# Southbend 9 in. lathe spindle repair



## john shaw (Apr 5, 2021)

Hello,  i am new user,  so hi .  i was wondering if any one has experience with a Southbend 9 in. lathe spindle repair options if the spindle or housing are galded.  can the spindle be cleaned?  can housing be bored and have bushing installed.

thanks for any help


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## benmychree (Apr 5, 2021)

I have repaired South Bend spindles by having them ground, hard chromed and reground back to standard size. as to the housings, it depends which type they are; some had only one screw to adjust the clearance with a bare cast iron housing with the spindle running directly in it, and some had two bolts holding a split cap with bronze bearings, this type is the easiest to fix, by making new split bearings and is the type that I have fixed.  I think the first type would be the hardest to fix, if the housing is galled as well as the spindle; but perhaps line boring the housing and making rather thin bushings may be an option.


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## markba633csi (Apr 6, 2021)

Hi John S. and welcome- the types of repair John Y. is describing are expensive if you can even find a shop that will do it these days.  You might want to keep an eye out on Ebay for good used headstocks and/or spindles.
This is one of the pitfalls of buying a used SB and very hard to determine before you buy how much wear there is unless you can remove the caps and inspect
-Mark


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## benmychree (Apr 6, 2021)

markba633csi said:


> Hi John S. and welcome- the types of repair John Y. is describing are expensive if you can even find a shop that will do it these days.  You might want to keep an eye out on Ebay for good used headstocks and/or spindles.
> This is one of the pitfalls of buying a used SB and very hard to determine before you buy how much wear there is unless you can remove the caps and inspect
> -Mark


That was what I was thinking as well, should have said it --- one of them that I fixed with the two bolts and bronze bearings, all the wear was on the spindle, virtually none on the bronze; since hard chrome is not easy to find in Ca., I made a whole new spindle and sold the lathe to a friend.


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## markba633csi (Apr 6, 2021)

The fact is, even with a lot of wear in the headstock and everywhere else, good parts can still be made.  I always liked the Meridian Machinery article "in praise of klunkers" or something like that-  lots of parts to make and not a lot of time to worry about perfection.  
-Mark


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## benmychree (Apr 6, 2021)

markba633csi said:


> The fact is, even with a lot of wear in the headstock and everywhere else, good parts can still be made.  I always liked the Meridian Machinery article "in praise of klunkers" or something like that-  lots of parts to make and not a lot of time to worry about perfection.
> -Mark


Do you have a link to the article?


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## markba633csi (Apr 6, 2021)

www.mermac.com
oops looks like the link is dead now- shame. These seem to work:
www.mermac.com/advicenew.html
www.mermac.com/freemill2.html
Dave Ficken used to sell used machinery on the east coast and had a good reputation


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