# Noobie With A Very Old Sb Lathe



## RobertHaas (Mar 16, 2016)

I have to study so that I can rise up to the level of knowing nothing at all. Truly out of my element here but I am an old man with a bunch of tools so I sure hope I can figure this thing out. 

This is a very old unit with a 6' bed. the serial number is 8342

The head stock and tail stock are solid, however the cross slide has quite a bit of play in the threads.

I tore it down and cleaned it up, the Gibs adjusted well and maintain a nice smooth run full throw. 

Not sure how to get the play out of it. over a hundred thou. 

I honestly will try to learn by searching and not just show up and start asking dumb questions. (actually most of my questions are pretty dumb)


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## lcorley (Mar 16, 2016)

I had similar problems with my Logan.  I was able to get a replacement cross slide nut from a guy on ebay -- derewa2.  It reduced the slop from about 120 thou to 20 thou.

regards,
Leon


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## Bob Korves (Mar 16, 2016)

Sometimes the lead screw nut is loose where it attaches to the cross slide.  Also, sometimes the feed knob arrangement is put together wrong or is missing a thrust washer, spacer or something similar.  .100" backlash does not likely come from a worn lead screw...


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## dlane (Mar 16, 2016)

Dose it have a taper attachement ? , what SB is it ?. You can probably get new repop nuts and screws for X slide /compound.


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## FOMOGO (Mar 16, 2016)

No dumb questions. Your will get a lot of good advice here, and once you get into it the issue will make itself known. Sounds like you have some skills and it will probably be a fairly simple fix. Welcome to the forum. Mike


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## brino (Mar 17, 2016)

Robert, You are doing great. Just jump right in here. As already said above you need to look at the lead-screw and nut. Welcome to the site! 
-brino


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## RobertHaas (Mar 17, 2016)

I ordered the nut last night, Thanks for the link.

The screw will probably be a more difficult part to replace, it has an integrated gear on it. 

Anyway to identify what lathe this is? 

I will post up a couple pictures today and see if I should continue down this path of restoration. 

I had an old oil can that has been in my shop for thirty years or so, I cleaned it up and will keep it near the lathe to keep the ol girl slippery. 30 weight OK to use?


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## Mack (Mar 17, 2016)

You might find this link helpful 
http://bluechipmachineshop.com/bc_blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/lubrication_chart_6503.pdf


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## Mack (Mar 17, 2016)

They sell small amounts of the different lubricants too.
http://bluechipmachineshop.com/


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## RobertHaas (Mar 19, 2016)

any idea where I can order the wicks?


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## Mack (Mar 21, 2016)

I got my rebuild book and kit on eBay. Just google south bend rebuild.


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## RobertHaas (Mar 23, 2016)

This is the  ol girl.  
	

		
			
		

		
	

View attachment 125463


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## Surprman (Mar 23, 2016)

Mack said:


> They sell small amounts of the different lubricants too.
> http://bluechipmachineshop.com/
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Robert,
Get the kit of the 4 different oils (A, B, C and way oil) initially.  That will get you by for a year or so, and then you will want to get a gallon of the C oil - you use that the most.  Older south bend lathes are great.  The change gear versions are not as bad as some make out- granted, it is slower than a QC gearbox but unless you are in production where time is money it is not too bad.  BTW- do you live in the Lower Hudson Valley?  I may have worked with you in the past if so.

Rick


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## RobertHaas (Oct 22, 2018)

OK time to resurrect this thread, I need help.

The widow of the person I bought this Lathe from contacted me last week and said they found a box with what appeared to be parts for my lathe. 

I went up this weekend and hit the gold mine. 

I now have a 4 jaw chuck a 5" steady rest. a box full of gears and maybe a hundred pounds of parts that I have no idea what they are.


Here is the million dollar question (I won't pay that of course) 

It looks like I can now stack gears to do threading,....any way to find a chart or manual to illustrate the order/size to allow me to do this?


Also can I post up a picture of all these mystery pieces and we can have you fine folks help educate me please?


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## RobertHaas (Oct 22, 2018)

I have no idea what the last one is.


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## Janderso (Oct 22, 2018)

We are gonna need a picture of the lathe now that you resurrected this thread.


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## Latinrascalrg1 (Oct 22, 2018)

From what i can see of that last part shown i think it may be some type of milling attachment for a lathe but it looks to be set up to mill round tubing/pipe based on the V notch and what look to be hold down socket head cap screws and if you look very closely at the side with the 3 inline holes (probably Gib nut Adjustment screws) you can barely make out the plate seperation between the graduated hash mark scale on the rear side with a deep position indicating hash mark on the front adjustable side.....Anyway thats my guess!


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## thenrie (Oct 25, 2018)

You're going to be fine with that lathe and the tooling the lady found. I'm hoping she also found the cross and top slides, but if not, you will be able to find them from somebody eventually. Keep an eye on eBay and try places like Plaza Machinery (Joe died last year, but his son still sells machine parts: vincentbergamo624@gmail.com). Contact him with your model and needs and he might be able to find something for you. 

By the way, that lathe is a gap-bed, so you can extend the throw by several inches. Sort of a rare option, increasing the value of your lathe. The lathe itself looks to be in very good condition. A real find. There is a site where you can search your serial number and find the year of manufacture and model of your lathe, but I can't remember it right off. Somebody else will have to post that for you.


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## Superburban (Oct 25, 2018)

SN 8342, looks like 1916

http://www.wswells.com/serial_number.html


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