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wood turners help

2K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  mwm5053 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I'm new to turning and I'm looking for suppliers of parts and accessories
for a vintage craftsman lathe mostly aftermarket (none available from Sears) some on Ebay.
Is there a place that specializes in such. drive centers, chucks, motors?
Found a manual online it says it uses a spur center and a cup center not sure how the later works
Thanks, Walt
 
#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
Walt, the items you mention drive chucks and centers are pretty much standardized. The chucks are based on the size of the headstock spindle and are typically either 3/4" or 1" or 1 1/8" you can figure what is has with a micrometer…or if you have a thread detective or such - I would hazard a guess at 1".

The drive centers are typically either MT#1 or MT#2. Most likely MT#2….but you can check the size with a caliper or mic for inside diameter.

Typically you will need to have a live center and a "dead" center…or more precisely…one that turns and one that does not….the tailstock center is usually a turning center….as the headstock turns the wood….the headstock center does not turn…you want it to turn the wood…not itself.

As for specific parts for the lathe itself (proprietary - craftsman) you might try one of the Eparts or online parts dealers for aftermarket parts (usually older machines parts are discontinued over time by the mfg). Or you can try some of the craftsman service centers and see where they might obtain the parts….another source of course would be someone here that has the same lathe…or a user group/local turning club. Most of the stuff can be used from other lathes….etc….a lathe is a simple tool and most of the parts are standard amongst other mfgs.
 
#3 ·
Chuck,

I acquired an older craftsman lathe as part of a lot of older tools purchased off of craigslist. I was interested in turning some pens, but found that the older craftsman pipe bed lathes use a male threaded head stock that a female spur drive screws unto. This ment that I needed to buy a jacobs chuck with the correct size and threaded female end to screw on to hold an MT 1 or MT 2 mandrel for the pen.

As it turned out, no pun intended, santa shoved the Harbor Freight 5 speed bench lathe (the Jet clone) into my stocking. Now, the craftsman lathe is just sitting around in the attic storage of my garage shop. I would take the spur drive from the head stock to your local rockler or other woodworking store and see what they can come up this. Write down what they tell you with all the specks and their prices, then check Penn State Industries website and compare prices.

Good luck
 
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