I found this 14-1/2" South Bend, I would appreciate your comments.

C

Chainsaw Driver

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Good morning,
I found a 14-1/2" South Bend lathe for sale about 5 hours from me. I was seriously considering the 14-1/2" in Ohio (see for sale section) but just couldn't get there. I've spoken with the shop foreman that has this one for sale and although used continuously for the last 20 years it appears in very good shape. They're a speciality shop and the machine doesn't run all the time. This is a newer lathe with what appears to be a D1-4 camlock spindle and the collet closer. It also has a two speed switch with reverse. The shop foreman has agreed to hold it for me until Wednesday when I can review it. I was the first one that called and several other people have called on it since I called. He stated he would allow me first opportunity since I was the first caller. They're asking $3500. I feel that may be just a tad high but its a newer machine and I really want the camlock spindle. It has been repainted and he stated TIR is .002. Please share your wisdom and experience. Thank you,



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Nice that it's powered up and you can see it run. The fact that it is in use is a good thing, it's when they sit and become rusty that they develop problems. It looks like it has just about every option and lots of tooling, that tooling can add up in cost real quick. The cost is a little high, imo, but it is turnkey and you don't have to do anything to it, just buy it and use it. It looks to be in good condition, check the ways for wear. That camlock will sure make changing chucks easier.
 
+1 on what Greg said. That's a lot of tooling plus the machine appears to be in good condition. I'd offer $2800 or $3k cash depending upon inspection and see if he'll negotiate from there. Good luck.
 
Be sure and let us know what you decided and what you saw if you go to look at it. Looks like a nice lathe in the pics.
Like your user name, curious what that means?
 
Thanks Greg, I sure will. I'm still scheduled to drive to San Antonio tomorrow morning to look at it. I hope its as good as the photos show. I also hope they come down on the price. Its about a thousand dollars over budget. I've never let that stop me before. I generally look at a purchase like this as if I don't like it can I get my money out of it. Even at $3K I think I can at least break even. I appreciate your comments. I see you're a Chainsaw Driver yourself. I've considered getting one of those jigs like yours. Occasionally I want to slab an odd tree for later use. :thinking:
 
For $3500 it should be a lot more than painted ....should have good ways, new felts, lots and lots of tooling ....I'm not saying it's too much money for the lathe ...it's a "lot" higher than most and may just be a pretty face...."lipstick on a pig" comes to mind.....It needs to be much better than average IMHO
 
Thank you to everyone that provide their input. Here's what happened today. Please tell me if I'm nuts. I'm thinking of driving myself to Rusk and checking myself into the state mental hospital.
Drove to San Antonio to review the lathe, true to their word they held it for me. In fact when I arrived it was covered in aluminum chips, they told me their new Haas CNC hadn't arrived yet and they needed to use it this morning. Looks good to me. Once we exchanged pleasantries it got really interesting. The first thing I noticed is it has a taper attachment (I couldn't tell it from the Craigslist photo and they didn't mention it). The Collet closer is there as well as the tool post. I reviewed the ways and found a little ridge on the bottom of the front side way that might stand proud .002", maybe. Its very small but is there and is prevalent for about 2 feet of the bed. There was very little other damage. Normal use. The lathe does have the two speed motor, Wow it ran great, very quiet. The belt is also some kind of blue polymer, they told me it was the original belt and its in great shape. These guys are the original owners and have truly babied this machine. I then asked if they happened to have the steady rest, They looked at me funny and then went digging. They came back with a South Bend micrometer steady rest, WooHoo! I then asked about the micrometer carriage stop, they didn't know what it was for but remembered seeing something like that, they dug around a while and Voila, they had it. At this point we had settled on a price and they kept digging, they found the micrometer follower rest, two face plates, an extra Jacobs chuck, an extra 4" backer plate and a "poor man's DRO" they made for the machine, and the manual collet closer. The final weird thing of the day is the Part number clearly says CLC8145C which we all took to be a 14-1/2 model. The bed is clearly cast 13" South Bend. She appears to be a 13" South Bend instead of 14-1/2". I'm thrilled, 13" parts are much easier to find. After all the tooling was added we agreed on $3,250. Am I nuts? I realize it's a lot but they were firm and the machine is immaculate. No lipstick on swine here. Now all I need is an RPC, some tool holders, and cutting tools, some collets would be nice also. I've included a couple of photos for your review. Oh also the 3 jaw is a Bison and the four jaw is an original South Bend. I'm extremely happy with the purchase, I hope I didn't pay too much, oh well who cares, I'll keep her for the rest of my life. Seems like a small investment over 30 years.

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Congratulations! She's a nice lathe and you can get right to using her and not have to restore it.
 
Oh yeah, I forgot a couple more things. They have all the original documentation from South Bend. I have the original certificate of accuracy where they certified this lathe as a "tool room" version instead of an engine lathe. The original blue print for the wiring diagram is in the file, as well as the full loose leaf manual. The setup and lubrication chart is here as well as the original warranty card. Machine was purchased on September 3rd, 1974. Full maintenance and parts list manuals are also in the file. i love old documentation, very cool. :thumbsup:
 
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