The lathe's original owner bought it without knowing that it fit a later model of the lathe. This one doesn't fit my lathe, unfortunately. Refer to the "page 2" link - you can find part 9-11 at the bottom. Here's a link to a document for my lathe. When part 9-11 breaks, and it will, parts fall out the bottom of the apron and your carriage gets all sad. When you turn the handwheel, the carriage should move up and down the lathe bed. And that is part 9-11, a housing that holds secure the pinion that connects the handwheel on the apron to rack. There is one part, however, where the use of Zamak was downright egregious. If a handle breaks after 70 years of use, well, you have a lathe, make another.
For example, when I bought my lathe the cross slide handwheel had been replaced with a water spigot knob.īut really, for the most part, the Zamak is ok. It's common to see Craftsman lathes will all manner of innovative replacements for broken Zamak parts.
Now the main assumption of Zamak - that replacement parts would be readily available and inexpensive - has become invalid. When Atlas stopped making these lathes, inexpensive Zamak replacement parts largely disappeared too. The Zamak parts broke much easier than their iron counterparts. Many common parts do very well when made of Zamac. It's stable, easy to cast, and plates well. Zamak, being an amalgam of zinc, aluminum, manganese, and copper is a reasonably durable alloy. The idea was that die casting these parts from Zamak would save money and machining time. One of the innovations employed in manufacture of this lathe was the use of a material called Zamak for many of the secondary parts such as change gears and handles. This lathe was manufactured to meet a price point, not to be a professional quality lathe. The Atlas/Craftsman 12" metal lathe is a decent lathe for what it is - an entry level machine for the home shop hobbyist.
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