The original, lightly constructed 9-inch Craftsman "Metalmaster" lathe, introduced in 1932 at $64.50, was really an Atlas product - and virtually identical to their own machine of the same capacity. Everything about the lathe's minimal appearance would seem to suggest that the management's instruction to the designer was, "Use the smallest amount of metal that allows a component to do its job" - and it is instructive to compare it to the more fully-developed machines of improved rigidity produced in later years.
Originally finished in dark-blue paint (like many Craftsman products of the 1930s and 1940s) the lathe was not fitted with a backgear but used instead a "double-reduction" V-belt system on the Hyatt roller-bearing countershaft unit that was bolted to the back of the headstock. The lathe's ingenious drive system was protected under a United States patent No. 1909522 in the name of James G. Collins but assigned to the Atlas Press Company. The application was filed on March 8th, 1932 and granted on the May 16th, 1933
The "integral" construction of lathe and countershaft was a strong selling point for there was no longer any need to find a location in the workshop where the new owner could spend the best part of a day installing a wall or ceiling-mounted countershaft; this machine could be dropped onto a bench, plugged in - and used.
In the "high-speed" position the new drive system was entirely conventional; a small pulley on the motor drove a large pulley on the swing-head of the countershaft from which three direct-drive speeds, of 220, 370 and 600 rpm were transmitted to a matching 3-step pulley on the headstock spindle. To obtain the "Low-speed" range takes rather longer to explain than to set-up in practice. The countershaft-pulley shaft was formed in two concentric parts, the right-hand side carrying a large, single pulley that was driven separately from the headstock 3-step pulley by a small pulley fastened to its right-hand face. Normally the small right-hand countershaft pulley just idled but a "shift collar", inboard of the left-hand countershaft bearing, could be moved to the right to bring it into engagement. When pushed to the right the collar unlocked itself from the shaft and two pins, which extended from its side, went completely through the 3-step pulley and entered the single pulley on its right-hand side - and locked the two together as a floating unit. The eventual outcome of these manipulations was that the drive passed from motor to countershaft, countershaft to headstock, headstock to countershaft then, using the 3-speed pulley, back to the headstock to give three slow speeds of 47, 80 and 130 rpm. Although the maker's instructions do not mention the point, some method of releasing the 3-step spindle pulley must also have been provided, otherwise it could not have acted as a drive transmitter. Scrutiny of the picture below should make this interesting down-up-down 'modus-operandi' clearer in an instant.
The drive, although it eliminated costly backgears, cannot have been a success; it is surprisingly difficult to machine sets of pulleys (and purchase quantities of V belts that are all exactly the same size) in order to make multi-step drives work across their speed range without the need for small adjustments in tension when the belts are moved from pulley to pulley. In addition, as the pulleys wear in service, it becomes even harder to arrive at a setting that is correct for all the possible combinations of pulleys and belts; when the 12-inch Craftsman was introduced in late 1935, the system was quietly dropped and a conventional backgear used instead.
The hardened and ground No. 3 Morse taper spindle with an 8 U.S.F thread had a 0.75" bore and ran in "babbit" bearings, each with a cap packed up on shims that could be delaminated in 0.002" strips (just like a Myford ML7) to allow adjustment for wear. The headstock assembly, with the bearings sitting on top of unbraced columns, was typical of contemporary small-lathe practice; reference to the pictures below will illustrate how this part was greatly improved on later models.
In place of a conventional tumble reverse a "leadscrew-reverse gearbox", containing a bevel-gear arrangement, was fitted at the headstock-end of the leadscrew. This device worked well, but unfortunately was prone to damage by impatient, ham-fisted operators. Although Atlas retained this gearbox on machines marketed under their own name until the revised lathes of 1959, on Craftsman branded models from (about) 1936 it was replaced by an ordinary and very effective "tumble-reverse" mechanism.
No power cross feed was fitted on this, or early versions of the 12" model that replaced it, indeed, the first models had their saddle and apron cast as one with The saddle and apron were cast as one with short bracing flanges supporting an extension of the saddle that formed the front part of the cross-slide ways. Beds having between-centre capacities of 18", 24", 30" and 36" were all available to special order.
From 1936, and the introduction of the "conventional" backgeared machine, the lathe developed steadily and became both more robust and reliable as various components were redesigned or improved; the new model was available in both 8 and 16 speed versions (the latter by simply fitting a two-step pulley to motor and countershaft) and both with and without backgear. The least expensive lathe on its introduction was catalogued as the 8-speed, 18 inches between centres, non-backgeared Model "99 PM 2028" at $63.50 whilst the most expensive was the "99 PM 2030" with a capacity between centres of 36 inches and a price of $93.95. Models with 18, 24, 30 and 36 inches between centres were available. Without backgear the speed range was: 170, 270, 430, 504, 680, 832, 1298 and 2100 rpm; with backgear the range became a much more useful: 32, 50, 74, 88, 120, 142, 170, 210, 270, 350, 430, 504, 680, 832, 1298 and 2100 rpm. In 1939 power cross feed became available on the De-lux models and in 1941 16 speeds were made standard across the range.
In 1941 16 speeds were made standard across the range with a corresponding increase in price to $89.50 for the cheapest version. Prices continued to rise steeply as war-time conditions took over: in 1942 the range spanned $105 to $165 and in 1943, the last year that the Craftsman power Tools catalog was to appear until 1948,  $125 to $179.50 - an effective doubling in 10 years of production.
When Craftsman lathes became available to the civilian market again in 1948, and in line with a similarly restricted model range from Atlas, just two versions were available both with headstock roller bearings and full belt guarding as standard; the "99 TM 2075 had a capacity of 24 inches between centres and was priced at $197 whilst the 36" between-centres "99 TM 2079" was listed at $212. 
In 1947 Atlas offered a screwcutting gearbox on their 10F model but it was not until 1951 that the Craftsman version was so equipped. By 1959 the original Craftsman 120-inch had been replaced by a completely redesigned model, identical in all respects to the 12-inch Atlas.
Numbers used on the identification plates for the 12-inch Craftsman lathe varied according to many factors including the bed length and type of motor fitted; some machines had an extra zero on the end of the following selection:  101.20140, 101.20280, 101.20300, 101.20320, 101.20650, 101.20670, 101.20690, 101,20710, 101.20730, 101.20750, 101.20770, 101.20790, 101.27440, 101.07360, 101.07361, 101.07362, 101.07363, 101.07380, 101.07381, 101.07382, 101.07383, 101.07400, 101.07401, 101.07402, 101.07403, M2075,  M2743,  M2079,  M2744.
The different numbers referred to various combinations of bed length, motor type, etc.
If you have a 12-inch Craftsman with other numbers, the author would be very interested to hear from you.
For details of Craftsman lathe accessories, look at the appropriate section of the Atlas Archive..