# South Bend 8k 8x18



## wrmiller (Mar 23, 2013)

I am considering this machine, as I need something small I can move into a basement by myself but want more machine than my old 7x12.

Just wondering if anyone here has any experience with one?

TIA,
Bill


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## efenley (Apr 3, 2013)

I received mine about a month ago. It was well crated and had no damage. Visually it is small but impressive, with attention to detail I've not seen in the lower end lathes. I was in the Grizzly showroom in Muncy a few years ago and found the small lathes to be very rough on the edges and a little cheap looking in the gears, dials, etc. This has ground surfaces everywhere, including the skirt, and beveled edges that give it a very finished look. Components like gears, toolholder and dials are high quality. There is little backlash in the dials and I've found it easy to shave a few tenths of a thousandth off a radius reliably.  Speed change between the high and low belt is quick (1 minute or so), but most work I do is on the high setting. I've run nylon, aluminum, steel and 4140 tool steel on it and except for some chatter with the 4140 (probably my fault) it had little problem with any of it. The belt drive is quiet and it quickly powers up and has an electric brake(?) that brings the speed back down quickly. Thread/feed changes require a little work to switch gears and belts, but if you don't plan on much threading, this may be of minimal importance. The chuck appears to be of good quality, but I have not checked it for run out.  Note that the spindle is 1 1/8" as advertised, but the chuck is closer to 7/8 inch, so you will need a larger chuck if you want to make use of the entire spindle bore. 

Complaints include an odd design for lubrication and some poor workmanship in the factory at the grease fittings. The two fittings on the acme thread ends popped out when I put pressure on them because the fitting was very loose, so I replaced them (6mm press fit) with 1/4" press fit from McMaster. I also replaced the spindle fittings with oil cups from McMaster as well. The spindles have grease fittings (zerks) for some odd reason. They tell you to use an oilcan to squirt oil through the grease fitting, but I found that impractical, as oil leaked everywhere when I tried it. There was also no way to verify how much oil made it into the spindles, and this is critical for proper lathe care. Read the manual on lubrication so you understand what I'm saying. The feed/thread gearing also has grease fittings, but they are not sized for a common grease gun. They supply a cheap plastic gun that I suppose is usable, but I just replaced them with 5mm grease fittings that I trimmed the hex off of to allowthem to fit inside the nut (this will make sense once you see it). 

They provide a final inspection report that gives the measured run out on all moving elements on the machine, and if it is accurate, it speaks well of their quality control, despite the grease fitting issues. Send me an email addressand I'll send you a copy of it if you want. 

 It is made in Taiwan, and it looks like they put a lot of effort into making it worthy of the SB brand.  I'm a mechanical engineer and grew up in my father’s machine shop running the old SB and Hardinge lathes. The new SB 8K is not a Hardinge,of course, but at 300 pounds and $2300 it is a good fit for my needs. I needed a precision lathe that would be usable without a lot of work, and I could move into and out of my basement.  I have a small engineering company I operate out of my house, so my needs are different than most home users. I make small prototype parts in low quantities, and larger items I contract out.   Some of the Chinese lathes require a lot of tuning (I've read) that I just don't have the time for.  As is mentioned elsewhere on this and other boards, there are cheaper products out there, and if you don't require precision, and/or have a limited budget, you may get a better value with the Chinese lathes. I'm sure someone will tell you that you should buy an old American lathe, and that is an option for some.  Have someone who has the equipment and knowledge check it out first, as used equipment may not have been maintained very well and parts can be hard to find.   I am quite happy with my purchase and would recommend it to someone with similar requirements.


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## wrmiller (Apr 4, 2013)

I thank you for taking the time to reply to my questions. I will PM you my email address.

I have decided to get this lathe. I know, I can get cheaper/bigger stuff from Grizzly, but I don't require nor want bigger. Or worn out.

I do appreciate the head's up about the chuck. Thanks. Everything else seems trivial.


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