So I bought a lathe

[Crawling Calvin]

Originally Posted by scoutdawg

I didn't want to but I am having to raise the tensioning/pulley stand. The lathe was raised up so the controls wouldn't hit the pan it sits in. Well they didn't ever raise anything else which makes the belt hit when you try to move it and increase the speed. I am also having an issue with the trying to use the back gears to slow it down. When I pull the pin on the bull gear the bull gear still is engaged to the pulley instead of freeing it up and letting the back gears engage. So I noticed there is a set screw that is in the bull gear that tightens to the spindle. Should I loosen that up to free it up? Thanks for all the help Calvin

That set screw is for lubricating the bushings inside the pulley (or bearings. I am going to assume it is bushings. Same idea they like a little oil occasionally!) it doesn't bear down on the spindle assembly.

That "locking pin" in the front of the gear is what engages/disengages the gear from the pulley. Your pin maybe a little stuck. Find the set screw on the bull gear (don't loose it!) and put a drop or 2 of light oil (3-1 works good) into the hole and gently pull the pin in and out a few times. Sometimes grease or oil gets gummy in there and causes it to bind up. If your really stuck use some needle nose pliers to *VERY GENTLY* wiggle it loose!

I know from mine I fiddled with the locking pin some to get it to work... pain in the butt till I figured out it just was in need of some oil!

If i can ill take a few pictures of what im talking about tomorrow. I did my bushings swap but it didn't make for good TV so ill just do more of a general video on the lathe I think. It is a durable machine in the right hands it just needs a skilled person behind it to make stuff happen

[scoutdawg]

I went out today and tried everything and still the bull gear will not turn freely. I can go in and pull the pin in the face of it and it slides out nicely, the gear still does not turn freely. I tried to pull the pin as well as completly remove the set screw. Which also did not let the bull gear turn freely but it did let the bull gear slide away from the pulley like it was on a keyway or something but still with the pin out and the set screw out that is at the base of the center of the bull gear still no free spinning. I am stumped. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Crawling Calvin]

Originally Posted by scoutdawg

I went out today and tried everything and still the bull gear will not turn freely. I can go in and pull the pin in the face of it and it slides out nicely, the gear still does not turn freely. I tried to pull the pin as well as completly remove the set screw. Which also did not let the bull gear turn freely but it did let the bull gear slide away from the pulley like it was on a keyway or something but still with the pin out and the set screw out that is at the base of the center of the bull gear still no free spinning. I am stumped. Any help is greatly appreciated.

The bull gear is held in place by a woodruf key so it won't spin. The PULLEY behind it is what spins .

When you go into low gear the pulley "freewheels" on the shaft (it has the bushings for that reason built in.) The bull gear is what always drives the shaft. When I get to work ill put together a quick video on how to use the gears on it for you

[BigSki]

I've looked at a few webz pages about this very topic, do a search for 'Craftsman 101 or 109 lathe', you will finds lots of relevant info about these small lathes. There's a great page that shows step by step how to take apart the entire gear cluster to replace bushings and/or bearings. This is what I've been using for reference material as I do work on the Craftsman 101 in my MeetUp group's work shop.

[scoutdawg]

hallelujah I finally figured it out, I appreciate all the help guys. So I googled around to a forum about hobby machining and they had a section about the Atlas lathes and just so happened a guy had the exact same issue. Turns out that there is an oiling hole in the pulley itself that is threaded and came with a very short grub screw that just sat in the top as a cover for the oil hole. Well alot of people in the past would put a longer set screw or just turn the original tighter and it locks the pulley down onto the spindle which in turn locks the unit into direct drive. Thats exactly what was wrong with mine. I pulled that screw out, put a little oil in for good measure and its working perfectly now. As well as raising up my tensioner stand I am pretty stoked about where I have taken this thing and learning more. Again guys I really appreciate all the help. Now I need some good indexing cutters and I really need a decent digital mic and would like a nice small slide square for setting things up in the chuck.