# South Bend 10x18- Value And Suitability?



## Skeet_Man (Oct 21, 2015)

Found a SB 10x18 locally for $750.  Hard to tell from pics, looks a bit dirty with some missing paint, but can't see any rust or issues (would inspect in person before purchase).

Worth the price?  I'm not real proficient in machinery values, and can't find anything for this specific model online.

Primary purpose would be light gunsmithing (including barrel fitting, which can be accomplished using pre-contoured blanks through the headstock with spiders) and general hobby use.  In reality, 99.9% of anything I would ever conceive of doing would not be hindered by the short bed.

I picked up a Grizzly benchtop lathe a few weeks ago, but came across this one and it looks like it would be a ton more useful and a huge step up.

Anything I should look out for if I decide to go take a look at it?  Weight will be an issue, so hopefully it can quickly/easily be disassembled into some two person manageable pieces.


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## DoogieB (Oct 21, 2015)

So, what is a SB 10x18?  I think the bed has to be a little bit longer than 18 inches...


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## Skeet_Man (Oct 21, 2015)

I would assume 18" between centers.

Here is a pic:


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## DoogieB (Oct 21, 2015)

Wow, that's a short bed.   Looks like an Heavy 10.  You could tell for sure if you had the serial number.

Make sure the spindle hole is big enough for what you plan to do.  On my lathe I can always grab the work with the chuck and use a steady rest to work on the end but that's not an option for a stubby lathe like that.


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## derf (Oct 21, 2015)

I've never seen a 10" with only 1 tumbler lever.....mine has 2.


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## hrolen (Oct 21, 2015)

Wow, that appears to be a world war II era heavy 10. From what I have learned, they went to the double tumbler gear box in the late forties. I acquired my first lathe this year and it looks the same. The brass tag looks like the one on my lathe that reads "property of the defense plant corporation, an instrumentality of the United States government". I can't tell due to the picture quality, but it sure looks like mine. That would date it somewhere between 1941-1945 as congress disbanded the DPC in 1945. The serial number should be on the tailstock end of the bed. I beleive the tag on the leg indicates it has a " war finish " (less filler, one primer coat two finish coats). In short, barring catastrophic flaws(excessive, sway back bed wear, spindle damage, etc.) I would purchase this lathe if the short bed is not an issue, again assuming no major damage. I paid almost that much for mine and it needed a lot of TLC. It did however have an excellent spindle and a taper attachment. [GALLERY=][GALLERY=][/GALLERY][/GALLERY]


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## DoogieB (Oct 21, 2015)

Nice clean-up on the lathe Hrolen.  Is your lathe a "big bore" aka can you use 5C collets?  I've read that with the older Heavy 10's the big spindle bore was an option were later they were almost all big bores.


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## hrolen (Oct 21, 2015)

First off thank you for the compliment. I am very new to all of this. These forums have helped me a lot! Yes, my machine is the 1 3/8" bore. The guy I bought it off of was a gun smith. He purchased in the mid sixties for his trade. He quit in the late eighties and loaned it to a friend who was a local welder and general mechanic. There it sat for 25 years until I acquired it. The price was cheap because he knew it wasn't going to be sold for profit. I do beleive the price is right on the op machine. A taper attachment would be sweeter though!


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## hrolen (Oct 21, 2015)

Oh I almost forgot, yes my machine can take 5c collets. It came with the holder and an adapter along with a few collets. When I polished the collets clean that DPC number was etched in to most of them. I just wish I had a closer. I guess I will have to make a draw tube!


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## woodtickgreg (Oct 21, 2015)

If I'm not mistaken the single tumbler gear box heavy 10 also had a sliding gear for high and low range. This is how my h10 is.  The double tumbler did not have that.


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## Doubleeboy (Oct 21, 2015)

Unless that lathe is clapped out, it is a good deal, possibly a very good deal depending on bearing and bed wear.  If you can not feel a big ridge on the ways with your fingernail and it seems to operate smoothly I would jump fast and snag it.  

nice find
michael


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## Skeet_Man (Oct 22, 2015)

Sadly I missed out, received an email from the seller yesterday evening that it was sold.  Guess I'll have to be a little quicker on my feet next time.


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## Dan_S (Oct 22, 2015)

Skeet_Man said:


> Sadly I missed out, received an email from the seller yesterday evening that it was sold.  Guess I'll have to be a little quicker on my feet next time.



Don't be to quick, if you are going to buy any machine used, you need to inspect it carefully, for things like spindle and bed wear. if either is excessive, it can be expensive to fix.


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## Andre (Oct 22, 2015)

woodtickgreg said:


> If I'm not mistaken the single tumbler gear box heavy 10 also had a sliding gear for high and low range. This is how my h10 is.  The double tumbler did not have that.


I believe that is correct.


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## pstemari (Oct 24, 2015)

Never mind. Already answered.


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## fromps (Nov 26, 2015)

Hello everyone! This is my first time posting to a thread like this, so hopefully I'm in the right spot. I am about to trade for my first lathe, but the guy wants $1500 for his south bend lathe. It's in the Oregon and I've read the NW machines fetch a higher price. I'm generally just a metal art and small project junky, so I don't need anything too fancy to learn on. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.





Thanks,
Iz


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## fromps (Nov 26, 2015)

fromps said:


> Hello everyone! This is my first time posting to a thread like this, so hopefully I'm in the right spot. I am about to trade for my first lathe, but the guy wants $1500 for his south bend lathe. It's in the Oregon and I've read the NW machines fetch a higher price. I'm generally just a metal art and small project junky, so I don't need anything too fancy to learn on. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I forgot to post my question....smh... Would you guys value it at $1500? Do you think this is a good beginner lathe?

Thanks,
Iz


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## DoogieB (Nov 26, 2015)

fromps said:


> I forgot to post my question....smh... Would you guys value it at $1500? Do you think this is a good beginner lathe?



The appraisal question pops-up quite often in this forum.  Unfortunately, it's almost always impossible to give an intelligent answer and that's why at least one machinery forum has this rule about price:

"Without seeing a machine in person, there are too many unknowns. In addition, prices vary considerably by location, condition, age, ease of pick up or delivery, and so on. Your best option is to search for available sale prices, such as completed sales on eBay"

And that's for woodworking machines.  Condition on metal working machines is even more important because you are working to such tighter tolerances.

Your best best is to go on Youtube and start watching mrpete222's videos.  He has quite a few lathes and he's good at explaining how they work and why you would want this or that feature.  Make a shopping list and then stick to it.  For me, when I was lathe shopping, I decided I needed a QCGB, power crossfeed and a under-mount motor to save shop space.  It also had to be small enough that I could handle it.  After about a year of searching on Ebay and CL, I ended-up with a SB 10K and it's been working fine.

To answer your question anyway, around here that lathe (a SB 9C) would have trouble getting half that price.


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## fromps (Nov 26, 2015)

First off- Happy Thanksgiving! Second, thank you for such a thorough response. I will add mrpetes222 to my subscription list on YouTube, and I will try and locate comparative pricing, but I'm not even sure what model it is. I'm still waiting on a response back with model and serial number. Again, thank you for your quick response.

Iz


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## fromps (Nov 26, 2015)

I just saw you stated it was an SB 9C... Thank you, I'll run with that for comparative pricing.


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## pstemari (Nov 27, 2015)

While up in Seattle, $1.5k for a SB 9c sounds in the ballpark. 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk


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