# South Bend lathe 9C



## Blam27 (Sep 21, 2014)

Have purchased a South Bend lathe 9C, serial no. A7938NCR10.  The owner said he thought it was made between 1945 and 1953.  It has a V-belt drive and is in very good condition.  It came with no motor, horizontal countershaft drive unit, and control switch.  Can anyone help me find where I might purchase a v-belt horizontal pulley drive assembly unit versus making one?  I am not sure what type motor (and speed) is supposed to drive this lathe - 1/4, 1/2, or 3/4?.  Is it possible to install a variable speed drive on it?  I would like to clean it up and reassemble and oil it.  What type of oil is best?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.


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## OldMachinist (Sep 21, 2014)

They come up on Ebay all the time. None on there right now but I just looked at the sold listings and they normally sell for around $200.

The only other choice would be Plaza Machinery. You have to send them a fax or email stating what your looking for, where you want it sent and Joe will get back to you. 
http://www.plazamachinery.com/


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## fastback (Sep 21, 2014)

I use a 1/2 hp motor on my 9B it seems to work OK.  I think they came with a 1/4 hp when new.  I could be wrong.  Make sure the motor is reversible, it may come in handy when tapping or in some threading situations.   Keep in mind that the rule of thumb is to double the hp that originally came with these lathes.  It has to do with the quality of the motors more then the actual horse power. I would not use a VFD in place of the counter shaft.  You would need both in order for it to work.  I don't think that a motor would either have the power or hold up.  However, I think that you may be able to do it if you switch to DC.  I'm sure others would have more information of this.

Paul


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## Kernbigo (Sep 26, 2014)

I had a 10" atlas and now own a 9" south bend wide bed, have 1 hp thread mill motors on both. You don.t need the counter shaft run it direct as long as you run a long enough belt so it will not slip. Also a vfd will work fine get about  a 1 hp motor


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