Atlas 618 Pages
(project links at the bottom)

This page will have some projects for the 6" Atlas lathe.  There are only a few to start
with, but I have quite a few other pages in the works.  They'll be put up when I have time.
I spend most of my time in the shop, and doing all these Taig, Atlas, and Craftsman lathe
pages is just an aside to machine work.  If someone likes them, or gets some useful info
out of them, well, good enough.

The Atlas 618 seems to be often confused with another lathe.  Maybe that should say,
another lathe is often confused with the Atlas.  Many people think that their Craftsman 109
series lathe was made by Atlas.  They were not.  Atlas made their own lathes, and they
were all capable machines in every respect.  Sears contracted with them to make lathes
for the Craftsman brand, same as they did with other tool makers, but Atlas supplied the
same basic lathe for rebranding as they put their own name on. 
If you have a Craftsman lathe, look for the model plate on the bed.  It will be on one end,
or on the back side of the bed casting.  If the prefix starts with 101.xxxx, it is an Atlas.
If prefix starts with 109.xxxx, it was not made by Atlas, but rather the Ann Arbor Co., also
called the AA Co., or Double A. 

There are web pages elsewhere on this web site that deal with the Craftsman AA 109
series of metal lathes.  If that is what you're looking for, go to the bottom of this page
and click on the Taig link.

The 6" Atlas has a very robust headstock and bed for it's size, with a one inch diameter
spindle having a 17/32" through bore.   It has a #2 Morse Taper in the headstock spindle,
and a #1MT in the tailstock.  They were equipped with a standard American type carriage
with a rack and pinion drive for regular carriage movements and a leadscrew and halfnut
for threading chores.  It will cut most common threads, and the lowest spindle is a very
handy 55 rpm, which makes thread cutting easy.




This is the Atlas 6x18" lathe I use.  It's an older model with a 1"-8 spindle nose and plain bronze sleeve
bearings.  Newer models have a 1"-10 spindle nose threads, and roller bearings.  The headstock castings
varied slightly, but other than the spindle threads and bearing types, they all look very similar.  There is
a MK II production that looked completely different with a square headstock and more angular castings.

The web site http://www.lathes.co.uk/atlas6inch/ has quite a section on these lathes, and is worth checking out.


The following thumbs open to some project pages.

Making an ER Collet Closer Chuck For the Atlas 618 Removing the back gear on your 6" Atlas For cleaning and general maintenance. A dial indicator mount for the lathe bed. For keeping track of your Atlas carriage. A spindle adapter for the Atlas 618 For different chuck mounting, collet chucks, and like that.

Removing the spindle on your 6" Atlas. For replacing belt, thrust bearing service, bull gear bushings, or replacing the main spindle bearings. A spindle crank. For slow speed thread cutting.  Great for cutting metric threads on your Atlas. Cutting a new Tumbler Gear for the Atlas

More Taig Lathe & Mill Projects


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