# SB Model A Restoration Project



## dmakseyn (Feb 16, 2013)

Hello everyone, my name is Dave and this is my first post. I've been learning a lot from reading the posts on this site and the pictures are wonderful. I think this is going to be a great place to learn and share what I'm up to. I'm retired from the construction industry and worked as a machinist in the Air Force in the late 60's to early 70's. I've always been interested in machine restoration and have done many woodworking machines and an Atlas/Craftsman 6", which is a daily user, about 15 years ago. 
Now for the South Bend. It was in a shed covered with chipmunk nests and years of who knows what! The deal was struck and the owner was very helpful getting it into my truck but I could not get out of his driveway because of mud and a very steep grade. He finally put it in his 4-wheel drive
SUV and delivered it to my shop. What a guy! I'm sure he was glad to see it go.
Here's what it looked like in the door.



It came on a stand that was as heavy as the lathe




Here's a shot of the head stock




The bed is in need of some attention but it's not that bad.
There is a bit of wear on the V section of the bed but I'll see
how it runs when I get it done.




All the gears appear to be there and no chipped or broken teeth




Here's the serial number 32215NAR9




I may just keep the original name plate 
although the repro's look great!



The shed did a number on the metal but just wait until I polish it all up!




Here's some more rust!




I have a load of pictures that I have to organize and will post some more later.
I'm very happy to be a member of this forum and this is going to be an exciting
restoration project!

Regards,
Dave


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## ChuckB (Feb 16, 2013)

Welcome to the forum! Looking forward to seeing your restore. )


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## woodtickgreg (Feb 17, 2013)

Welcome to the forum. That's a great candidate for a restore, I consider that very little rust. I have seen worse and they came out very nice, that one will clean up well. Keep posting pics as you go so we can enjoy the journey with you. Looks like it came with a steady rest and a quick change tool post, any other tooling?


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## GK1918 (Feb 17, 2013)

Very nice new england find.  I would say it had a easy caring life.  They are nice sturdy reliable machine,
and you even have the extra change gear which is alway lost or gone.  Good luck keep the pics 
comming Dave.       sam


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## dmakseyn (Feb 17, 2013)

Thanks for you kind words. I have been working on the lathe for a while and I have some more pictures to show to you.

The bed was stripped, sandblasted and hand brushed with the good old Rustoleum Smoke Grey.
Two coats and it looks like new!



I wanted the challenge of repairing the motor so I took it apart and it got new bearings, a new centrifugal switch and a new stationary switch.
Runs like a Swiss watch!







Had the usual problem with the gear door pin loose in the babbitt. It wasn't bad just a few taps with a pin punch and it came right back into place




Measuring for the belt so I can start to assemble the headstock.




More on the way as I sort them out.
Regards,
Dave


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## Splat (Feb 17, 2013)

Looking good, Dave. That's a nice machine there. Like Greg said, I've seen them worse and come back to life happily making chips and stringers again! :thumbzup:


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## dmakseyn (Feb 17, 2013)

Does anyone know if this cabinet stand is an original South Bend item?
It has the bracket on the back side for the counter shaft mounting plate
and it only had the 4 mounting holes for the lathe bed. There are also 3
very heavy steel shelves behind each door.




Thanks for your feedback.

Dave


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## barn (Feb 17, 2013)

It's going to look nice when it's done.  But I don't know if they are SB cabinets or if they bought them to mount their lathes on.  Either way I've seen a lot of their lathes mounted on that style cabinet.


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## woodtickgreg (Feb 17, 2013)

She's looking good! I used the rust oleum smoke grey on mine too, I like the color and the way the paint flows out when brushed on. 2 coats covered well. Posting pics of your restore and the problems you encounter will help others that may run into the same things when they restore theirs. It's very enjoyable to follow some one elses work and watch their project come together.


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## Splat (Feb 17, 2013)

+1 on the Smoke Grey, V7586. :thumbzup:  Brush-on's the only way to get the best results, other than airgun. I tried a rattle can and it was a waste of $ and time.


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## ChuckB (Feb 18, 2013)

Splat said:


> +1 on the Smoke Grey, V7586. :thumbzup:  Brush-on's the only way to get the best results, other than airgun. I tried a rattle can and it was a waste of $ and time.



Question, why was "rattle can" a waste of time for you?

EDIT-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Never mind.. I found your post that explained what happened.. You used carb cleaner to clean the bare metal.. a bad idea.


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## Splat (Feb 22, 2013)

ChuckB said:


> Question, why was "rattle can" a waste of time for you?
> 
> EDIT-----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Never mind.. I found your post that explained what happened.. You used carb cleaner to clean the bare metal.. a bad idea.



Yeah, bad idea it was. I'm using Acetone now, which was always my go-to cleaner and for the life of me don't know why I went with carb cleaner. :nuts:


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## Taz (Feb 22, 2013)

It's amazing how much of this old iron you can bring back with a little attention.  Looks awesome Dave.  Looking forward to seeing it when it's all done.  

I'm with Greg.  Outside of getting answers to my un-answerables, it's my favorite thing to watch a project come together.  Matter of fact, doesn't matter what the topic is... Build logs are the best!

Keep the pics coming!


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## fretsman (Feb 22, 2013)

What a great restoration you're doing, it's absolutely gorgeous. 

Good work!
Dave


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## dmakseyn (Feb 24, 2013)

Hi all,
Back again with some more thrill packed ways to get stuck stuff out.
I had taken the gearbox apart and was proceeding to get ready to 
replace the felt plugs in the oil galley holes when I discovered a problem.
The screw gear shaft which passes through the two bushings, which are
fine and do not need to be replaced, has a felt plug in a most difficult place
to get access to. I tried everything in my bag of tricks and just came up with
little hunks of hard old felt and not the whole thing.
So I got the idea of sharpening some 1/4" wooden dowels in my electric pencil
sharpener and gently driving them into every open hole except the one in the
bushing.









As you can see in this photo, I drilled the plug out and installed the
set screw as suggested in the Guide.
Then I used a blast of compressed air through the gits oilier hole and 
"POP" out came the stuck felt plug!
Along with 53 years of glop and black stuff. So it was worth the trouble 
to get it out.

Dave


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## Flatfendershop (Mar 3, 2013)

I also think the cabinet looks correct, it is similar in form to the cabinet under my 10K.  Everything looks great so far!


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