Bob Cleek

IMHO the most simple solution is to use a small round head brass nail and cut it to the desired length. If needed you can file the head diameter down to a smaller diameter. You can also file the head flat if desired. 
 

Checked the build logs, and a couple reported a similar problem, but no one mentioned any type of solution or recommendation.  I'm surprised there aren't more articles on some of the basic metal fabrication processes.  For the tiller arm, it would be easy to just cut the wire flush and glue it in on both sides.  But the extension handle must rotate, so that's not an option.  

eBay? You have a lot of less discerning builders out there. They would buy it up at half the price of the good stuff. I would if I didn’t have boxes full my self.  👍

The most radical solution would be to stop buying kits 😉
 
Otherwise, it might be possible to turn the 'threads' supplied by kit manufacturers into 'rope' using a (home-made) ropewalk ...

So much sanding… the daggerboard, rudder, thwarts and stern sheets. I’m finally ready to paint. Everything seems to fit neatly. I’m planning to stain the rub rails before attaching, and also the thwarts, and maybe the rudder and dagger board.

Being that a machinist's lathe is about the most versatile machine there is, there's a tremendous amount that can be learned about operating one. As a self-teaching lathe operator who has only scratched the surface of what can be known, the best advice anyone ever gave me about leaning to run my 12" Atlas-Craftsman lathe was to get a copy of The Manual of Lathe Operation & Machinists Tables published by the Atlas Press Co., maker of the Atlas-Craftsman lathes. It is not only specific to the Atlas-Craftsman lathes, but to all machinist's lathes in general and has all the information one could need. Fortunately, the 23rd Edition (which I think was the last) published in 1967 is available as a free PDF download from VintageMachinery.org. See: Atlas Press Co. - Publication Reprints - Manual of Lathe Operation & Machinists Tables (MOLO) 23rd Edition | VintageMachinery.org  Just below the lower left hand corner of th picture of the front of the book ("Publication Preview") is a link: "View PDF" in blue printing. Click on that and the whole book should come up on your screen. It may take a few seconds because it's a long 273 page download. Scroll down to read it. 
 
There are also some excellent U.S. military training manuals which are available as free PDF's you can google up. I found those very helpful because the military does an excellent job of teaching the average idiot like me who knows nothing about a subject how to do highly technical things. 

Yes he is. An SL or DB (same thing, different model numbers.)

In the United States, you have a 12" lathe. Hereabouts, lathes are described in terms of their "swing." "Swing" is the largest diameter that the lathe will hold and turn. It's not an exact measurement, but rather is usually rounded off to the nearest inch. On the other hand, if you were in the UK or Europe, lathes there are described in terms of their "centre height," this being the measurement between the ways and the center of the spindle or "half the swing." Your lathe is a 6" lathe on the other side of the Pond and a 12" lathe in the U.S. 
 
The babitt bearings on the Atlas 12" lathes have shims in place which are intended to be removed over time to compensate for bearing wear. Your lathe probably doesn't have enough "miles" on it to need the babbit bearings re-poured. There are Atlas 12" instruction manuals all over the internet that you should check out, including the manuals for the older machines. See: https://www.hobby-machinist.com/  They have an active forum section on the Atlas/Craftsman lathes and seem very helpful and welcoming to novice owners of these lathes. They also have an extensive library of manuals and parts diagrams in PDF format. (I believe you have to register to download them.) 
 
The Tubal Cain / Mr.Pete222 YouTube video I posted above in post #21 shows how to engage the back gear on the Atlas 12". Watch the video. The procedure is not particularly intuitive. Pay attention to all the cautions about setting pins in the headstock gearing and how easy it is to break them if you aren't careful which he mentions in that video as well. It bears mentioning that machinists' lathes are one of the most dangerous stationary power tools of all and should not be approached by anyone who has not at least thoroughly read the operator's manual for the particular lathe they are dealing with and familiarized themselves with its operation. We all have "oops moments" now and again. The problem with a machinists' lathe of any size is that just about any "oops moment" can risk the total destruction of the lathe or its operator!
 
There are all sorts of copies of the manuals and parts lists for the Atlas Craftsman lathes.  http://vintagemachinery.org is a valuable resource. They have an extensive collection of manuals in PDF format and, as far as I know, they are accessible for downloading and printing without cost. (Many of the internet manual services charge for manual downloads.) Here's the link to download the 1937 edition of the classic Atlas Manual of Lathe Operation. (A "bible" of the trade often referred to by its initials as "MOLO.") This book tells you how to operate and maintain your Atlas/Craftsman lathe. Please read it and consult it before you have another "oops moment!"  http://www.vintagemachinery.org/pubs/51/18169.pdf   Groups.io also has a specific Atlas/Craftsman lathe group that is worth checking out: https://groups.io/g/atlas-craftsman
 
As mentioned, it is a 12" lathe here in the U.S. Atlas also made a small 6" lathe which is a different machine. It appears that you looked up the Morse taper sizes for an Atlas 6" lathe. The 12" inch lathe takes a #3 MT in the headstock and (I presume) a #2 in the tail stock. Watch the Tubal Cain video I posted above. He goes over the 12" headstock in detail. 
 
Staying clear of the chuck is a good thing!   A smaller chuck provides more room to work closer to the chuck. That said, a smaller chuck is no substitute for being careful. If you are turning wood, you don't need a chuck at all. Simply using a drive spur and live center on a suitably sized MT post and you're good to go. Wood turning is done at relatively high speeds, and you are in contact with the workpiece through the cutting tool held in your hand. Far better to avoid a chuck in any event. Moreover, a proper wood lathe chuck is a different animal from a metal lathe chuck. The wood lathe chuck generally doesn't have protruding jaws like the metal lathe chucks do so there is much less risk of contact with spinning jaws. Certainly, you can use a metal lathe chuck for turning, but it's another example of not using the right tool for the job posing certain increased risks. 
 
Wood turning chuck:


 
Spur drives and live center for wood turning:

 
Using a machinist's lathe to turn wood can be done, but if you are going to do a lot of it, I would suggest you consider getting a dedicated wood turning lathe and leave your Atlas 12" for metal and plastics work.  If one takes a pass on all the questionably necessary electronic bells and whistles, a wood turning lathe need not be expensive to acquire and there is much less need for tooling and accessories for a wood turning lathe, as well.  A little Grizzly 8"X13" tabletop "pen turner" bench top wood lathe can be had for as little as $118 if you shop around online. 8" x 13" Variable-Speed Benchtop Wood Lathe at Grizzly.com   A larger basic Grizzly 12"X18" variable speed benchtop wood lathe with drive spurs and live center can be had for less than $400 new. (For another $100, a 22" bed extension is available for it.) 10" x 18" Variable-Speed Benchtop Wood Lathe at Grizzly.com
 
Then also, small wood lathes seem to be one of those items that people buy with grand intentions and then, for whatever reason, lose interest in it. There are lots of wood lathes for sale in the local online "garage sale" sites like Craigslist. A decent used wood lathe isn't hard to come by at all and most are very reasonably priced.  The "bulletproof" full-size bench top 1950's cast iron Craftsman wood lathes are fairly plentiful and run around $100 to $300 with the sears motor. Again, in comparison to a machinists lathe, there's very little that a user can do to hurt a wood lathe. (Although the wood lathe can still do a pretty good job of hurting you!)
 
Having a dedicated wood lathe would probably make your life a whole lot less complicated.  
 
1950's cast iron wood turning lathe:         
 
 
 
 
 

The early ones did. They were first made in the early 1930's and were in production into the late '70's or early '80's. While they remained the same basic machine, they evolved in various ways during the span of their production. I believe that only the early pre-War models had the poured babbit bearings. Thereafter, the headstock bearings were bronze Timkin roller bearings. 

Agreed! A smaller lathe would be a more convenient option for doing a lot of small part modeling work, as I discussed in my post above, although the cost of buying and tooling up two different sized lathes which couldn't share at least some of their tooling may make a second lathe an unaffordable luxury. Unfortunately, in terms of the advantages of collets you mentioned, the 12" Atlas/Craftsman lathes do have a #3 Morse taper headstock spindle which of course will accept smaller MT sizes with an adapter sleeve, but the spindle won't handle anything larger than a 3AT collet or the equivalent in the collet chuck designed for it because the chuck draw bar that runs through the spindle is limited by the size of the spindle hole, so the far more common and much less expensive (for the "bargain models at least) 5C collets won't work in the 12" Atlas/Craftsman lathes. I suppose one could devise a collet chuck that screwed onto the spindle or could be mounted on a #3 or #2 MT, but if one were going to want to use a wide range of small diameter collets, my guess is that they could probably buy one of the Chinese made Sieg "7 bys" and a set of small Chinese made collets for it with the savings realized from not having to buy 3AT collets at $35 or $40 bucks a pop for the Atlas/Craftsman draw bar collet holder! Proprietary collets are very expensive. The Unimat has a screw-on collet chuck which takes hard to find collets. A "basic" set of perhaps a dozen collets and the chuck for the Unimat SL/DBs runs between $1,000 and $1,500 used on eBay if you can find one!
 
I agree about turning wood on a metal working lathe. When I have occasion to do so, which isn't often, I wrap my Atlas/Craftsman (and my Unimat, for that matter) up tightly as you describes with aluminum foil and masking tape. I do the same when I am working with any sort of abrasives such as my tool post grinder. It's not a big job to "gift wrap" it, considering how much work it is to break it down for a thorough cleaning when it's full of solidly packed oil soaked sawdust!  
 
 

Note that Sherline is selling these chucks with back plates to fit Unimat DB/SL spindles that are 12mm in diameter x 1mm threading (or 14mm x 1mm for the Unimat 3) or "1/2" by 20 TPI for "old 6" Sears lathes." Sears sold lathes in a variety of sizes. The smallest was a 6" lathe (capable of handling material up to 6" in diameter,) there was a 9" model, and the 12" model made by Atlas. I've never seen a 6" Craftsman lathe in the flesh, but the 9" Craftsman lathe was a nice little lathe. 
 
Back in the day, "Craftsman" was Sears' middle of the line "house brand" for tools while "Craftsman Professional" or "Craftsman Industrial" were the top of the line and "Dunlop" was Sears' lowest quality - lowest priced line of tools (which were later called "Sears," then "Companion," and are now called "Evolv.")   It's only been in recent decades as Sears began its long decline into oblivion that Craftsman tools began to be sold anywhere other than in Sears stores or mail order from their catalog. Stanley-Black and Decker bought the Craftsman brand in 2017 with Sears holding a license to use the Craftsman brand name without paying royalties to Stanley-Black and Decker for 15 years, so now you can buy Craftsman tools at a Sears store (if you can still find one, there's only 13 Sears stores left) or one of the many other stores now supplied by Stanley-Black and Decker.
 
The various old Craftsman stationary power tools were made by leading U.S. stationary power tool manufacturers of the day such as Atlas Press, Co. (in later years bought out by Clausing lathe company), King-Seeley, and Double A Products. These Craftsman tools were identical to the models made and sold by their manufacturers, save for the "Craftsman" label badges and model numbers attached to the tools made for sale by Sears, Roebuck, and Co. This was basically the same business model as Costco uses today with its "Kirkland" house brand. (Interestingly, the "Dunlop" line was named in honor of the man who was Sears' West Coast hardware manager who, in 1937, came up with the idea of making the Craftsman line of hand tools polished chrome plated and rust proof which resulted in a six-fold increase in sales the following year.)
 
The 12" Atlas Craftsman lathes have a spindle with an outside diameter of an inch and a half with eight threads per inch. This is a fairly standard spindle size and threading and there are all sorts of chucks that can be purchased with backing plates that have an inside diameter of 1.5" X 8 TPI, so you should have no problem finding a chuck in the size you desire. In passing, I'll mention that you may want to give some thought to investing in a four-jaw chuck instead of a three-jaw one since the four-jaw chuck is more versatile and accurate than the three-jaw. Four-jaw chucks come in "self-centering" and "independently adjustable jaw" types. For modeling work, you won't need the "watchmaker" tolerances of a Sherline chuck. One of the half-way decent Chinese imports will probably serve just fine. 
 
Here's a YouTube video from Mr.Pete22 / "Tubal Cain" on the 12" Atlas Craftsman headstock and spindle that you might find helpful.
 
 

I couldn't say offhand, but, as I recall, the Atlas/Craftsman 12" lathe has a standard 1.5" spindle with a standard thread, so a whole lot of chucks should fit it and there's no trouble finding one. That spindle is a lot larger than the Sherline lathes would have, so I'd be surprised if Sherline were selling chucks with spindle sizes that large.  However, the way lathe chucks are often sold, the chuck itself is a "one size fits all" sort of item in different chuck sizes. The chucks are sold with "backing plates" which are bolted to the back of the chuck itself. The backing plates have differently sized threaded "necks" on them to fit a wide range of spindle sizes. It is possible that Sherline is selling a small three-jaw chuck and that chuck manufacturer (which isn't necessarily Sherline) also offers a 1.5" backing plate that will fit on the Atlas/Craftsman spindle.

Cute little gizmo, although I'm always leery of tools that trade torque for speed. It's the speedy ones that eat up drill bits. 
 
I suppose in all your excitement, you forgot to post the link to the source of the item. All we have is a picture. No brand name, no URL.. Can you tell us more?   
 
UPDATE: Never mind. I found it! Mini Bench Drill Press Precision CNC Table Milling Machine Portable Driller NePr | eBay
 
It's interesting in that until now I haven't seen much more from the "Patriotic Chinese People's Machine Tool Collective "than marginal quality cast iron and plastic. 13MM of quill travel (the max drilling depth) isn't a whole lot, though. Does the chuck hold really small number bits well? is it possible to mount a collet holder on the quill instead of the chuck provided? Interesting tool. 
 
Have you put a DTI on it to check the runout?
 
 

Being that a machinist's lathe is about the most versatile machine there is, there's a tremendous amount that can be learned about operating one. As a self-teaching lathe operator who has only scratched the surface of what can be known, the best advice anyone ever gave me about leaning to run my 12" Atlas-Craftsman lathe was to get a copy of The Manual of Lathe Operation & Machinists Tables published by the Atlas Press Co., maker of the Atlas-Craftsman lathes. It is not only specific to the Atlas-Craftsman lathes, but to all machinist's lathes in general and has all the information one could need. Fortunately, the 23rd Edition (which I think was the last) published in 1967 is available as a free PDF download from VintageMachinery.org. See: Atlas Press Co. - Publication Reprints - Manual of Lathe Operation & Machinists Tables (MOLO) 23rd Edition | VintageMachinery.org  Just below the lower left hand corner of th picture of the front of the book ("Publication Preview") is a link: "View PDF" in blue printing. Click on that and the whole book should come up on your screen. It may take a few seconds because it's a long 273 page download. Scroll down to read it. 
 
There are also some excellent U.S. military training manuals which are available as free PDF's you can google up. I found those very helpful because the military does an excellent job of teaching the average idiot like me who knows nothing about a subject how to do highly technical things. 

I think you will be happy with the TAIG.  I had one for several years and learned to do a few things with it - I was happy.  A long bed Sherline became available for a very good price so I got it.  Soon learned that I didn't need the long bed unit.  A club member who had just purchased a short bed Sherline was telling everybody how unhappy he was that he spent all that money for the short bed Sherline.  I  overheard him and offered to swap him my long bed unit for his short bed unit and he was at my shop the next day.
So there I was with a Taig and a short bed Sherline.  I soon found myself using the Sherline exclusively and sold it to a fellow club member for a good price for both of us.  Sure enough I found myself missing the Taig as it was a lot easier to use in many cases.  The guy who bought it was in love with it so I stopped considering getting another Taig and learned to love the Sherline. 
I am sure you will enjoy using the Taig it will probably always be able to do more than you need or know how to do.

The hatch was not too difficult other than cutting accurate miters on 1/16 x 1/16 strip wood.   That cabin was a problem.  The kit provided a solid block of wood that matched the overall dimensions but I struggled with the window frames.  Eventually I decided to make them from cards stock and I was lucky enough to have some brass rings in my parts box that were a good fit for the portholes. 

Here is another option using rub-on letters as stencils.
 
1. Get some rub-on letters in the desired font and size. Color doesn't matter.
 
2. Paint an area with the desired letter color (white for example). Let the paint dry thoroughly.
 
3. Rub on the letters, placing them carefully, of course.
 
4. Paint over it all with the background color (black, for example).
 
5. Let the paint dry.
 
6. Use tape to remove the rub-on letters.
 
Now you have white letters on the black background (or whatever colors you use). There is no decal film around the letters, and they are only as thick as a layer of paint. The lettering will not yellow as decals do over time.
 
I have been using this process for many years, and other that getting the rub-on letters aligned properly it is pretty simple.

Well, for better or worse I pulled the trigger and bought a mini lathe.  I know lots of you have sherline lathes and they are a great lathe.  But for the money and what I believe I want to do, and the features that were offered and options available, I bought a new Taig lathe.
I took a long hard look at both machines and I picked the best one I thought would fit for what I wanted to do with a lathe.  I actually bought all the accessories that I wanted with the lathe and still came in under what a base model sherline lathe is with the same or close to the same options.  So, I guess money had something to do with the purchase as well.
 
I'm happy with the purchase, wife is good with the purchase (you know, always have to keep the banker happy), and I'll do a review on it after I get some turning under my belt.
 
Picture below only shows what is included in the package I bought.  The options I bought not shown in picture.
 

If you want a motorized ropewalk, Alexi Domanoff makes a good one: https://www.shipworkshop.com/  He's in Poland. No problem with shipping to the US from the EU. He provides great service and support. He has a range, from simple to complex machines.

Hi Bob,  no I didn't forget to post a link as I really didn't want to advertise for any one individual. As you found, it wasn't that hard to find. For what I need, more than 1.3 cm wasn't a requirement. Changing out the chuck to a collet wouldn't be a problem. Trusty Allen key to the rescue. Id have to check on the size adaptor needed. Believe it or not, no brand name and I bet there isn't more than 3 grams of plastic on the whole thing including the PU belt. It's construction is what attracted me. All aluminum, brass and steel. It really is a gem. .3mm bits should satisfy most with that chuck. It sure makes me happy 😊 A bigger base would be nice and I have a cute vice on the way too. As to runout, I don't have such a device to check it. Me not snapping carbide bits while drilling brass without a vice should be a good indicator. Passing wind around those stupid things will snap them!

It is a contemporary model with MODERN rigging:
 
https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-66339
 
 
No contemporary painting shows these spreaders.

Ah, but which color "bronze?"   Crescent Bronze, a leading powder-coating manufacturer, has a good bronze color chip card that is worth adding to one's collection of color chips: Crescent Bronze - Color Card Request

 
The standard option for obtaining painted metallic effects is the "real deal," actual colored bronze metal pigment-ground powder sold for the purpose of producing a bronze, brass, copper, gold, or silver metallic finish for painting. (I'm don't know exactly why they use bronze for all these other metals, except that perhaps bronze is easiest to manipulate the color by adjusting the alloy formula.) Schmincke Pigments is the leading manufacturer of ground metallic pigments which are sold in most all artists' supplies stores. They come in a range of shades, colors, and finishes as raw pigment (sold as "oil bronze"), as well as premixed in an oil base and tubed like artist's oil paint. They can be used like any pigment, either mixed in a carrier, e.g., clear varnish, to make a paint, or dusted onto a tacky surface after a sizing is applied and lightly burnished with a cotton ball after the sizing dries, in the same method used for gold leafing. The base metallic color can be thereafter "weathered" to tone it down to a desired appearance in the usual fashion if necessary. See: Schmincke's website for detailed information on their "oil bronze" product line: Bronzes: Schmincke Künstlerfarben (They also sell lines of premixed colored bronze powders in an acrylic medium and powders for use with watercolors. I've never used either of these, so you're on your own there.)

 
Of course, a lot depends upon what appearance you are seeking. In some instances, metallic colors wouldn't be required because standard colors would serve to produce the desired effect.  This video below demonstrates an easy and very effective way to create a convincing faux bronze patina finish using metallic bronze powder which is rubbed on using carnauba wax as the "carrier." The tone of the finish can be adjusted by modifying the background color from black to a flat "penny brown." "Verdigris (green)" weathering powders can thereafter be applied to achieve a very convincing weathered bronze patina appearance. This method can also be used to create a very convincing representation of a copper sheathed hull over a base of scale thickness paper "copper plates." 
 


 


 
 

They are and will be found in the paint department. That said, I have not seen the full range of grit sizes in the DIY warehouse stores that will be found in an auto painting supply store. The pads in the big box stores are for general prepping for house painting and are fairly coarse for model finishing work. The grit size you want for modeling is much finer than that, down around the 300 to 600 sandpaper grit range. The abrasive pads are available in auto painting supply stores down to ultra-fine grit sizes suitable for "rubbing out" auto body finish defects. Most towns of any size will have an auto painting supply store nearby, or even a DIY auto parts store, that will carry a range of different grit grade abrasive pads. You might also stop by a local auto body and fender repair shop and ask if they have some they will sell you. Like most abrasives, I'm sure there's a big price break on purchasing larger quantities. The pads last quite well, so it's not like you need to buy more than a few at a time in a small range of grit sizes (or in just one grit size, depending on your uses...) if they are only going be used for modeling work. If all else fails, you can always make a donation to Mr. Bezos' retirement savings account and buy them from Amazon. Beware of the peg-rack packaging prices in retail stores, though. There's a huge difference in price between the "civilian" retail prices and the "commercial" lot-packaged prices, as well as between the "Scotch" brand pads, which were once all that were available, and the wide range of generic brands available now.
 
Scotch peg-rack package of one pad: $8.88
Amazon.com: 3M Paint & Body Scuff Pad, 03193, 6 in x 9 in, 1 Per Pack : Everything Else

 
Tonmp 10 Pack 4.5 x 10 Inch Hand Pads Coarse Medium Fine Superfine 5 Different Specifications Assortment General Purpose Scouring Pad: $8.99 ($.89 per pad)
Amazon.com: Tonmp 10 Pack 4.5 x 10 Inch Hand Pads Coarse Medium Fine Superfine 5 Different Specifications Assortment General Purpose Scouring Pad Ideal for Garden Tools and Grills,Automotive Body Tools : Health & Household
 

The early ones did. They were first made in the early 1930's and were in production into the late '70's or early '80's. While they remained the same basic machine, they evolved in various ways during the span of their production. I believe that only the early pre-War models had the poured babbit bearings. Thereafter, the headstock bearings were bronze Timkin roller bearings. 

Growing up, we lived in a house with hardwood floors that required regular waxing with one of those "iron holystones," too. When I got old enough, that job fell to me. I was greatly relieved when Bissell came out with an electric floor waxer for home use! I have no idea whatever happened to that old hand buffer that I had to swing back and forth. It'd be good for a "What is this tool?" contest these days.