# 1942 SB 13" Pit stop



## rmack898 (Aug 23, 2014)

I have a good friend that is always coming over to get me to make this or make that for him. He's one of those guys that would give you the shirt off his back so I don't mind doing things for him. He didn't want to be too much of a pain in the butt so he bought his own lathe, A 1942 SB 13".

It  looks rough but it is really in not bad shape. It's dirty and the motor is seized. I don't have time to do a major job on someone else's lathe so I'm helping him do a pit stop quick clean, lube, and paint job on this lathe. It's a single tumbler QC and all the gears were in good shape. The motor is seized and the back gear was seized. We got the gear trail off and in the parts washer, I got the back gear out and freed up, and got the motor removed. The base and bed are all cleaned up and ready for a rattle can paint job. So far  we have about 8 man hours in this.

He bought this lathe with a new un-mounted 8" import chuck and an import BXA post for $500. I'm trying to get this lathe done in 1 week. My friend Joe is doing most of the work and I'm the tech support guy. No work on it tomorrow but we'll give it a good shot on Monday.


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## drs23 (Aug 23, 2014)

Cudos on you Mac. That's stand up of you. Do keep us up to date please. I really enjoy these 'back from the grave' pictorials!


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## Shadowdog500 (Aug 23, 2014)

Looks like a neat project!!!
Chris


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## rafe (Aug 23, 2014)

That will do anything he wants it to. Can the motor be saved? Old GE?


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## Kroll (Aug 24, 2014)

Good friends are hard to come by or make time for each other,life is just to dang busy.He's lucky to have a friend like you who has the knowledge and alittle guidence along the way.Nothing better than alittle sweat equity,he'll be thank you through the whole process and smile each time he uses it.Keep the pics coming,I have to say this is one of the best sections lots of good storys w/happy endings
Sure love your roundhead,awesome!


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## woodtickgreg (Aug 24, 2014)

Wow he got a great price on it. I have always wanted a 13, only way I would give up my 10L is if I bought a 13. I'll be watching this one as I too love these kinds of projects.


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## stevecmo (Aug 24, 2014)

Mac,

You're not only a lucky, happy bastard......you're a good guy!  :man:

That will probably be my next lathe.

Steve


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## zmotorsports (Aug 25, 2014)

That is awesome of you Mac.  Great friends are hard to come by anymore.  Those that want something for nothing are a dime a dozen.

Please make sure to post up some pics of the rebuild and the finished product.  

Mike.


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## rmack898 (Aug 25, 2014)

rafe said:


> That will do anything he wants it to. Can the motor be saved? Old GE?



You're right, this lathe will do most anything that Joe will need it to do. The motor is a Robbins & Meyers 2 HP, 3 PH motor and I don't think we will be using it.

Today was fairly productive but we didn't get as much done as I had hoped to. We got the carriage and apron removed as well as the lead screw and QC gear box. Joe got all of the cast covers ready for paint as well as the head stock, bed and base. We just need to mask and tape everything up and it will get two coats of Rustoleum rattle can tomorrow. I really wasn't planning on taking the QC gear box off but when I looked at the gears with a light and a mirror I knew we had to go a little deeper. The QC box will spend the night in the parts washer and we'll take a closer look at it when all the gunk on the gears is gone. 

When I get home from work tomorrow I get Joe started on the rattle can job and I'll dig into the apron and check all the felts and see what we need to do to clean it up an make it serviceable. 

We still have to decide about what to do for a motor. My choice would be to go 3 phase with a VFD but it's not my lathe or my money. It might also come down to what kind of motor Joe might have in his shed so at this point we are undecided about the motor.

Here's a few pics from todays efforts.


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## Smudgemo (Aug 27, 2014)

Subscribed


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## rmack898 (Aug 29, 2014)

Joe was MIA for 3 days but we got back on it today. We got the headstock and bed masked and 2 coats of rattle can.

The tailstock quill was seized but I got it apart and all freed up. Tomorrow I should have the QC, saddle and apron ready for paint. Not going as fast as I had hoped but we're going much faster than I would if I were left to do it on my own.


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## drs23 (Aug 29, 2014)

Just a little progress is still progress! Appears to be going well.

Looking forward to more updates.


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## rmack898 (Dec 1, 2014)

Well this project took much more time to complete than I thought it would. The actual time spent working on the lathe was not too bad, all together I think we have about 40 or so man hours in it give or take a little. The fact that it took almost 3 months to get those 40 hours of work is what I was not really happy about, but between a busy day job and family obligations, we finally got it done.

Joe wanted a single phase 110 volt motor. A good dumpster dive gave us a 1 HP, 1850 RPM motor that was switchable from CW to CCW rotation. The shaft was smaller than the drive pulley for the lathe so I made a bushing and pressed it into the pulley and bored it for the new motor shaft. I got the new motor mounted and ran all new wires to the original drum switch.

The apron got good cleaning, new felts, a coat of paint, and re-installed. The gib screws for the cross slide and compound were missing and after 2 days of searching the shop, I made new ones. This lathe had a 1-7/8" 8TPI spindle which is not too common but Jeff at tools4cheap had a new 8" back plate for $60. I tuned the back plate for the new import 3-jaw chuck and got it mounted. Joe had bought a 5-piece set of indexable tool holders with 3/8" shanks for $39 and they worked just fine for turning the back plate for the chuck.

After the chuck was mounted I chucked up a piece of 3/4" drill rod to check the run out on the cheap import chuck and was surprised that it was just less than .003".  Once we get this lathe moved back to Joe's shop and leveled, I'll put a test bar in it and check it for taper. 

Joe will use this lathe mostly to make the occasional spacer or special bolt that he usually comes here for me to make for him. It's a nice lathe and more than he needs but he's happy with it.

The bottom line of me posting this was to show that you can buy an old machine, spend a little time fixing it up, and wind up with a nice quality machine that will last you a lifetime for not much money. Joe has just about $800 invested in this lathe and about 40 or so total man hours........Not a bad deal.

BTW, If I had 5 full uninterrupted days to work on this lathe, it would have been a pit stop quick job.

Edit, about 2 hours after I post this, the software will let me add the pics.


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## CoopVA (Dec 2, 2014)

Looking good so far.  Thanks for sharing!



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## rmack898 (Dec 2, 2014)

still unable to get the pics to upload


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## fastback (Dec 2, 2014)

Never saw the final pictures..  I also would love to have a 13 inch Southbend, but it would need to have the 1 3/8 spindle hole like my 10L.  I would hate to give that up.

Paul


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## rmack898 (Dec 17, 2014)

I think I got the pics issue resolved.


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## Andre (Dec 17, 2014)

You did an absolutely beautiful job on that South Bend! I have the exact same lathe, almost exactly identical besides bed length. Now that I know what mine can look like your giving me some ideas )


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## woodtickgreg (Dec 17, 2014)

If I ever stumbled across a nice 13 I would give up my heavy ten for it, but that's the only reason I would give up my ten, LOL. Nice work, she looks real good now.:thumbsup2:


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## rmack898 (Dec 17, 2014)

Andre and Greg, thanks for the compliments. The lathe is gone from my shop and now resides in Joe's shop where he is learning how to use it, I may have created a monster in that now Joe is calling me all the time with new questions about his new lathe.

I have torn down 7 machines to the last part and cleaned and painted everything to get the machine back in working order and looking good. This was the first machine that I did a rattle can paint job on, as well as the 7" SB shaper that I am just finishing up. I will say right here and now that I will never do a rattle can paint job on a machine again. There is no substitute for a good quality oil based, industrial enamel, applied with a good quality brush. If you take the time to take the machine down to the last part, take the time to paint it right. I'll never make that mistake again.


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