# South Bend lathe Minneapolis area.  Looks beautiful.



## 7milesup (Jul 11, 2020)

1945 South Bend 16/24" Swing Lathe Aloris - tools - by owner - sale
					

In person inspection and negotiations. Do not text or email offers with out inspection. Thanks...



					minneapolis.craigslist.org
				




Looks really nice.  The guy, if truthful, put a lot of time into this machine.


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## SLK001 (Jul 11, 2020)

I didn't know that Minnesota had a navy.

He also says that he used camelbacks to inspect the ways, but he doesn't tell us the results of that inspection.


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## MrWhoopee (Jul 11, 2020)

Before this one is gone....


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## 7milesup (Jul 11, 2020)

SLK001 said:


> I didn't know that Minnesota had a navy.
> 
> He also says that he used camelbacks to inspect the ways, but he doesn't tell us the results of that inspection.



The Mississippi River starts in Minnesota and there are numerous lock and dams (at least 6) along the Minnesota border.  Corps of Engineers maintains them and without looking into this further, I believe that they are part of the Navy.
True about inspecting the ways.  I would assume (I know, never assume) that they were checked by camel backs and were good.


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## 7milesup (Jul 11, 2020)

So, now this begs the question....

How much is this lathe worth assuming it is as nice as it looks.  $4300 seems a little high but then again, maybe not?


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## finsruskw (Jul 11, 2020)

Makes my little 9A look like a toy!!


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## Winegrower (Jul 11, 2020)

I would so much rather have this South Bend than a new Asian import around the same price level.

And don't you love that skateboard type foot?


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## ddickey (Jul 11, 2020)

SLK001 said:


> I didn't know that Minnesota had a navy.
> 
> He also says that he used camelbacks to inspect the ways, but he doesn't tell us the results of that inspection.


There are a few battleships on Superior pointed towards Canadia.


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## SLK001 (Jul 11, 2020)

7milesup said:


> Corps of Engineers maintains them and without looking into this further, I believe that they are part of the Navy.



They're not part of the US Navy.  They are US Army.


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## 7milesup (Jul 11, 2020)

SLK001 said:


> They're not part of the US Navy.  They are US Army.


DOH!   I knew that.  Not sure then about the Minnesota Navy... LOL.   Sounds like the beginning of a bad pub joke.


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## 7milesup (Jul 11, 2020)

He says it is a 198C.  
Time to do some research....


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## SLK001 (Jul 11, 2020)

A 198-C is an eight speed, 6 foot bed, 16/24" lathe.


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## Superburban (Jul 11, 2020)

If someone want to buy and deliver it for me, I would be forever grateful.


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## ddickey (Jul 12, 2020)

I contacted the seller and asked him about the MN Navy. 
His response:
Yes, there was MN navy. Ships and submarines named Minnesota used by the Navy.
Any other questions or concerns?


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## 7milesup (Jul 12, 2020)

Yeah, I contacted him too.  When I asked about the model, which was on the posting, he said he could not remember.  Seems that if you work on a machine for 10 months as his ad says, you would remember the model.  Also, asked him the weight.  1500lbs was his response, which I knew immediately was way off.  I looked it up in an old SB catalog online and it is 2700lbs.
Not real sure about this...


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## ddickey (Jul 12, 2020)

That's really weird.


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## MrWhoopee (Jul 12, 2020)

For that kind of money your getting close to a modern, gear-head machine with central lube and metric threading. Something like a Clausing-Colchester or Cadillac comes to mind. It is a classic though.....


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## 7milesup (Jul 12, 2020)

That is the problem that I have... not enough knowledge regarding American made machines to know what to look for.


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## Superburban (Jul 12, 2020)

ddickey said:


> I contacted the seller and asked him about the MN Navy.
> His response:
> Yes, there was MN navy. Ships and submarines named Minnesota used by the Navy.
> Any other questions or concerns?


In that case, a lot of states had navies. Arizona, and Wisconsin come to mind. And Carl Vinson, bob Hope, and many others must have had private navies.  

I do know that at one time, many states did have a sort of version of a Navy National Guard.


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## 7milesup (Jul 13, 2020)

I think that the seller has a fair amount of BS coming out of him.   

Some interesting information I came across though was that the spindle on those lathes used sleeve bearings.  In the South Bend catalog, they tout the sleeve bearings as extremely smooth running to minimize any marks during machining.   I wonder how long those sleeve bearings last and what the process is for replacing them.


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## SLK001 (Jul 13, 2020)

7milesup said:


> Some interesting information I came across though was that the spindle on those lathes used sleeve bearings.  In the South Bend catalog, they tout the sleeve bearings as extremely smooth running to minimize any marks during machining.   I wonder how long those sleeve bearings last and what the process is for replacing them.



No sleeve bearings for a 1945 SB lathe.  At that time, the bearings were segmented cast iron.  Sleeve bearings were re-introduced in the late 1940's.  

As for longevity, if properly maintained, sleeve bearings should run for decades.  They can also be adjusted to take up any slop that pops up during their life.  Properly adjusted, the spindle rides extremely smooth on a thin film of oil.  As for replacing, they simply slide on and off (IF you can get them).


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## 7milesup (Jul 13, 2020)

So you are saying that it has segmented cast iron bearings?  I don't even know what that is...  I will have to look it up.


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## kb58 (Jul 13, 2020)

ddickey said:


> I contacted the seller and asked him about the MN Navy.
> His response:
> Yes, there was MN navy. *Ships and submarines named Minnesota used by the Navy.*
> Any other questions or concerns?


I was impressed by the ad until this bit. Assuming the context is what it seems to be, it's a very BS comment, as was said. I suppose that it's also possible that he really believes it, but seriously?

If you go look at it, I'd look it over Very carefully, especially the paint, to establish whether it really did come completely apart. Look for painted over screws, bolts, and seams. It started out sounding very good though, and as for what it's worth, what's an old car worth? Same answer.


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## 7milesup (Jul 13, 2020)

I don't think I will be going to look at it, although I am going to Minneapolis tomorrow. 
As mentioned above, I believe that if I wanted to spend that kind of money I would purchase something more modern maybe.  I mean, I can buy a PM1340 GT for not much more.


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## SLK001 (Jul 13, 2020)

7milesup said:


> So you are saying that it has segmented cast iron bearings?  I don't even know what that is...  I will have to look it up.



Here's a photo of a segmented CI bearing.  Sorry about the watermark, it's not my image.


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## 7milesup (Jul 13, 2020)

Very interesting SLK001.  I did a little more reading on segmented bearings.  Welp, learned something today.


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