# South bend 9a refurbished



## dmittz (Oct 9, 2018)

Hi everyone,

Thought I would share the refurbishment I did to my little south bend 9a last year.

I live on the Canadian west coast, which is a bit of a machinery desert.  But I did manage to find this South bend 9a lathe (built 1953). It was used as a high school lathe, then given to the shop teacher upon his retirement, I bought it from a friend of his who inherited it.

Here's the day I brought it home:







The lathe was in working condition when I got it.  I did one small project with it before tearing it down.  Most inportant the ways were in really nice shape.  Unfortunatly the chuck was REALLY stuck on the spindle. I also liked that it came with an original chip tray and cast iron stand.


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## dmittz (Oct 9, 2018)

I had my phone die so unfortunatley I lost most of the restoration pictures.  But I will share what I still have.

I tore the lathe down into its sub assemballies.

I removed 7 layers of paint from the bed and stand until it was down to bare metal.








Next I put 2 coats of expoy primer, followed by 2 coats of 2 part urethane automotive paint...







The ways had some dings near the chuck (being a school lathe) but the flaking was still faintly visible down the whole length so I will leave them be.

Here's the cast iron stand, I added a steel 2×4 (1/4 wall) between the two legs rigidity as well as a tray near the bottom, also made with a thick walled frame.  I also put some vibration dampening feet on it (hockey pucks).



I most of the pictures of the rest of the restoration but I took apart each sub assembally clean, stripped and repainted them.  I also replaced all the felts, wicks and wipers.  Additionally, I replaced on gear with a chipped tooth and replaced the bronze nut on the cross slide and conpound. I also had to buy new oil cups to replace the broken ones  To get the chuck off I made a tool that clamped the spindle along its hole length then built an attachment for the chuck back plate which had a large bar attached to it and I was able to get it off.

Gear box repainted with a NOS threading chart ready for for reassembally




Sorry guys no other pictures survived my phone dieing but here's the lathe all finished, works like a dream!

_








Thanks for looking!_


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## Norseman C.B. (Oct 9, 2018)

Nice job, thank you for the share...............


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## francist (Oct 9, 2018)

That's sure a nice looking machine now.

-frank


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## Skowinski (Oct 9, 2018)

Nice!


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## woodtickgreg (Oct 9, 2018)

Very nicely done. Great looking machine now.


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## dmittz (Oct 10, 2018)

Thanks everyone it was a fun project and has been a nice machine to use since its completion.


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## thenrie (Oct 25, 2018)

Great to see it back in South Bend colors! Nice job.


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## dmittz (Oct 25, 2018)

Thanks thenrie, Ya I quite like the colour.  Seemed to be close to the original color that was barried under 7 layers of paint.


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## Surprman (Oct 25, 2018)

Nice work!  Love seeing restored SB9s.
Rick


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## dmittz (Oct 25, 2018)

Thanks Surprman, it was a fun project.  I really enjoy bringing old stuff back to life.


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## Janderso (Nov 5, 2018)

Beautiful piece of machinery.
Thank you for sharing


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## dmittz (Nov 5, 2018)

Janderso said:


> Beautiful piece of machinery.
> Thank you for sharing



Thank you and your very welcome.


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## Leal N (Nov 9, 2018)

Beautifully done.  Congratulations on all the hard work.  Btw, I noticed the (I'm guessing Craigslist) powder coating oven!  Sweet


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## dmittz (Nov 10, 2018)

Leal N said:


> Beautifully done.  Congratulations on all the hard work.  Btw, I noticed the (I'm guessing Craigslist) powder coating oven!  Sweet



Thanks it was a fun project.   

Yes, I do quite a bit of powdercoating for myself, friends and an occasional paying job.     The oven came out of my home some years back when my wife and I replaced it with a new oven.   I think it is a mid 1980's vintage, but still operates perfectly and is great for powder coating small and medium sized stuff.    One day I'd like to have a much larger oven but for now this one works well and it was free.


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## pjf134 (Nov 14, 2018)

Skowinski said:


> Nice!


The machine is too clean. you have to use it to get it dirty, too bad.
Paul


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## jcslocum (Nov 15, 2018)

This is an inspiration! I just picked up my FIRST lathe last night. A bit crusty 9A that was in a basement for years. I'm just beginning to learn about it and will start a thread asking dumb questions. Here's my beauty that will look a bit newer over the winter.


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## tmenyc (Nov 15, 2018)

beautiful job -- I'm still cleaning the oily gunk off my brand-new 1943 Logan 820, and deciding whether to touch up the missing paint; I haven't even considered a complete restoration.  Also, under the grey paint (and where there is no grey paint, on undersides) is US Army green, clear evidence of its first career.  I wouldn't want to lose that.  But...your ground up job is inspiring, for sure!

Tim


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## dmittz (Nov 16, 2018)

pjf134 said:


> The machine is too clean. you have to use it to get it dirty, too bad.
> Paul


haha ya they can sure get dirty quick when your doing a project with a lathe.  I probably spend as much time cleaning my machine up after each use as I do machining.  I may be a little OCD.   lol


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## dmittz (Nov 16, 2018)

jcslocum said:


> This is an inspiration! I just picked up my FIRST lathe last night. A bit crusty 9A that was in a basement for years. I'm just beginning to learn about it and will start a thread asking dumb questions. Here's my beauty that will look a bit newer over the winter.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you for the kind words.

Congrats on your 9A I'm sure you will have lots of fun with it, they are a very nice home workshop machine.

 The nice thing about the SB9 is all of the pieces are small enough to carry by hand so it makes working on them so much easier than with a larger machine.

Is your SB 9A  a 4.5ft long bed?


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## dmittz (Nov 16, 2018)

tmenyc said:


> beautiful job -- I'm still cleaning the oily gunk off my brand-new 1943 Logan 820, and deciding whether to touch up the missing paint; I haven't even considered a complete restoration.  Also, under the grey paint (and where there is no grey paint, on undersides) is US Army green, clear evidence of its first career.  I wouldn't want to lose that.  But...your ground up job is inspiring, for sure!
> 
> Tim
> View attachment 279854



Thanks, I had lots of fun sprucing up my little 9A.  

I can totally see why want to leave the original paint on your logan intact, sounds like it has a neat history.  Mine was just a local school lathe, and then privately owned after that, so nothing special history wise like yours.    

Thanks for sharing the picture of your Logan.


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## jcslocum (Nov 19, 2018)

_Is your SB 9A a 4.5ft long bed?_

Yes it is. It has a small batch to other bits too. I will start my own posy soon, once I get it out of the bed of my truck!!


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## dmittz (Nov 20, 2018)

jcslocum said:


> _Is your SB 9A a 4.5ft long bed?_
> 
> Yes it is. It has a small batch to other bits too. I will start my own posy soon, once I get it out of the bed of my truck!!




Cool, I hear the 4.5ft beds are fairly rare. I look forward to seeing you post more pictures once its unloaded.


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## Grallert (Dec 3, 2018)

That's a beaut.


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## dmittz (Dec 3, 2018)

Grallert said:


> That's a beaut.


Thanks, I happy with how it turned out.


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## Ken from ontario (Jul 22, 2021)

Hi dmitts, I know this is an old thread and you probably don't visit this site as often but in case you read this post  I am wondering what the actual footprint of this SB 9a is, the reason I ask:  my neighbor 'grand father has one (very similar to yours),  and would like to give it to a "good home" so now I have an opportunity to trade my small aluminum fishing boat for his Southbend 9A.

My shop is already fully packed and before I even consider to get the lathe , I need to know how much space it occupies for example how many inches of space is needed behind it for the back gear/belt/ pulleys? length? I'm told is 48" ,width 36"?
How was moving this heavy lathe? can you take some of it apart to make it lighter?
Anyone else who reads this can chime in , I'll appreciate any help I can get.


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## mattthemuppet2 (Jul 22, 2021)

sounds like a great trade! My 48" length heavy 9 is on a 24 (maybe 26?) inch deep bench, though that is with a DIY countershaft and motor plate. Fits fine though. Headstock end hangs over the end a few inches, so it takes up perhaps 44" of bench.


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## Ken from ontario (Jul 23, 2021)

mattthemuppet2 said:


> sounds like a great trade! My 48" length heavy 9 is on a 24 (maybe 26?) inch deep bench, though that is with a DIY countershaft and motor plate. Fits fine though. Headstock end hangs over the end a few inches, so it takes up perhaps 44" of bench.


Thanks  Matt, I appreciate your input. the one in question  is supposedly wider something like 32" or 36" wide and comes with it's own SB stand just like the OP's pics.
I should start a separate thread on this buy, still contemplating if it's a wise move to add another machine in an already packed shop,


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## mattthemuppet2 (Jul 23, 2021)

ah, if it's an underdrive 9A I admit I have no clue how wide it would be, sorry!


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