This little beauty followed me home, right in the little bed of my truck.

Chilly

Looks like a nice little lathe. They are hard to find for a reasonable price around here.

Looks well kept with all the manuals and extra parts. Very nice!

Sweet little critter!  Do you know who made it?  As you probably know, the model number will tell you, see http://www.vintagemachinery.org/Craftsman/manufacturers.aspx?sort=1.

That is a AA made lathe. The weak point on that lathe is the spindle. Many of those machines end up with a bent spindle so I would offer caution against bending the spindle. When the spindle bends it bends right behind the chuck where the chuck threads to the spindle.

Enjoy your new to you machine!

Nice little lathe. That black operations manual (by Atlas Lathe Co. ) is the best all around reference for all phases of lathe work.  I always recommend that book to someone starting out in lathe work. Better that the classic South bend "How to run a lathe" booklet...imho

Joe B