# Southbend Newbie



## Jonathans (Oct 26, 2014)

Hi all.  I am brand new at machining, and decided it was time to add it my arsenal (I am pretty well versed at woodworking, turning, and welding).
Through some support at the Beginners forum, I decided to go with some old iron instead of import for my learning lathe, and today I made my find and picked up a SB 9C with a 3' bed.  Almost everything is there except for the steady rest and follow rest (as far as my newbie knowledge takes me).
No collets or draw bar, and I don't know where I would use those rather than the chuck?
i think the lathe was only used for hobby use and minor gun smithing, so is in really nice condition. Doesn't appear to require any rebuilding at all. Should I check or change out oils or anything like that?
Anyway, I know you guys love pics, so here are a few.

$520 and so much better than a 7x14.  I got it up and running this evening.
so smooth.  Now to figure out how to use it properly!


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## spongerich (Oct 27, 2014)

Congrats... That looks like it was well cared for for all its life.  

The geartrain setup looks a little odd to me (maybe.. it's been a while since I owned a change-gear South Bend), but it seems like you've got all the gears, so you should have no problem setting up the feeds you want.

Collets can be handy for small work... (you remove the chuck and the collet fits inside the spindle with an adapter), but the best investment you can make for a small lathe is a quick change tool post.  An Aloris or Dorian is great if money is no object, but most of the Asian ones are more than good enough for home shop use.   I have a Phase II on my 10K and it's excellent.   In particular, parting off becomes *much* less of an adventure.. it's so much easier to get the tool on center and exactly perpendicular to the work.  I used to break parting tools all the time.. haven't broken one since installing the QCTP.

You might also want to think about beefing up your stand.  Rigidity is critical in getting a good finish and maintaining accuracy with a small lathe.  For starters, adding a couple layers of 3/4" MDF would be a big improvement.  If it's not bolted to the floor, adding some weight on that lower shelf would help too.


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## Jonathans (Oct 27, 2014)

Thanks Spongerich.  I guess I'll need to pick up a few things. Do you think I should go with an original SB steady rest or go with one of the newer telescopic ones?  I'm ready to pull the trigger on an AXA 100 Phase II tool post, but I can't figure out what tooling to get for it and what specs that tooling should have (Enco). I know I need a good parting tool for a project I have using 2.75" steel rounds, and I'll need to face them and surface them. Should I get indexable inserts tools or stick with HSS? I hate to be so clueless in a new endeavor.
roger and Ditto on the stand.  It's a POS roller cart with a couple layers of plywood on it.  I was impatient to bet it set up.
At least now I know how deep the bench needs to be with one of these set ups!  I have a couple of old cast bench support legs that I'll probably throw a sheet of 1/2" steel over when I get to it. Or  keep my eyes open on CL for something better.


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## ScrapMetal (Oct 27, 2014)

A nice little resource for getting going on a lathe is South Bend's old book, "How to Run a Lathe".  They printed many versions over the years but they are generally all the same.  Here's a link to a copy of one I found on the web - http://campkahler.com/files/How_to_Run_a_Lathe_SB_1of2.pdf 

 As far as tooling goes, it depends on your budget.  Personally I get along fine with HSS tools and grinding my own (This is a great way to learn more about cutting tools and how they work BTW.) but I'm also kind of fond of Mesa Tool's - http://www.mesatool.com/ and Arthur Warners - http://www.arwarnerco.com/  indexable tools with HSS inserts.

Hope that helps,

-Ron


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## Jonathans (Oct 27, 2014)

Thanks Ron. I'll definitely check that out


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## rw1 (Oct 27, 2014)

Nice looking little SB 9 Workshop.  Does look to be in great shape. 

Another contact would be Jeff at Tools4cheap.com     -- for import AXA tool holders and he does have (I believe) Hand Wheel Collet closer set up.  I think you need 3C collets for a SB 9 but don't quote me on it.  Up to about 3/4" dia work......


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## DoogieB (Oct 27, 2014)

First off, excellent purchase!  Even though it's a really old SB, it looks to be in great condition and for $520 a much better purchase than any 7x14 you could ever find

Normally I would suggest re-wicking the spindle, but on these old top-oilers I'm not sure if that's as big a deal.  Whatever you do you want to make sure you keep it oiled.

If you haven't already, check out mrpete222's machinist videos on YouTube.  There's quite a bit of good hobby machinist videos available.


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## OldMachinist (Oct 27, 2014)

Nice lathe.
The gear train looks like it might be currently setup to do metric threading. The charts on the gear cover should show which gears you need for inch threading if it is indeed setup for metric.


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## Halligan142 (Oct 27, 2014)

The phase II tool post is definitely a step up from the no name tool posts.  I love mine. It's no Aloris, but it's 1/4 the price. Get the wedge type.  3/8 has tool blanks work great in it although 5/16 work equally well and 1/4 blanks make good threading tools because of their smaller size.  Parting blade holder for the set works well, but it can't take the T type blades only the taper blades.  A collet set up can be an eventual purchase. It takes 3c collets which only go to 1/2" plus you'll need a drawbar, nosepiece, and thread protector and these can get a bit pricy.  The plain steady rests are cheaper and easily modified to take bearings on the fingers.  Telescoping versions are a bit harder to modify this way.  One of the best and easiest modifications to the lathe you can make is to replace the fiber washer behind the spindle take up not with a needle bearing and two hardened washers.  One of the best mods is installing large dials, but it's a bit involved and better done after you get comfortable with the machine.


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## woodtickgreg (Oct 27, 2014)

Nice find and well tooled to start out, fair price to I would say, she does look nice. Congratulations!


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## spongerich (Oct 28, 2014)

I'd stick with HSS tooling for the most part.   It's cheap and does a better job than carbide in most cases.   I keep a couple carbide tools around for the occasional piece of stock that's just too hard or uncooperative.


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## Smithdoor (Oct 28, 2014)

I using south bend for over 40 years, I have larger newer lathes but just to big for home use
You can find a lot of tooling and parts on internet to fit your lathe
This site also has info on the 9" south bend if you can here try
*http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/southbendlathe9
Manuals on all South Bend lathes http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/southbendmanual

Dave
*


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## MarioM (Oct 28, 2014)

Nice lathe you found!.......it looks great.  Congrats!

I agree with some things already been said.  Guess you need a stronger bench.  The book How to run a lathe is  very useful and well written.  I own an SB 10K and use the book a lot.  You can get the steady and follow rest Jeff from Tools4cheap.com.  I got  a face plate from him and worked OK.  QCTP is very easy to use and give you a good feeling of rigidity. I got an Asian AXA 100 from Victor Machinery Exchange, Inc., good price and works fine for what I do.  I also got a set of ER-32 collets from Littlemachine shop.com and an collet adapter from The Beall Tool Co.

I also prefer HSS tooling, but  have a few boring carbide for some heavier cuts.

Hope this helps.

Mario


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## Jonathans (Oct 29, 2014)

Mario,
you sparked my curiosity when you mention the Beall collet chuck. I use one for my wood turning.  I take it the Beall collets are too soft? Is the runout ok?


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## MarioM (Oct 29, 2014)

Jonathans, I am not an experienced machinist by any mean.  I only bought the collet chuck for the lathe from The Beall, the runout is OK and it looks very well machined.  The collet set was purchased from Littlemachine shop, together with a R8 adapter for the mill, good price and came in a wooden box, actually I am happy with it.


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