HEY,,,Wheres Mr Richards,,, Glad to see you back at it..

[@curtisharlan9230]

Good evening David

[@foxholewilly]

Hello Dave, would it'd been advantageous to have mounted the fitting in the lathe and lightly skim the threads to clean them up? Absolutely love your work atmospheres - so vintage and so tidy. Thank you.

[@davidrichards5594]

Good idea, I actually did that but lost the video clip....Dave

[@timothylangley6945]

It's been a while Dave good to see you back, have fun in Florida, can't wait to see you put that engine together.

[@Michael-he7xn]

Outstanding work Dave!

[@KG-yn9qi]

Dave!!!!!! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 nice to see/hear from ya! Thank you!

[@brianstevens2327]

To make it easy for me to return the cross slide I place a dial indicator on the cross slide and zero it out so the carriage can be adjusted repeatedly.

[@davidrichards5594]

Good idea. Only superman could read the tiny dial on the Atlas, I just put a mark on it to return to.....Dave

[@gregfeneis609]

Happy New Year!

[@phooesnax]

Nice seeing you again Dave!

[@tiredoldmechanic1791]

Good to see a video from you. I had been checking over the summer and fall to make sure I hadn't missed any. I suspect it was a hot year for steam power.

[@Hoaxer51]

Nice, clean lathe and shop, it’s looking good down there!

[@wags9777]

I have made many van norman 1/2 5v tooling on my atlas 10. These lathes with modern inserts and proper adjustments can keep just a few tenths tolerance if you take your time and understand the lathe.

[@steveshoemaker6347]

THANKS DAVID....For the fine machining work video....An it very Good to see you are doing okay my friend..... Old F-4 2 Shoe🇺🇸

[@davidrichards5594]

Thanks to you too Steve...Dave

[@ydonl]

Always good to see you with a new vid, Dave! And I've said it before... the more talk, the better, because the best machine in your shop is... your brain! :-)

[@davidrichards5594]

I just hate yackin, and listening to someone else's yacking, and commercials....Dave

[@ydonl]

​@@davidrichards5594 That's because what those folks say isn't so interesting or useful! :-) It all depends on who and what. Don't think of it as yackin, maybe just... thinking out loud. :-)

[@terrybates3386]

Good to see you back at work.

[@victorreppeto7050]

I really love your videos. It is awesome to see you using so many tools that I can make in my home shop. Thank you for finding the motivation to make just one more video. And this one you are using a tool holder that I have never seen to hold a round boring tool in a lamp post. I hope you have a minute to show how this thing works.

[@smaggies]

great work always a thank :)

[@johnlee8231]

Real happy to see making chips. Nice little lathe to have at the auxiliary shop

[@dale436]

Great to see a new video! Love your content!

[@rockytaub7028]

David, Great to see you back again.😀

[@hacc220able]

Excellent work - thanks for sharing

[@nashguy207]

Nice work. Those little Atlas Lathes are a good machine!

[@michaelshingleton1628]

Good to hear from you. Always enjoy the content.

[@richardormrod5758]

nice to see you again must be good to move somewhere warm for the winter time but I am sure you miss your shop up north take care man look forward to seeing you soon

[@TheVespap200e]

Thanks David for another excellent video! 😀👍

[@jamesreed6121]

Very nice job on a small lathe. It seems all it takes is skill, training and a lot of patience. KOKO!

[@clivelee4279]

Your looking well Dave , nice little project there . Wonderful things felt tip pen for Aide-memoire .

[@motooilermotooiler9597]

Glad to see You back. Best regards from Poland ❤

[@mickestahl6178]

Just love to see the work that you do and I more and more wish that I had a lathe and an mill here in my home. I have some equipment but not those bigger machines unfortunately. I have 3 phase power 400V 35 A so I could run quite big machines 🙂

[@0102starcar]

Looking good Sir. I so thoroughly enjoy your videos. Thank you.

[@vicscott7872]

Good to see you back David, Best Wishes from Scotland👍

[@davidrichards5594]

Hi Vic, nice to hear from Scotland.....Dave

[@mattthescrapwhisperer]

I'm on the hunt for an Atlas lathe. Perfect size for my shop. Great video Dave!

[@captainhgreen]

Nice to see you at work; I genuinely enjoy your projects. Welcome back.

[@robinmartin4464]

Good to see you making chips!

[@warrenjones744]

Hi Dave glad to see you again and nice nut! A lot of stuff has been built on the Atlas lathe over the years. Not much of a lathe if you're used to doing heavy work (I do heavy repair work) and you are certainly not going to set the world on fire with one, however when used in their intended capacity they are not horrible and way better than a cheap import Mini lathe by 100 miles or no lathe at all. God only knows how many repairs have been made or models and small tools etc... have been built with them by patient and careful home shop machinists. Our neighbor down the street from my boyhood home build at least two beautiful running steam locomotives using his Atlas lathe and a small horizontal mill of unknown make in the 60's and 70's. Cheers

[@davidrichards5594]

All true, but I think a 9" South Bend of comparable condition would be a better machine.....Dave

[@warrenjones744]

@@davidrichards5594 Absolutely or an 11 inch Sheldon. Like I said better than no lathe at all.

[@smolville]

Certain top-secret WWII projects take a while to come out. Like about 80 yrs ago the govt. wanted a local machine shop owner to come to the big city and work for them. He wanted to stay in his own steam powered shop so the military stationed guards around his shop and cots for them. Years later we find out that he was building three triggering mechanisms for three A-bombs in a small town in Kansas.

[@smolville]

My dad never liked to admit that he once worked in a line shaft machine shop because the guys would think that he was old. The shop owner during WWII spent his retirement running a little steam train in the park for the children.

[@mr.picklesworth]

I wish my atlas lathe was in that good of shape. I love the thing but sadly it has seen better days.