After months of studying the market and looking for the appropriate machine, it showed up yesterday in the announcement for a household auction just down the road from here. Today, I went to the auction and won it for $324. It’s in perfect running condition with about 200 pounds of attachments and accessories; just about everything you could possibly need. As far as I can tell, it’s perfectly suited for whistlesmithing.
54" Atlas Lathe
Oh, Jerry…how could you? All my visions of you in your rustic shop, hands-on and craftsmanly with Ralph the Mouse to advise you by candlelight…and now this cold industrialism. sigh 'Twas illusion, all illusion. 
…Very cool, actually, and a great price. But are you planning on taking the leap to making wood whistles now? Or is there an application for Blu-Tac tweaks using a lathe? Enquiring minds want to know.
Best,
N
Is the 54" on your Acme lathe enough for a Contrabass A whistle below Low-cube D? 
Congrats on your buy, anyway.
Knowing the current price of a high-end whistle… it should pay for itself and the mouse food 
Congratulations, Jerry. Sounds very exciting. I think you should call it the “Ralphelator”. 
LOL.
Well, it is very quaint. The manual is copyright 1937. Definitely not out of keeping with the old-time, hands-on, rustic craftsman image, Nano.
Best wishes,
Jerry
P.S. I’ve several whistle designs in mind, but it will take some time before I can complete setup and prototyping. I’ll keep you posted. I’m being intentionally vague. Yes, wood whistles are part of the plan.
Totally with you on that, Jerry. I’ve always had a preference for functional old things, myself. Love the look of it, and it’s probably as tough as a Clydesdale.
I had been hoping to find a long capacity, for which 54" definitely qualifies, lightweight metal lathe, and this one seems to be right on target.
hummmm…Jerry freeman and a lathe…makes one think…it does… 
the possibilities are endless, but low whistles in wood come to mind.
Have you enough length there to make the longest segment of an Irish flute?
Guess you are going to be working at this thing full-time now trying to figure out how to max-out its purpose and create something interesting and very unique. Well, now there is something for you to do this cold north-country winter. By the way, I live just maybe fifty miles north of Jerry and since I’m an old intel guy, I can probably spy on his operation and report a scoop to C&F
So anyone interested in hiring an old spook, well, you have my email. Or, for the right price, Jerry, I could do security for your operation, say. the price of a test-whistle…
I know that you are good with tools and are already a craftsman, but we don’t want to have to feel bad for you because “no-fingers-Jerry” can’t play his whistle anymore. :roll:
Wow, Jerry, it is beautiful
Surely something like this deserves the name Samantha, or Janet, or….. The Colossus….
that’s a nice break jerry, from the expansivness as a mobile home seller, to the scrutiny of a whistle maker. they all have the scrutiny of a mouse to work those windways. and you have the whiskers for it, all you need is luck, i wich you plenty!!
I, for my part, am looking forward to Freeman flutes.
What is the meaning of WTT?
Thanks,
Tom D.
Ah, an Atlas… the lathe of choice for both Glenn Schultz and Paul Busman!
Very lucky break, Jerry… now if you can just find a good deal on a used milling machine! 
Oh, and I hope you aren’t too partial to sleeping, because you’ll be doing very little of it from now on!
Right on! The name has my second (or third by this point).
Good luck, Jerry! Keep us abreast of any new developments (insofar as you feel comfortable).
PC
Tom,
WTT is for whistle tech talk. I believe Serpent started the acronym.
Frank
My guess is it’s probably a lot tougher than that. A print shop I worked in had an old manual paper-cutter from about that era. (For cutting up to 8" stacks of paper) The whole (concrete) building could have fallen in on top of it without the slightest chance of knocking it out of alignment. 
That is an awesome machine Jerry. Now you start the search for some 100 year old hardwoods. I would love to have a lathe like that but I have no place to put it. My garage is so full of saws, sanders, etc now that I have only had my car in it once in 5 years. You said it has everything. Did it come complete with Ralph 3? Have fun.
Ron
Hi, Ron.
Still waiting for Ralph III.
I have access to some potentially very interesting woods. I’ll keep you posted. Hopefully Glenn Shultz, Paul Busman and/or Erle Bartlett will have something to say about prototypes with the mystery woods before too long.
Best wishes,
Jerry
The children named Ralph, so let’s see what they come up with.
