# 9" South Bend what are they worth??



## iron man (May 3, 2014)

A friend of mine picked up a really nice 9" SB no quick change gear box but all of the change gears. The bed is about 36" and from the model number and early 1940's. It does not appear to have been in any wreck's and the bed is about as perfect as you could want the only thing that it appears to need is cleaned and painted and it would look like new and there does not appear to be much wear. There is quit a bit of tooling, chucks ect. Now the big question what is it worth?? He just wants to see if he got stung at all. Thought I would ask and see thanks. Ray


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## xalky (May 3, 2014)

iron man said:


> A friend of mine picked up a really nice 9" SB no quick change gear box but all of the change gears. The bed is about 36" and from the model number and early 1940's. It does not appear to have been in any wreck's and the bed is about as perfect as you could want the only thing that it appears to need is cleaned and painted and it would look like new and there does not appear to be much wear. There is quit a bit of tooling, chucks ect. Now the big question what is it worth?? He just wants to see if he got stung at all. Thought I would ask and see thanks. Ray



I had one probably exactly like what you're describing with tooling and a new QCTP and a new 3 jaw 6" chuck. I sold it for $750. The guy that bought it from me, got a good deal on it IMO.


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## David M (May 4, 2014)

Go to ebay, filter out the "Buy It Now", so you are only looking at auctions. Asking and selling are not the same, the auctions will tell you what they are actually selling for. Shipping can be an issue so you ought to factor that in too. Try local classifieds like craigslist too, prices will vary significantly based on location.

$750 could have been anything from an OK deal to a fantastic one, depending. IMO


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## thenrie (May 4, 2014)

Better yet, go to ebay and look on the left-hand side and set to see only "Sold" or "Completed Listings" and you'll see what people actually paid for them. 

I bought a 1947 9A about 6 months ago and paid $500. I bought it from a friend, whose late husband had owned it. It was filthy dirty and hadn't been maintained in several years (since the owner had passed away), but it came with a 3-jaw, 4-jaw, steady rest, handwheel collet closer, collet sleeve, and thread protector, collet set, taper attachment, and a small machinist box with a lot of bits and misc pieces. My friend and I came to an agreement on the price after I took a good look at it, and after she conferred with another friend of hers, who is a machinist. After cleanup, I found it was not in too bad of condition, but in need of a bit of TLC. I think I got a good buy on it, but you really couldn't tell that before cleanup and tuneup. I essentially paid for the tooling, hoping the lathe was in decent shape under all that mess. The pics below show the lathe after most of the cleanup was done. After a lot of elbow grease, I have a decent little lathe. I needed it to make parts for a Delta Rockwell 11" lathe I was in the process of restoring. It did the job well.

While looking for a lathe over the past year or so, I have seen SB 9s go from under $300 to well over $2,000, so it's simply a matter of model (9A, B, or C), condition, tooling, and what the seller and buyer both think it's worth. I'd say on average, for a 9A (quick-change gear box) in reasonable condition, with just enough tooling to do basic turning, you're talking about a range from about $750-1,250, and it will cost you some to get it back into good condition and pick up what tooling you want for it. Add things like steady and follow rests, taper attachments, quick-change toolpost, etc, and the price obviously goes up accordingly. Additionally, the region you are in makes a difference. In the northeast, old machines are more common and go cheaper, than, say, in Arizona, where there was never an industrial stronghold.


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## NEL957 (May 4, 2014)

Thenrie
You got a very good deal. She might be ugly as sin but will clean up very nice. The taper attachment alone is worth $750 almost any day on ebay. It is a A model and I would like to see some pics cleaned up. Here is a pic of the of the 10K, I bought for $300. Deals are out there just need to keep eyes open and jump when it's time.


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## wrmiller (May 4, 2014)

thenrie said:


> Additionally, the region you are in makes a difference. In the northeast, old machines are more common and go cheaper, than, say, in Arizona, where there was never an industrial stronghold.



Yea, tell me about it. I'd have better luck walking the desert around Tucson (old stomping grounds) looking for gold than finding any decent, older machines. Now I live in CO and it's just as bad.  

Bill


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## iron man (May 4, 2014)

Well I guess he gave $700 for it and it is in what I would call great condition except for paint it looks like it has sat most of its life the only thing I see with a little play is the bronze spindle bushings and I dont see that as a big deal to make him some new one's. I dont think he is hurt too bad. Thanks Ray


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## VSAncona (May 5, 2014)

Ray -- I'm not too far from you and just bought a similar 9" lathe a couple of months ago (from the late 30's, change gears, good shape but dirty). When I went to pick it up, the seller said his phone had been ringing off the hook since I called. I guess the demand must outweigh the supply around here.

Vince


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## iron man (May 5, 2014)

VSAncona said:


> Ray -- I'm not too far from you and just bought a similar 9" lathe a couple of months ago (from the late 30's, change gears, good shape but dirty). When I went to pick it up, the seller said his phone had been ringing off the hook since I called. I guess the demand must outweigh the supply around here.
> 
> Vince



 i think your right I was just about raised using a SB but I dont know what they are going for now days it really does suprise me about the amount of demand but if you look at what is for sale it is mostly on the east coast.. Ray


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