I am kind of guessing on this, but here is how I believe the backlash works.
The backlash is controlled and adjusted only on the left end on the table where the M1-116B Thrust Plate is located. The backlash is set by the parts 932-004 washer, M1-19A bushing, S8-89 washer and S7-166 nut. As you tighten the S7-166 Nut (actually a bushing and nut combined) it "pinches the thrust plate M1-116B between the two washers and bushing M1-91A creating the amount of backlash you desire. Once set, the 10D-262 nut acts as a "locknut" to keep the S7-166 nut from changing as the leadscrew turns. The crank handle is between the locknut and the S7-166 adjusting nut but doesn't affect the binding effect of the locknut. 
The bushing, plate and crank handle on the right side of the table are basically there just to keep the shaft in alignment and the convenience of having a handle on both ends of the table. Think of the backlash setup of a Lathe cross-slide, the backlash is set from only the front end, not by "binding" the cross-slide between the front and back end.
So as long as you've got the one good thrust plate M1-116B (or M1-116A ??) for the left end of the table and the washers & bushings listed above, you should be able to set backlash. The homemade plate could be used on the right end of the table, as all it needs to do is keep the leadscrew in alignment.
If necessary I could pull my right hand handle off and test my theory if necessary I guess.
Also, the M1-116B plate with the threaded boss below the leadscrew hole serves a very important purpose on my mill.  That boss has a headless set screw about 3/4" long (?) with a jam nut on the outside. the screw projects about 3/8" to 1/2" on the inside, and disengages the power feed when the table reaches the end of it's to the right. It will disengage the power feed before the table jams at the end of it's travel and breaks power feed parts.
Hope this helps.
If necessary I could disassemble my mill and and measure parts for you if you need measurements for parts 932-004 washer, M1-19A bushing, S8-89 washer and S7-166 nut.

Mike,
I don’t know that much about these mills. Mine is a Craftsman, so dates to somewhere in the 1950’s. It would be an MFC if badged as an Atlas. I’ll try to attach a photo of the feed kick out button. 

I did find time to completely loosen the right hand knob on the table today, and it did not affect backlash at all so the adjustment as I earlier explained seems correct. Mine has almost 1/3 turn of backlash, but that’s between the lead screw and the nut. 

Well that makes sense. I was thinking the thrust plate in your pic was on the other end, which was why I couldn't understand how it could disengage the power feed. Since I only have one original plate now, I am half tempted to use it on the other end and make a new one with the extra boss to avoid the risk of damaging the power feed parts that would be hard to replace. I may end up redesigning this setup to use roller thrust bearings to remove as much backlash as possible since returning it to original would require scrounging parts. If its not going to be original, why not improve it?

Mike,
I don’t know that much about these mills. Mine is a Craftsman, so dates to somewhere in the 1950’s. It would be an MFC if badged as an Atlas. I’ll try to attach a photo of the feed kick out button. 

I did find time to completely loosen the right hand knob on the table today, and it did not affect backlash at all so the adjustment as I earlier explained seems correct. Mine has almost 1/3 turn of backlash, but that’s between the lead screw and the nut. 

Personally, I think it looks great, and I'd LOVE to have a surface grinder. Even if it left zebra stripes! ;)

If you get tired of that, you could always bead blast it or something similar. And if you don't, you don't!

Bill in OKC

William R. Meyers, MSgt, USAF(Ret.)


A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders,
give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new
problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight
efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
LAZARUS LONG (Robert A. Heinlein)

On Saturday, July 24, 2021, 08:38:16 PM CDT, Mike Poore <mpoore10@...> wrote:

Thanks for the input everyone. I decided make my own MF compatible version of M1-116B, which normally requires a slightly longer screw (or extension). Since I am making it out of steel rather than zamak, my version is 1/4" thick allowing the original screw to be used as is. I still need to scribe a line for the dial and install the bushing. Clausing does not have the bushings, but they are easily recreated with cut down local hardware store bushings. If you make one for yourself, make sure you ream the bushing hole to get a press fit. The addition of this part will prevent the MF version from crashing in auto feed mode as Ray explained and was apparently used on later models.

For the haters out there, I know the finish has zebra stripes. That has to do with my surface grinder and I like the look, so you will not hurt my feelings pointing it out.

Thanks, Bill. My "surface grinder" is actually an old Taiwanese bench top tool and cutter grinder that I reconfigured for surface grinding. It isn't beefy enough, so it leaves a pattern. I could probably do better, but it grinds to within 5 tenths as is with the pattern. Mirror finishes can be obtained with a few passes over SiC sandpaper on an old surface plate. The bottom line is it fits in my garage and exceeds 99% of my tolerances.

On 7/24/2021 9:57 PM, Bill in OKC too via groups.io wrote:

Personally, I think it looks great, and I'd LOVE to have a surface grinder. Even if it left zebra stripes! ;)

If you get tired of that, you could always bead blast it or something similar. And if you don't, you don't!

Bill in OKC

William R. Meyers, MSgt, USAF(Ret.)


A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders,
give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new
problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight
efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
LAZARUS LONG (Robert A. Heinlein)

On Saturday, July 24, 2021, 08:38:16 PM CDT, Mike Poore <mpoore10@...> wrote:

Thanks for the input everyone. I decided make my own MF compatible version of M1-116B, which normally requires a slightly longer screw (or extension). Since I am making it out of steel rather than zamak, my version is 1/4" thick allowing the original screw to be used as is. I still need to scribe a line for the dial and install the bushing. Clausing does not have the bushings, but they are easily recreated with cut down local hardware store bushings. If you make one for yourself, make sure you ream the bushing hole to get a press fit. The addition of this part will prevent the MF version from crashing in auto feed mode as Ray explained and was apparently used on later models.

For the haters out there, I know the finish has zebra stripes. That has to do with my surface grinder and I like the look, so you will not hurt my feelings pointing it out.

If you ever find yourself too bored, and can't  find anything else to do, I'd be interested in seeing photos of your grinder. One of many projects I plan on doing is a Bonelle tool & cutter, which is a Quorn variant made from bar stock instead of castings. Seeing how your t&c ginder was adapted to surface grinding might give me some more ideas.

I'm  having trouble fitting in all the machines I already have, and getting multiple uses out of a machine would be nice. 

Bill in OKC 

William R. Meyers, MSgt, USAF(Ret.)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders,
give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new
problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight
efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
LAZARUS LONG (Robert A. Heinlein)

On Saturday, July 24, 2021, 09:24:28 PM CDT, Mike Poore <mpoore10@...> wrote:

Thanks, Bill. My "surface grinder" is actually an old Taiwanese bench top tool and cutter grinder that I reconfigured for surface grinding. It isn't beefy enough, so it leaves a pattern. I could probably do better, but it grinds to within 5 tenths as is with the pattern. Mirror finishes can be obtained with a few passes over SiC sandpaper on an old surface plate. The bottom line is it fits in my garage and exceeds 99% of my tolerances.

On 7/24/2021 9:57 PM, Bill in OKC too via groups.io wrote:

Personally, I think it looks great, and I'd LOVE to have a surface grinder. Even if it left zebra stripes! ;)

If you get tired of that, you could always bead blast it or something similar. And if you don't, you don't!

Bill in OKC

William R. Meyers, MSgt, USAF(Ret.)


A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders,
give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new
problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight
efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
LAZARUS LONG (Robert A. Heinlein)

On Saturday, July 24, 2021, 08:38:16 PM CDT, Mike Poore <mpoore10@...> wrote:

Thanks for the input everyone. I decided make my own MF compatible version of M1-116B, which normally requires a slightly longer screw (or extension). Since I am making it out of steel rather than zamak, my version is 1/4" thick allowing the original screw to be used as is. I still need to scribe a line for the dial and install the bushing. Clausing does not have the bushings, but they are easily recreated with cut down local hardware store bushings. If you make one for yourself, make sure you ream the bushing hole to get a press fit. The addition of this part will prevent the MF version from crashing in auto feed mode as Ray explained and was apparently used on later models.

For the haters out there, I know the finish has zebra stripes. That has to do with my surface grinder and I like the look, so you will not hurt my feelings pointing it out.

If you ever find yourself too bored, and can't  find anything else to do, I'd be interested in seeing photos of your grinder. One of many projects I plan on doing is a Bonelle tool & cutter, which is a Quorn variant made from bar stock instead of castings. Seeing how your t&c ginder was adapted to surface grinding might give me some more ideas.

I'm  having trouble fitting in all the machines I already have, and getting multiple uses out of a machine would be nice. 

Bill in OKC 

William R. Meyers, MSgt, USAF(Ret.)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders,
give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new
problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight
efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
LAZARUS LONG (Robert A. Heinlein)

On Saturday, July 24, 2021, 09:24:28 PM CDT, Mike Poore <mpoore10@...> wrote:

Thanks, Bill. My "surface grinder" is actually an old Taiwanese bench top tool and cutter grinder that I reconfigured for surface grinding. It isn't beefy enough, so it leaves a pattern. I could probably do better, but it grinds to within 5 tenths as is with the pattern. Mirror finishes can be obtained with a few passes over SiC sandpaper on an old surface plate. The bottom line is it fits in my garage and exceeds 99% of my tolerances.

On 7/24/2021 9:57 PM, Bill in OKC too via groups.io wrote:

Personally, I think it looks great, and I'd LOVE to have a surface grinder. Even if it left zebra stripes! ;)

If you get tired of that, you could always bead blast it or something similar. And if you don't, you don't!

Bill in OKC

William R. Meyers, MSgt, USAF(Ret.)


A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders,
give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new
problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight
efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
LAZARUS LONG (Robert A. Heinlein)

On Saturday, July 24, 2021, 08:38:16 PM CDT, Mike Poore <mpoore10@...> wrote:

Thanks for the input everyone. I decided make my own MF compatible version of M1-116B, which normally requires a slightly longer screw (or extension). Since I am making it out of steel rather than zamak, my version is 1/4" thick allowing the original screw to be used as is. I still need to scribe a line for the dial and install the bushing. Clausing does not have the bushings, but they are easily recreated with cut down local hardware store bushings. If you make one for yourself, make sure you ream the bushing hole to get a press fit. The addition of this part will prevent the MF version from crashing in auto feed mode as Ray explained and was apparently used on later models.

For the haters out there, I know the finish has zebra stripes. That has to do with my surface grinder and I like the look, so you will not hurt my feelings pointing it out.

My recently purchased MF mill had excessive X play that I discovered was due to a strange combination of a homemade thrust plate and cobbled bushings. It does not seem possible for what I have to ever work properly, so I am going to try to get it back to as close to stock as possible.

The Atlas thrust plate I have is a M1-116A with a bushing installed. The homemade plate has a 1/2" hole with no bushing and is 1/4" thick. The parts list that I found shows M1-116B and M1-116C thrust plates, but suspect the parts list is for a later mill. The M1-116B has a 5/16" threaded boss below and to the right of the lead screw hole. I do not see a use for that on my mill, so I am questioning if the M1-116B is the right part for my mill.

One of my issues is figuring out what exactly are the thrust surfaces to manage backlash. Is it the inside of the thrust plates, outside of the thrust plates, or a combination? I am guessing the screw does not ride against the bushing for backlash control, which would mean that the nuts on the screw are tightened from each end and the thrust surfaces are on the outside of the thrust plates. Can anyone confirm the proper setup of the X screw?

I emailed Clausing for availability of the bushings or drawings. Either way I have a feeling I will have to do a little finessing with the homemade plate or end up making a new one.

Mike, et al,

 

First, many\of the drawings for parts on the Atlas built lathes, shapers  and mills are in Files as PDF’s and available for download.  If I forgot to upload some of them, let me know. 

 

The original three mill models made by Atlas were the M1(that is a numeral one, not a capital “eye”), MF and MH.  The MH does not have a cross feed screw so the following does not apply.  The M1, M1A, MF and MFA used one M1-116 and one M1-116A and the appropriate bushings M1-90 and M1-91.   (Why they did not call M1-116A instead  M1-117 I do not know, but they didn’t).  The M1B, M1C, MFB and MFC used one M1-116B and one M1-116C.  Or the M1B and M1C could use two M1-116C’s.

 

What was found installed in your mill I don’t actually know but that’s what should have been there.  In the Group’s Files section on the Groups,io web site, see MMB-5 Revision 9 (or current revision) for the Owner’s and Parts Manual for parts lists of all Mill models.  Note that the parts section is mostly in reverse order, starting with M1C, MFC and MHC plus the parts of the B models that are the same as the C, all as an exploded view or illustrated type parts list.  Then the A models followed by the base models as section view drawings plus mostly Alpha-numerical parts lists and ending with an exploded view page of what was different in the B models from the C models..  The front half of the manual contains the operating instructions, including lubrication instructions.

 

In Files you will also find similar manuals on all of the Atlas built  lathes (except nothing but the spindle drawing on the 101.07300) and shapers.  We don’t have nearly as much information on the shapers.  There is also a short section on the AA lathes and some other Atlas-built machines that we have accumulated over the last two decades.

 

Robert Downs

Co-Owner

 

From: atlas-craftsman@groups.io [mailto:atlas-craftsman@groups.io] On Behalf Of Mike Poore
Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2021 21:07
To: atlas-craftsman@groups.io
Subject: [atlas-craftsman IO] Atlas HM X Screw Bushings

 

My recently purchased MF mill had excessive X play that I discovered was due to a strange combination of a homemade thrust plate and cobbled bushings. It does not seem possible for what I have to ever work properly, so I am going to try to get it back to as close to stock as possible.

The Atlas thrust plate I have is a M1-116A with a bushing installed. The homemade plate has a 1/2" hole with no bushing and is 1/4" thick. The parts list that I found shows M1-116B and M1-116C thrust plates, but suspect the parts list is for a later mill. The M1-116B has a 5/16" threaded boss below and to the right of the lead screw hole. I do not see a use for that on my mill, so I am questioning if the M1-116B is the right part for my mill.

One of my issues is figuring out what exactly are the thrust surfaces to manage backlash. Is it the inside of the thrust plates, outside of the thrust plates, or a combination? I am guessing the screw does not ride against the bushing for backlash control, which would mean that the nuts on the screw are tightened from each end and the thrust surfaces are on the outside of the thrust plates. Can anyone confirm the proper setup of the X screw?

I emailed Clausing for availability of the bushings or drawings. Either way I have a feeling I will have to do a little finessing with the homemade plate or end up making a new one.

Here is a pic from the manual to illustrate the original configuration. I will post the changes I made tomorrow. You might be able to guess from this pic. No changes are permanent, but it would take a while to revert to original. I save all of my dull cutting tools, so maybe one day I will put it back and sharpen everything at once.

On 7/24/2021 11:07 PM, Bill in OKC too via groups.io wrote:

If you ever find yourself too bored, and can't  find anything else to do, I'd be interested in seeing photos of your grinder. One of many projects I plan on doing is a Bonelle tool & cutter, which is a Quorn variant made from bar stock instead of castings. Seeing how your t&c ginder was adapted to surface grinding might give me some more ideas.

I'm  having trouble fitting in all the machines I already have, and getting multiple uses out of a machine would be nice. 

Bill in OKC 

William R. Meyers, MSgt, USAF(Ret.)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders,
give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new
problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight
efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
LAZARUS LONG (Robert A. Heinlein)

On Saturday, July 24, 2021, 09:24:28 PM CDT, Mike Poore <mpoore10@...> wrote:

Thanks, Bill. My "surface grinder" is actually an old Taiwanese bench top tool and cutter grinder that I reconfigured for surface grinding. It isn't beefy enough, so it leaves a pattern. I could probably do better, but it grinds to within 5 tenths as is with the pattern. Mirror finishes can be obtained with a few passes over SiC sandpaper on an old surface plate. The bottom line is it fits in my garage and exceeds 99% of my tolerances.

On 7/24/2021 9:57 PM, Bill in OKC too via groups.io wrote:

Personally, I think it looks great, and I'd LOVE to have a surface grinder. Even if it left zebra stripes! ;)

If you get tired of that, you could always bead blast it or something similar. And if you don't, you don't!

Bill in OKC

William R. Meyers, MSgt, USAF(Ret.)


A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders,
give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new
problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight
efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
LAZARUS LONG (Robert A. Heinlein)

On Saturday, July 24, 2021, 08:38:16 PM CDT, Mike Poore <mpoore10@...> wrote:

Thanks for the input everyone. I decided make my own MF compatible version of M1-116B, which normally requires a slightly longer screw (or extension). Since I am making it out of steel rather than zamak, my version is 1/4" thick allowing the original screw to be used as is. I still need to scribe a line for the dial and install the bushing. Clausing does not have the bushings, but they are easily recreated with cut down local hardware store bushings. If you make one for yourself, make sure you ream the bushing hole to get a press fit. The addition of this part will prevent the MF version from crashing in auto feed mode as Ray explained and was apparently used on later models.

For the haters out there, I know the finish has zebra stripes. That has to do with my surface grinder and I like the look, so you will not hurt my feelings pointing it out.

Here is a pic from the manual to illustrate the original configuration. I will post the changes I made tomorrow. You might be able to guess from this pic. No changes are permanent, but it would take a while to revert to original. I save all of my dull cutting tools, so maybe one day I will put it back and sharpen everything at once.

On 7/24/2021 11:07 PM, Bill in OKC too via groups.io wrote:

If you ever find yourself too bored, and can't  find anything else to do, I'd be interested in seeing photos of your grinder. One of many projects I plan on doing is a Bonelle tool & cutter, which is a Quorn variant made from bar stock instead of castings. Seeing how your t&c ginder was adapted to surface grinding might give me some more ideas.

I'm  having trouble fitting in all the machines I already have, and getting multiple uses out of a machine would be nice. 

Bill in OKC 

William R. Meyers, MSgt, USAF(Ret.)

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders,
give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new
problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight
efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
LAZARUS LONG (Robert A. Heinlein)

On Saturday, July 24, 2021, 09:24:28 PM CDT, Mike Poore <mpoore10@...> wrote:

Thanks, Bill. My "surface grinder" is actually an old Taiwanese bench top tool and cutter grinder that I reconfigured for surface grinding. It isn't beefy enough, so it leaves a pattern. I could probably do better, but it grinds to within 5 tenths as is with the pattern. Mirror finishes can be obtained with a few passes over SiC sandpaper on an old surface plate. The bottom line is it fits in my garage and exceeds 99% of my tolerances.

On 7/24/2021 9:57 PM, Bill in OKC too via groups.io wrote:

Personally, I think it looks great, and I'd LOVE to have a surface grinder. Even if it left zebra stripes! ;)

If you get tired of that, you could always bead blast it or something similar. And if you don't, you don't!

Bill in OKC

William R. Meyers, MSgt, USAF(Ret.)


A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders,
give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new
problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight
efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
LAZARUS LONG (Robert A. Heinlein)

On Saturday, July 24, 2021, 08:38:16 PM CDT, Mike Poore <mpoore10@...> wrote:

Thanks for the input everyone. I decided make my own MF compatible version of M1-116B, which normally requires a slightly longer screw (or extension). Since I am making it out of steel rather than zamak, my version is 1/4" thick allowing the original screw to be used as is. I still need to scribe a line for the dial and install the bushing. Clausing does not have the bushings, but they are easily recreated with cut down local hardware store bushings. If you make one for yourself, make sure you ream the bushing hole to get a press fit. The addition of this part will prevent the MF version from crashing in auto feed mode as Ray explained and was apparently used on later models.

For the haters out there, I know the finish has zebra stripes. That has to do with my surface grinder and I like the look, so you will not hurt my feelings pointing it out.