# Old South Bend 13inch



## rockcrawlinnut (Apr 16, 2016)

A friend of mine just aquired a nice old South Bend lathe it is a 13 inch with a 4ft bed. And thats about all ive been able to come up with i would like to know the year and exact model of it if possible.


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## rockcrawlinnut (Apr 16, 2016)

I have several pics


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## rockcrawlinnut (Apr 16, 2016)

Heres some more


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## rockcrawlinnut (Apr 16, 2016)

And another


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## FOMOGO (Apr 17, 2016)

That's a beauty. Not sure on the year, but by the look of the motor I'm guessing early 1900's. The bed may be 4' overall including the head-stock area, but looks like 24'' or less max useful length with the tail-stock removed. Thinking it would have been considered a tool room lathe of the era. I'm sure someone here will come up with an accurate date for you.  Mike


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## LucknowKen (Apr 17, 2016)

Thanks for sharing. Like FOMOGO mentioned, looks like your friend got short changed on bed length.
http://www.wswells.com/serial_number.html


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## rockcrawlinnut (Apr 17, 2016)

Yea im just going off what the catalog tag says on length im hoping someone will have some info on it


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## core-oil (Apr 17, 2016)

That is a really cool old machine as well as being a self contained drive, It looks a nice handy size of a lathe , Should the bed be in reasonable good condition it would be ideal for a home craftsman, As it stands a nice little item of United States engineering history, The age & design of the electric motor from that by-gone era gives another glimpse of how things have changed and not always for the better-- modern is cheap and short lived.


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## brino (Apr 17, 2016)

Hi rockcrawlinnut,

First welcome to the site!

It is a little hard to get the size perspective from your second picture.
If that's a four foot long bed, then it's gotta be over six feet tall!

I think I found this old girl in the 1933 SouthBend catalog, see attached, page 23 of 76 (or pdf page 21).
13 inch swing 4' bed, cat. no. 386-A
It says the 4 foot model should be 16" between centres.

Here's a shot of the 5' model from that page:


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## LucknowKen (Apr 17, 2016)

Thanks brino: There is nothing like a good mystery solved.


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## David VanNorman (Apr 17, 2016)

The bed length is right ,. It  is 4 ' long  with the headstock witch gives the 16" between centers. It is a darn nice find. good luck with it.


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## rockcrawlinnut (Apr 18, 2016)

That is awesome. Thanks for the info. Im wondering if parts can be found if needed?


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## David VanNorman (Apr 18, 2016)

There is parts from Grizzly and most anything you need around.


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## rockcrawlinnut (Apr 22, 2016)

I talked to south bend they said there wasnt much they could do for that age of machine


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