Vintage 1955-59 Craftsman Metal Lathe

[Chillylulu]

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

Chilly

[rustyfordgarage]

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

[Yadda]

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

[Bill Houghton]

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.

[Uncle Buck]

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!

[JoeCB]

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