# I found this 14-1/2" South Bend, I would appreciate your comments.



## Chainsaw Driver (Mar 10, 2013)

Good morning,
I found a 14-1/2" South Bend lathe for sale about 5 hours from me.  I was seriously considering the 14-1/2" in Ohio (see for sale section) but just couldn't get there.  I've spoken with the shop foreman that has this one for sale and although used continuously for the last 20 years it appears in very good shape.  They're a speciality shop and the machine doesn't run all the time.  This is a newer lathe with what appears to be a D1-4 camlock spindle and the collet closer.  It also has a two speed switch with reverse.  The shop foreman has agreed to hold it for me until Wednesday when I can review it.  I was the first one that called and several other people have called on it since I called.  He stated he would allow me first opportunity since I was the first caller.  They're asking $3500.  I feel that may be just a tad high but its a newer machine and I really want the camlock spindle.  It has been repainted and he stated TIR is .002.  Please share your wisdom and experience.  Thank you,


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## woodtickgreg (Mar 11, 2013)

Nice that it's powered up and you can see it run. The fact that it is in use is a good thing, it's when they sit and become rusty that they develop problems. It looks like it has just about every option and lots of tooling, that tooling can add up in cost real quick. The cost is a little high, imo, but it is turnkey and you don't have to do anything to it, just buy it and use it. It looks to be in good condition, check the ways for wear. That camlock will sure make changing chucks easier.


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## Splat (Mar 11, 2013)

+1 on what Greg said. That's a lot of tooling plus the machine appears to be in good condition. I'd offer $2800 or $3k cash depending upon inspection and see if he'll negotiate from there. Good luck.


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## woodtickgreg (Mar 12, 2013)

Be sure and let us know what you decided and what you saw if you go to look at it. Looks like a nice lathe in the pics. 
Like your user name, curious what that means?


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## Chainsaw Driver (Mar 12, 2013)

Thanks Greg, I sure will.  I'm still scheduled to drive to San Antonio tomorrow morning to look at it.  I hope its as good as the photos show.  I also hope they come down on the price.  Its about a thousand dollars over budget.  I've never let that stop me before.  I generally look at a purchase like this as if I don't like it can I get my money out of it.  Even at $3K I think I can at least break even.  I appreciate your comments.  I see you're a Chainsaw Driver yourself.  I've considered getting one of those jigs like yours.  Occasionally I want to slab an odd tree for later use.  :thinking:


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## rafe (Mar 12, 2013)

For $3500 it should be a lot  more than painted ....should have good ways, new felts, lots and lots of tooling ....I'm not saying it's too much money for the lathe ...it's a "lot"  higher than most and may just be a pretty face...."lipstick on a pig" comes to mind.....It needs to be much better than average IMHO


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## Chainsaw Driver (Mar 13, 2013)

Thank you to everyone that provide their input.  Here's what happened today.  Please tell me if I'm nuts.  I'm thinking of driving myself to Rusk and checking myself into the state mental hospital.
Drove to San Antonio to review the lathe, true to their word they held it for me.  In fact when I arrived it was covered in aluminum chips, they told me their new Haas CNC hadn't arrived yet and they needed to use it this morning.  Looks good to me.  Once we exchanged pleasantries it got really interesting.  The first thing I noticed is it has a taper attachment (I couldn't tell it from the Craigslist photo and they didn't mention it).  The Collet closer is there as well as the tool post.  I reviewed the ways and found a little ridge on the bottom of the front side way that might stand proud .002", maybe.  Its very small but is there and is prevalent for about 2 feet of the bed.  There was very little other damage.  Normal use.  The lathe does have the two speed motor, Wow it ran great, very quiet.  The belt is also some kind of blue polymer, they told me it was the original belt and its in great shape.  These guys are the original owners and have truly babied this machine.  I then asked if they happened to have the steady rest, They looked at me funny and then went digging.  They came back with a South Bend micrometer steady rest, WooHoo!  I then asked about the micrometer carriage stop, they didn't know what it was for but remembered seeing something like that, they dug around a while and Voila, they had it.  At this point we had settled on a price and they kept digging, they found the micrometer follower rest, two face plates, an extra Jacobs chuck, an extra 4" backer plate and a "poor man's DRO" they made for the machine, and the manual collet closer.  The final weird thing of the day is the Part number clearly says CLC8145C which we all took to be a 14-1/2 model.  The bed is clearly cast 13" South Bend.  She appears to be a 13" South Bend instead of 14-1/2".  I'm thrilled, 13" parts are much easier to find.  After all the tooling was added we agreed on $3,250.  Am I nuts?  I realize it's a lot but they were firm and the machine is immaculate.  No lipstick on swine here.  Now all I need is an RPC, some tool holders, and cutting tools, some collets would be nice also.  I've included a couple of photos for your review.  Oh also the 3 jaw is a Bison and the four jaw is an original South Bend.  I'm extremely happy with the purchase, I hope I didn't pay too much, oh well who cares, I'll keep her for the rest of my life.  Seems like a small investment over 30 years.


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## woodtickgreg (Mar 13, 2013)

Congratulations! She's a nice lathe and you can get right to using her and not have to restore it.


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## macrnr (Mar 13, 2013)

sweet, you did well!


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## Chainsaw Driver (Mar 13, 2013)

Oh yeah, I forgot a couple more things.  They have all the original documentation from South Bend.  I have the original certificate of accuracy where they certified this lathe as a "tool room" version instead of an engine lathe.  The original blue print for the wiring diagram is in the file, as well as the full loose leaf manual.  The setup and lubrication chart is here as well as the original warranty card.  Machine was purchased on September 3rd, 1974.  Full maintenance and parts list manuals are also in the file.  i love old documentation, very cool.  :thumbsup:


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## rafe (Mar 13, 2013)

shawn said:


> Thats a fantastic looking lathe. As far as I'm concerned the price (which seems completely reasonable to me) isn't the biggest factor. If you get what you want and your happy with it that's what counts, its an expensive hobby no matter what way you look at it, so I just don't look.
> 
> Shawn



I agree with that, Looks like a good deal....And the main thing now is, it's yours. Crazy?? I think we are all a bit crazy to buy industrial machines for our basements or garages, but not as crazy as the people strapping on devices and bowling with their TV's (no offence if any one here does that.)
Good luck with that beauty


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## Ulma Doctor (Mar 13, 2013)

THAT'S SOME SWEET LATHE THERE)


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## Restorer (Mar 14, 2013)

Consider your needs.  Do you have enough room for it?  Is this machine the correct size for the work you do?  What is the motor set up for, if its 3 phase more of a problem in the home shop than if its 230 volt single phase.   How will you move it.   If something breaks some day can parts be obtained?  Will you loose a customer if it takes too long to get parts?

Does it come fully tooled: (ex.) Steady rest, Follower rest, 4 Jaw Chuck, Face plate, Drive Plate full set of usuable collets, taper attachment etc.; if no start subtraction from the price.?  If its fully tooled and in excellent condition probably OK price on the high side for a used machine.

If its not a business decision, and you want this cool lathe in the home shop and have $3,500 in the pocket, GO FOR IT!

The machine looks good from the pictures.


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## OrangeAlpine (Mar 14, 2013)

Personally, I think you should have held out for a clapped out machine with no accessories and paid only $750 for it.  Would keep you busy the rest of your life locating all the needed "stuff" and rebuilding it.  At the end, you'd probably have not a penny more the 5 G's in it.  And probably not a penny less, either.

Great machine, good buy.  Enjoy.

Bill


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## Chainsaw Driver (Mar 14, 2013)

Thank you to everyone for your comments and support.  The RPC is on its way, once I get the remainder of my tooling I'll be making chips.  Can't wait.  I really enjoy the support here, and I appreciate the respectful nature of the forum.  Thanks again.


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## Splat (Mar 15, 2013)

I think you got a helluva nice lathe for a good price, CD!  Congrats on her!  Only one thing though... where's the "moving" pics? Come on, we all wanna see them.


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## ScubaSteve (Mar 15, 2013)

I wouldn't call it a steal, but you definitely got your money's worth  If I had to make a list of things a lathe like this would require for that price point, I think your purchase pretty much describes it! You could have spent that much on a no-name lathe brand new....but it certainly wouldn't hold its value like this one. I think you did well....enjoy the machine!

P.S. Am I the only one who thinks those guys were "holding out on you"? Kind of funny how the accessories magically appeared once you offered a good price...LOL :rofl:


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## Chainsaw Driver (Mar 15, 2013)

Hmmm, that's a good point.  I hadn't considered that.  The parts on ebay would be worth a lot.  I'm very happy with it even though all I can do right now is look at it.  RPC shipped today, getting anxious to make something.  Been shopping all day for some tool holders.  It has a 100 series KDK tool post.  I found several available on ebay and bought the one that was new.  I have to wait until the holder gets here to see what bit size it takes.  Wow being a total noob has its challenges.  If anyone knows where to find some KDK holders please let me know.  Thanks for all the help.


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## johnnyc14 (Mar 16, 2013)

Wow, I think you got a great deal. I've been looking for a lathe for a while now and I would love to find one like that here in Alberta. Although there are quite a few that come up for sale, they are almost always huge industrial machines. I am considering one of the Chinese imports but if I would prefer a classic quality machine like yours. You did very well I think, it's clean, we'll maintained and came with most of the extras you'll ever need. Congrats on a great find.

John


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## Clausing (Apr 7, 2013)

Great find, especially with all the documentation.
 Your real lucky to have a 13" instead of a 14.5 believe me, I have a 14.5 X 16 and I will be watching for parts on E-bay for some time to come.

Again, great score!


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## Ulma Doctor (Apr 8, 2013)

you just avoided spending a ton of money and a lot of time when you got the lathe. you probably would not have done any better trying to piece one together!
i said it once, i'll say it again, Nice Lathe


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## Chuck K (Apr 8, 2013)

Rare to find one that complete.  Very nice!


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## Uncle Buck (Apr 8, 2013)

I think you stole it myself. You got everything all in one shot and it's in great shape too. You did great!


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## martik777 (Apr 8, 2013)

Very nice, you'll never have to buy another one.  

The ridge on the bottom of the bed way front side seems odd, usually the ridge is near the top of the V. I would pull the saddle and check the ways in there too.


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## Chainsaw Driver (Apr 9, 2013)

I should probably do that but I can't stop using it long enough to take it apart.  I love this thing.  Btw, my collet set came in and I'm still getting leases than .001 tir.  It's running about .0007. I couldn't be more pleased.  If I could change one thing it would be the tool post.  KDK tool holders are tough to find and expensive.  I've bought several but still don't have everything I want.  Maybe I should sell them and buy one of the Dorian sets?  Anyway it's a small issue.


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## Sanctifier (Apr 9, 2013)

Great buy... and IMHO at a pretty good price for all the tooling that you got too. Enjoy.

I just got a SB 13" myself last week... with NO tooling other than a taper attachment and faceplate.
Yup unfortunately mine has been sitting for awhile, (High school Welding class!?!) so it also came with its fair share of surface rust too.

Thank God for eBay. I've since scored a South Bend 13” lathe small spindle Collet holder with 11 SB#2 collets... 
a South Bend 13” Rebuild Kit  (wicks, wipers etc.) & Manual... and a couple lexan chuck shields.

Next comes the Collet Rack... 3 and 4-jaw chucks... lathe dogs, tool holders etc... Rotary Phase Converter (& Wiring) :bitingnails:... and on… and on.

Then the restoration begins (in between other projects.) 
Electrolysis… Soda blasting… Eastwood's No-lead Solder or All-Metal filler… Epoxy paint… etc. etc.
It will be awhile before I'm making chips... Should be interesting.:LOL:


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## Chainsaw Driver (Apr 9, 2013)

Sanctifier, I see your from TT.  Spent some time in Point Lisas.  Fascinating country, I really enjoyed the people I worked with down there.  Good luck with your restoration.


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## Sanctifier (Apr 10, 2013)

Chainsaw Driver said:


> Sanctifier, I see your from TT.  Spent some time in Point Lisas.  Fascinating country, I really enjoyed the people I worked with down there.  Good luck with your restoration.


Thanks *Chainsaw. *Yup, in spite of the idiot politicians, Trinidad & Tobago is a pretty good place to live; with opportunities to make a decent living.

If only these idiot politicians would give us a break with this ridiculous Rate of Exchange! (US $1 = TT$6.45)... Then it would be GREAT.
Meanwhile I'll just have to creep along, slowly equipping my *ToyRoom.

*http://www.zorce.com/zforums/viewtopic.php?p=22167#22167

I still want an SB 16/24" eventually since I already have most of the tooling but I'll always hold onto this SB 13"...
With a couple drive-pulley upgrades, it will make a GREAT wood-turning lathe after I get the 16/24 in a couple years time.
After this restoration, next up for the* ToyRoom* has to be a decent Milling Machine. (This one will have to be restored in advance.):LOL:


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