# This Southbend 9” lathe a good buy?



## DaveBarbier

$950
“With thousands of dollars in accessories included”

Talked to the guy on the phone and he says it’s in great shape with a little bit of wear on the ways close to the chuck. I might look at it this weekend. He also says “you could easily wrap on the handwheel with your knuckle and dial in a perfect half thou”

Says he’ll include a face plate, 4 jaw chuck and other stuff. Not exactly sure what else would be included. 

Crappy pictures attached. 

Anything you guys can tell me based on the picture? This is a 9” right? I do not know the model number or serial number. I guess I find out more when I check it out if it’s still available. 

Thanks for the help!


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## Al 1

Hey Dave,     What is thousands of dollars in accessories? Check out All gears back gear etc for any missing teeth. Gears can be about 100.00 ea.
Run the machine.  Or have owner run it.  See if everything is working.. I always try and get the best price under asking price.  Good Luck/. Al


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## DaveBarbier

Hi Al, thanks for the reply. He just texted me some more pictures. See below.

Yes, my plan is to either run it myself or have him run it. I might bring some aluminum and/or some cold rolled in case he doesn’t have anything. He says he hasn’t run it in a few years. To me that’s similar to the car ad that says “ran when parked”, kind of means nothing without a test ride.

And thanks, good to know about the gears price, I’ll check them out. I know nothing of south bend other than what I’ve seen from tubalcain. I currently have a small 618 craftsman so this seems like a nice upgrade.

And as far as model, any ideas?

Pictures:
Looks like maybe risers for the stand, some device with a lever?, lathe dog, tool posts, high speed steel blanks...other pictures are too blurry to see.


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## mattthemuppet2

I think that would be a good deal. I'd buy it for that. One thing to ask about are a steady or follow rest. Looks like plenty enough tooling there to get you started, including what looks like a collet closer. Save finding some busted teeth or missing gears, I don't think you can go too far wrong with that for the price. I'm in the same boat with an Atlas 618 - love it to bits but wouldn't mind something a bit bigger!


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## bob308

not a bad price at all.


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## mikey

DaveBarbier said:


> $950
> “With thousands of dollars in accessories included”
> 
> ... he says it’s in great shape with a little bit of wear on the ways close to the chuck.



Be wary about this. Not sure what he means by "a little bit of wear" but the ways are the heart of the lathe - check this carefully.


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## Bob Korves

Make sure that all the accessories actually fit the lathe.  Install them and see for sure.


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## T Bredehoft

Saw the clollet closer, don't see any collets....  Should be whole set.


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## DaveBarbier

Thanks for the tips guys. I’ll check that all out. Good to know the price seems fair. 

In reading about checking for wear on the ways, it seems a little complex and it has a lot to do with if the lathe is level with no twist. Like the method of using an indicator on a mag base on the tail stock. I “believe” the tail stock runs on the same ways as the carriage. I have a small Starrett level but it might be too small to span the ways. I don’t have a precision ground straight edge either. Maybe the best way for me (but least accurate) would be to move the carriage to the chuck side, nip it down a bit so there’s slight drag and crank it to the right to see if it gets tighter, and by how much. Any other tips? I’m kind of thinking if the guy can tell that there’s wear it might be significant because I doubt he has measured it but maybe he just notices it when he turns something. How much wear is too much?


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## Janderso

The spindle bearings are critically important. If they were kept oiled they are probably fine.
If I were to buy another older South Bend, I would check the condition of the bearings before I laid down the cash.
IMHO


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## DaveBarbier

Thanks Jeff, I’ll look up how to check the bearings.


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## bob308

from what I have read  about your tools and abilities'. you don't need a super lathe that can hold .00001. easy test run the carriage up to the headstock turn up the carrage lock till it just touches. then run the carriage back towards the tailstock. see if it gets tighter. the more drag the more wear. if there is little or no drag get it.


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## DaveBarbier

Thanks Bob, that’s what I like to hear. And correct, nothing I make goes into space. I just mess around.


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## Bob Korves

The carriage does not make full contact with the bed ways.  Neither does the tail stock.  Look carefully for the transition between where they contact and where they don't for a linear step in the bed ways, in line with the travel.  That will show the amount of wear in the ways.  If you can catch it with a fingernail, you have found significant wear.


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## DaveBarbier

Bob Korves said:


> The carriage does not make full contact with the bed ways.  Neither does the tail stock.  Look carefully for the transition between where they contact and where they don't for a linear step there, in line with the travel.  That will show the amount of wear in the ways.  If you can catch it with a fingernail, you have found significant wear.



Ah interesting. That makes sense to me!


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## ericc

I don't see "thousands of dollars" of accessories.  Even though this looks like a good deal from the pictures, I hate people who inflate their descriptions as part of their "salesmanship".  Accessories, or tooling can add a lot to the price of the lathe.  Make sure the bearings are good, everything moves smoothly (apron, tailstock, change levers, reverse, etc) and that the ways aren't too worn.


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## DaveBarbier

I hear you Eric, it does sound like he’s going a bit too far with the value of accessories. I’ll keep y’all posted, maybe he has extra stuff stashed away that’s not in the pictures.


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## DaveBarbier

Just watching some tubalcain where he picked up a Southbend model A, similar to the one I’m looking at. I took a screenshot of what looks like a wear line on his ways after he took off everything (carriage, headstock, etc.). I drew arrows where it LOOKS like there is a huge amount of wear. Is this where I am going to be looking when I check out the lathe?


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## mikey

Dave, I presume you're aware of this article. It's a good one if you haven't read it already.


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## DaveBarbier

I haven’t seen this article, thanks, reading through it now!


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## DaveBarbier

mikey said:


> Dave, I presume you're aware of this article. It's a good one if you haven't read it already.



Thanks again Mikey, this is a great read with a heap of helpful tips. I feel pretty confident I won’t get had. Keeping my fingers crossed.


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## mikey

I have helped friends purchase 3 used lathes and I bought my Emco Super 11 used (under 100 hours on it) but I've also looked at a lot of lathes we rejected. Thought it might help to have more input than the article provided. I'm no expert but this might help.

I check the ways first. If they are junk then bothering to look at anything else is a waste of time. Look for where the saddle and tailstock contact the ways; they contact at different sites. As Bob said, if you can see a step between the area where the saddle rides and where it doesn't ride, that is wear. I always take my Suburban Tools straightedge and lay it on the ways (cleaned) and shine a light from the back. If you can see light coming through then that is wear. You can quantify it with feeler gauges. To me, if the bed has more than a thou or two of wear then that is to be expected but I usually walk away. My feeling is that 0.002" now will only get worse and I would rather not pay for the privilege. If it has more than 0.005", run away, don't walk. That will require grinding and then grinding/scraping the headstock and tailstock to match. Too much cost, too much work.
Then I check the spindle and spindle mount. I ask to turn the lathe on and I run it through all the gears to make sure there are no strange noises. I put my hand on the headstock after the lathe has run for about 10-15 minutes; if the headstock is really hot then that makes me worry about the bearings. With the lathe hot and the plug pulled out, I check for concentricity inside the spindle taper and also on the spindle register (the part that centers the chuck) with a tenths-reading DTI. My personal acceptable limit is 0.0002". If I get more run out than that, and especially if the headstock got really warm when running, this tells me that the spindle or bearings need work. If I get anything that approaches more than 0.001" TIR, I thank the seller and walk away. While you're checking the taper, make sure it isn't all scarred up and that any concentricity readings you get remain the same at two or three different spots in the taper.
The rest is pretty much common sense - no missing teeth on the gears, the gears are all there, the right gears are installed, any change gears required come with the lathe. Ideally, you want a quick change gear box and if possible, get a double tumbler (two levers) gearbox. Everything should work, everything. If it doesn't then you will have to pay to fix it.
You want a steady rest if the spindle bore is small. By small, I mean 3/4" or less. If you cannot pass work inside the spindle then the steady rest becomes really, really, really important. The follow rest, not so much. Grab as much tooling as you can pry off the seller, even if he or you are not sure it goes with that machine. Tooling is what costs later and a lot of the old tools are no longer available. I have seen guys withhold tooling they know belongs with the lathe and refuse to include it so they can sell it on ebay and make more money; this leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. *EDIT*: you want a thread dial indicator ... you really want it.
If you can see, look at the end of the bed from the rear. If it is packed with chips and there are chips all over the gears then the guy used compressed air when he used the lathe. You can therefore expect chips, and therefore more wear on the ways, under the saddle. No bueno.
That's all that I can think of right now.

To be really honest, Dave, I try to get my friends to buy new lathes and if they can handle it, a Taiwanese lathe. I now have enough experience helping to rebuild old lathes that I feel it just isn't worth the trouble, cost or the work-arounds. If you like restoring old machines and then living with the wear they already have, go for it. There are those rare gems out there, I'm sure, but I have yet to see one. I'll probably get flamed for this but romance or nostalgia does not contribute to accuracy. I would rather have an accurate machine, even if it is made in Europe or Taiwan, than buy a worn down piece of American Iron. And this goes double for new guys who know nothing about lathes and are just breaking into our hobby. Better to have a machine that works as it should so you can learn to use it.

Just an opinion and please understand that I am not trying to discourage you. I just wanted to give you another perspective and food for thought.


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## RobertB

In addition to the excellent info mikey just provided, consider your use and how long you plan on keeping it. A lot of people will point out that for 99% of hobby lathe work, even a lathe with worn ways will get the job done. And this is certainly true, but if you ever need to do something that requires precision over a distance, turning a morse taper for example, it will be difficult. And if you ever decide to upgrade, your resale market will be limited.


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## DaveBarbier

Thanks Mikey, nice write up. Really appreciate the knowledge and I totally understand what you’re saying about nostalgia. The old adage, “they don’t build them like they used to” could blind me from getting an old machine with too much wear. I’ll have to go into this with a clear head...I do love the look of an old piece of machinery though...

I don’t have a DTI so I can’t measure the headstock spindle (not sure if the Southbend 9” has threads or a taper) with anything other than my normal .001” Shars indicator on a Noga arm with mag base. But I’ll totally bring a small straight edge and feeler gauges for the ways, pocket flashlight and of course my phone to use the camera as a mirror to look up under the QCG. 

Thanks! Headed there in a couple hours!


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## dbb-the-bruce

Lot of good comments on how to check out  a use lathe here (I learned stuff)

Let me just say that I purchased the same SB 9 model vintage 10 years ago with a lot of kit to go with it for $1200. From your photos, mine looks like it was in better condition, but not by much.

I love my old iron, it's just the right size for what I do and I'd get one (in good condition) again in a heartbeat, $1200 on a brand new lathe wouldn't get me close.

Another plus for SB 9 is that they made a TON of them. Used parts and attachments are easy to find.

Give it a good look over, if there is nothing seriously wrong, $950 for lathe + extras is a pretty good price!


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## DaveBarbier

RobertB said:


> In addition to the excellent info mikey just provided, consider your use and how long you plan on keeping it. A lot of people will point out that for 99% of hobby lathe work, even a lathe with worn ways will get the job done. And this is certainly true, but if you ever need to do something that requires precision over a distance, turning a morse taper for example, it will be difficult. And if you ever decide to upgrade, your resale market will be limited.



It’s funny, last night I just happen to examine my current Craftsman 618 and see that there is visible wear on the ways. Can’t catch my fingernail on it but I can feel it with my finger. For what I do this hasn’t caused a problem...didn’t even notice it until last night. But again, I would like my next lathe to be an upgrade in more than just size but also in quality. 

Thanks!


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## DaveBarbier

dbb-the-bruce said:


> Lot of good comments on how to check out  a use lathe here (I learned stuff)
> 
> Let me just say that I purchased the same SB 9 model vintage 10 years ago with a lot of kit to go with it for $1200. From your photos, mine looks like it was in better condition, but not by much.
> 
> I love my old iron, it's just the right size for what I do and I'd get one (in good condition) again in a heartbeat, $1200 on a brand new lathe wouldn't get me close.
> 
> Another plus for SB 9 is that they made a TON of them. Used parts and attachments are easy to find.
> 
> Give it a good look over, if there is nothing seriously wrong, $950 for lathe + extras is a pretty good price!



Glad you guys agree the price is decent. And good point that SB made so many of these things so parts are more readily available. Plus because they’re so popular there are thousands of YouTube videos on them for repair and troubleshooting. 

Thanks!


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## GK1918

I wouldn't worry one bit.  If there is no wear on the bed its either new or never been used.  The lathe is 
bought to use, and yes all have wear near the chuck.  I am lucky to have two long bed 4ft 9A's.  One
dedicated just for threading so of course there will be a little bed wear near the chuck so what. My 
other one is used for general turning.  So don't confuse bed wear with a worn out 3 jaw, none are 
dead on, good 4 jaw is the answer.  Collet closer you have, buy a whole set 3MT collets for 70 bucks  new. 
Its like buying a new set of tires that will wear out for that price, but my two built in 1942 still on the
job.  Steady rest yes, follow rest I never used it .  I been preaching on this board for years that it seems
everybody gets their heads all stoked up on math and rocket machining.  We have a job shop my son
handles that I am in the rear machine shop.  Ya never know what walks through the door, manly most
I have no clue except what the customer wants.  Yes I'm rambling, but keep in mind, its all in the set
up.  We are like a Vet doctor who are why smarter than people Drs.  we have to figure all the how too's
our busted clients don;t talk,.   bottom line us old guys knew about wear backlash and we compensated
like a 10 dollar first car and you had to pump the brakes but thats what you did.  Tip from the old man.
sam


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## dbb-the-bruce

GK1918 said:


> If there is no wear on the bed its either new or never been used. The lathe is
> bought to use, and yes all have wear near the chuck.



I was going to make a similar comment but deferred to other people idea of a "good lathe"- If the frosting on the bed is worn away near the spindle, no big deal. If the ways are beat to carp and all chewed up walk away. It's a used lathe, it should look like one. If the spindle is sloppy and crunchy, pass. If it's got a little run out (you define little) who cares. If you really, really, really need as much precision as possible, you'll need to learn how to deal with machine issues.

If it's your first lathe and it runs soothly - it will be fine - once you learn enough you might improve it or look for your next one!

Let us all know how it turns out, and post more pictures!

-Dave B


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## martik777

About 10 years ago, I bought a 9A with much worse wear on the ways and a stripped backgear and 7 teeth missing on the bull gear. I learned a lot repairing those gears and have successfully made 1000's of parts since.


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## DaveBarbier

Sorry in advance for the long post!

Hey guys, sorry I didn’t post this weekend but I have news about the lathe. I am not an expert when it comes to determining condition but I feel this lathe is in great shape. The ways still have the original hand scraping even right near the chuck, though it is a little worn off there. I couldn’t feel _any_ wear with my fingernail from the carriage or the tail stock and when I nip the carriage down a bit near the chuck and then crank it over to the tail stock it doesn’t bind at all but I do notice it getting ever so slightly tighter but still easy to crank. The spindle is rock solid and the spindle nose and threads are super clean. All gears are in great shape, no broken teeth or even much wear on them at all that I can notice. The lathe as well as the guy’s shop was clean (except he recently turned some wood so I vacuumed that up) and the shop was very organized, makes me happy to see that and shows that he cares. The lathe was oiled nicely and was quiet when we turned it on and the headstock didn’t get hot.

I ended up buying the lathe if you can read between the lines . And instead of $950 I paid $1200 because he had some other stuff that I thought was good to have that he didn’t want to include in the normal price. I had my little pickup truck FULL and it was making my truck sag a lot. Kinda scary but it was all good.

I had two friends help and as I was taking the lathe apart (motor, legs and stuff) they loaded my truck up with flats of misc stuff. I just went through it all and there’s a lot of stuff. Not sure how many pictures I can post but here goes. I’ll try and list stuff first.

•cast iron legs and risers
•Steady rest
•Two collet draw bars (one regular draw bar and one speed lever thing)
•Three spindle thread protectors
•Bunch of collets
•Two micrometer carriage stops (one normal and one with I think 5 different positions
•4 chucks (a 3 jaw chuck that uses the collet draw bar, 2 normal 3 jaws and a 4 jaw)
•Two face plates
•A pile of tool holders mostly Armstrong, left and right handed
•A bunch of HSS and carbide (inserts and brazed)
•A cookie tin of Jacob chucks
•a few live and dead centers
•a turret thing that goes in the tailstock?
•couple oil stones
•some tooling that says Carboloy?
•Boxes and boxes of taps, drills, endmills and reamers
•oh, and another tiny Craftsman lathe, haha

I’m sure I’m missing a lot of stuff so see below for the pictures.

Can anyone tell me what those two parts are that I’m holding in my hand?

Also, what are those Carboloy things and what kind of inserts are those Century Tool inserts?

Any idea if I can date this machine? 49804NAX10 is the serial number. So that’s the 49,804th made? N is the 9”, A is the Quick Change Gear, Friction Feed Apron and Overhead Countershaft Drive, X is special?

Thanks ALL for the help!


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## francist

Yup, that’ll keep you busy for a while! Great looking lathe, congratulations 

-frank


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## dbb-the-bruce

Ah man, you scored.....
The first hand photo is for a dog drive, it clamps on a piece held between centers and an arm or tang engages it to spin the work. It's old school best way to turn true.

Second looks like it's used to hold a die grinder (think dremel tool) in cross slide.

That's a great haul for $1200. Looks like the same cigar boxes my kit came in! (ha).

Congrats.

-Dave B


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## RobertB

Really nice score!


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## martik777

Amazing deal, you could pay for that lathe just selling part of that haul. Large dials too!

It's very rare to see one that age with intact frosting all the way up to the chuck. I've seen them for sale like that over $5,000

Looks like it was made around 1961 and has a special spindle swing or hole (denoted by the "X") . I think it may be 10", check you spindle hole size too.

Serial no decoding:





						South Bend Lathe Co.
					






					www.southbendlathe.com
				





			South Bend Lathe Works - Serial Number Registry | VintageMachinery.org


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## mikey

Looks to be in beautiful shape, Dave! It looks like you got everything he had; great for you, kinda' sad for him. Glad it worked out.


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## MontanaLon

If I am not mistaken that is a shaper tool holder top right
.


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## hman

Great looking bunch of goodies!!!  
+1 on Dave B's identifications.  The lathe dog would require a stud to be installed on the face plate, and driving the dog through the notch.  The second item is indeed for a Dremel.  I used to have a Dremel "drill press" with that identical clamp on it.  Unfortunately, this clamp will only fit the old style all-black cylindrical Dremel tools.  The modern ones have fatter bodies with an oval cross section.


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## DaveBarbier

dbb-the-bruce said:


> Ah man, you scored.....
> The first hand photo is for a dog drive, it clamps on a piece held between centers and an arm or tang engages it to spin the work. It's old school best way to turn true.
> 
> Second looks like it's used to hold a die grinder (think dremel tool) in cross slide.
> 
> That's a great haul for $1200. Looks like the same cigar boxes my kit came in! (ha).
> 
> Congrats.
> 
> -Dave B


Thanks Dave! Ah a dog drive, got it. I was going to say that it looks like the regular dogs I have but without a tail. Unsure if it was meant for something else. Thanks for this. 

So many cigar and tobacco boxes! But my favorite is the Marlboro pack full of high speed tooling, haha.


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## DaveBarbier

martik777 said:


> Amazing deal, you could pay for that lathe just selling part of that haul. Large dials too!
> 
> It's very rare to see one that age with intact frosting all the way up to the chuck. I've seen them for sale like that over $5,000
> 
> Looks like it was made around 1961 and has a special spindle swing or hole (denoted by the "X") . I think it may be 10", check you spindle hole size too.
> 
> Serial no decoding:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> South Bend Lathe Co.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.southbendlathe.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> South Bend Lathe Works - Serial Number Registry | VintageMachinery.org


Whoa, I wasn’t expecting that value, that’s crazy. Don’t plan on selling it though, haha. 

Yeah the X is “special” but not sure exactly what that means. It does have a dowel pin towards the back on top of the headstock. The speed collet closer with the lever fits right on it. Is that what the X means? What do you mean to check my spindle hole? I guess I don’t know these machines enough to notice what’s different about this one, if anything. 

So it could be a Model A 10”? On the Southbend link you gave it says N in the serial number means 9”. I measured the spindle center to the ways (with a tape measure so not that accurate) and got about 4 1/2”. I’ll have to do more digging. The serial number does say 10 at the end but I’m not sure if that’s the swing or something else. 

There is a bit of damage on the cross slide. A tiny bit of chewing up so it’s not perfect but I’m definitely not complaining! 

About the age I’m getting some conflicting info. The 49804 to me shows 1931? Or at least on the Vintage Machinery link you gave the closest serial number to mine is 1931. One YouTube video says that the date of casting is on the inside of the ways by the tailstock. Any truth to that?


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## DaveBarbier

mikey said:


> Looks to be in beautiful shape, Dave! It looks like you got everything he had; great for you, kinda' sad for him. Glad it worked out.


Yeah I agree, sad because he was talking about how he needed the space and how he’s getting rid of all his tools. Old man in a wheelchair and doesn’t seem to be in great health. Definitely an “old timer” and has his wit and mind is totally there. Very nice, humble and generous guy (as you can see, ha). He did mention that all his friends have machines and if he wanted to he could go over there and make stuff so that’s good. He has been in a wheelchair for decades and his home is all ramped up and stairs have an elevator for him. The lathe has wooden risers he made so he can wheel right up to it and be the perfect height. 

He also said that he has my number so if he find anything else that goes with the lathe he’ll call me. Class act he is.


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## DaveBarbier

MontanaLon said:


> If I am not mistaken that is a shaper tool holder top right
> .


Now that you say that I see what you mean. I’ve never use a shaper but I’ve been watching Tubalcain and Abom so it does look familiar a bit. Good catch!


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## DaveBarbier

hman said:


> Great looking bunch of goodies!!!
> +1 on Dave B's identifications.  The lathe dog would require a stud to be installed on the face plate, and driving the dog through the notch.  The second item is indeed for a Dremel.  I used to have a Dremel "drill press" with that identical clamp on it.  Unfortunately, this clamp will only fit the old style all-black cylindrical Dremel tools.  The modern ones have fatter bodies with an oval cross section.


That makes complete sense regarding the lathe dog stud. It’s interesting that the notch on the dog isn’t square to itself. It’s slightly angled to the right when you look at the picture. I’m sure that improves the driving in some way. Cool stuff! 

Oh, and I actually have an old black dremel! I’ll check it out!

Thanks!


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## DaveBarbier

Oh yeah, forgot to ask about the dials. 


martik777 said:


> Large dials too!


Oh yeah, forgot to ask. Normally they’re smaller? They don’t look homemade, they a Southbend addition?


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## Choiliefan

Wow, what a terrific deal.
I see the circular base and table for a Walker-Turner drill press there as well (pic 4).
If a Dremel tool doesn't fit that holder, a Sears Commercial die grinder just might.
Good luck!


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## DaveBarbier

Yeah that’s my drill pr


Choiliefan said:


> Wow, what a terrific deal.
> I see the circular base and table for a Walker-Turner drill press there as well (pic 4).
> If a Dremel tool doesn't fit that holder, a Sears Commercial die grinder just might.
> Good luck!


Yeah, that’s my drill press. Not part of the sale but good eyes, haha! 

The table has a broken off lock so I replaced it with a Delta table. Trying to see what use the broken table is to me, might just bin it. Until then it’s just sitting there.


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## ericc

Wow, that looks like a good deal.  Look at all those collets!


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## matthewsx

Oh, since nobody else has said it....

You Suck

Good score, it would take years to accumulate all that stuff. And lots of money, if you can even find the good old US made bits and such.

Cheers,

John


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## hman

DaveBarbier said:


> That makes complete sense regarding the lathe dog stud. It’s interesting that the notch on the dog isn’t square to itself. It’s slightly angled to the right when you look at the picture. I’m sure that improves the driving in some way.


It's meant for turning at supersonic speeds 


DaveBarbier said:


> Oh, and I actually have an old black dremel! I’ll check it out!
> Thanks!


Ye're in business!


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## Creativechipper

Killer deal, made me look at the classifieds in my area...









						South Bend lathe 8" swing
					

South Bend 8" swing , 18"between centers, 3'bed, spindle 1 3/8, x10. made in 1933. this model only made for 3 years. Has been disassembled, cleaned, painted. All parts like new condition, extremely...



					sacramento.craigslist.org
				












						South Bend Lathe
					

Here is an old South Bend Metal Lathe with a 4 foot bed and a 9 inch swing. This lathe is circa 1935 based its serial number and the research I have done. I purchased this lathe from the family of...



					goldcountry.craigslist.org
				




Not such good deals here..lol


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## bhigdog

martik777 said:


> It's very rare to see one that age with intact frosting all the way up to the chuck. I've seen them for sale like that over $5,000



Not to detract from the machine or it's condition but the "frosting" looks to be newly done...................Bob



...........


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## MontanaLon

bhigdog said:


> Not to detract from the machine or it's condition but the "frosting" looks to be newly done...................Bob
> 
> 
> 
> ...........


It is almost "too good". And doesn't look very similar to the scraping under the head on my 10".


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## DaveBarbier

MontanaLon said:


> It is almost "too good". And doesn't look very similar to the scraping under the head on my 10".


Hmm interesting. In looking online at south bend ways scraping I don’t really see any consistencies between the ones online either.

But I guess it’s possible it was ground and redone. There a way to tell?


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## MontanaLon

That is above my pay grade. Richard King would likely be able to tell you. My lathe had faint marks at head and tail stock when I bought it, when I took the head stock off the pattern under the head was the same as the pattern that was visible close to the headstock. Another good spot to look is between the tail stock base and body. They scrape those surfaces and they don't see much wear usually. 

Even if it is fresh it doesn't mean anything bad. Particularly with the tooling you got. My lathe was around what you paid for the whole package there and had 2 chucks, 2 dog drivers, an adapted steady rest and a couple of centers. And it was the best looking set up I had seen in 5 months of looking at anywhere near the price. Everything with tooling like you got was $2k or higher.


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## matthewsx

At that price, for a desirable machine, and all the other stuff.

No way you'll be hurt

It should make a good first machine and if/when you want to upgrade you'll come out ahead if you decide to sell it. But you probably won't sell because, um, more tools....

John


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## bhigdog

It's very common to see used machines "dressed up" by running a Biax power scraper over the wear surfaces to look like factory scraping. I'm pretty sure the pictured scraping was done by hand not with a Biax. Again, not trying to detract from the machines condition. A bit of freshening up the scraping is way common. My Bridgeport was obviously dressed up with fresh scraping and is just fine. I didn't even bother mentioning it to the dealer I bought it from. I'm just saying "frosting" has little to do with wear in a used machine unless you are certain it's original...........Bob


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## DaveBarbier

Thanks guys, it doesn’t matter to me but would be cool if it was original. With nipping down the carriage and moving it down to the tailstock it doesn’t get tight so the bed has little wear. I’ll be removing the headstock to get it up on the legs when I clear that area of the shop, so if the scraping is different I’ll post pictures. Of course if it was rescraped they could have removed the headstock too so only if it’s different we’ll have an idea what’s going on. Fun stuff!


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## mattthemuppet2

I wouldn't worry about it, even if there is wear (doesn't sound like there is much) you'll still be able to do good work. I think you did really well and a great story to boot.

Personally, if you can I would go to great lengths to avoid removing the headstock. You most likely won't affect alignment if you did, but given how important to its function is having the spindle properly aligned to the bed, I wouldn't want to mess with it. Certainly not to look at any frosting under the headstock.


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## Choiliefan

^^ What he said. ^^


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## DaveBarbier

mattthemuppet2 said:


> I wouldn't worry about it, even if there is where (doesn't sound like there is much) you'll still be able to do good work. I think you did really well and a great story to boot.
> 
> Personally, if you can I would go to great lengths to avoid removing the headstock. You most likely won't affect alignment if you did, but given how important to its function is having the spindle properly aligned to the bed, I wouldn't want to mess with it. Certainly not to look at any frosting under the headstock.



Ok cool, that makes sense. Thanks


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## DaveBarbier

Hi guys, not sure if I should make a new post but I had a question what this copper tab thing was on the end of my motor. It looks like it could be a ground strap since the motor is essentially rubber mounted, or it could be just something stuck in there. 

Also, I have to run 220v to my shed for this (thought about getting a 110v motor but I think 220v would be a good thing to have out there) and I’m looking to find what amperage the motor is so I can wire it up to my breaker box. My friend is an electrician and asked what the amperage the motor was. I couldn’t find anything for him so he just said a 15amp 2 pole breaker would be fine. 

Thoughts?


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## Logan 400

The amp on the motor plate reads 3.9. The strap should mount between the rubber and the motor mount bracket. I would suggest installing a ground to the frame from the power source as well as to the motor.
Jay


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## DaveBarbier

Logan 400 said:


> The amp on the motor plate reads 3.9. The strap should mount between the rubber and the motor mount bracket. I would suggest installing a ground to the frame from the power source as well as to the motor.
> Jay



Ah yes! After I posted this I thought that the A could be for amps, but I wasn’t sure, I was expecting something higher. And yes, the switch has a ground on it’s body which is attached to the lathe itself. Thanks!


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## DaveBarbier

Second guessing the 220 vs 110 volt motor. I would have to do a lot to run the 220 wiring so I think I’m looking for a 1/3 - 1/2 hp 110v motor (that hp should be fine, right?). I was hoping this motor can be wired for 110 like the motors on my drill press and smaller lathe but it didn’t say that it can so I’m guessing not. 

Also, my shop isn’t big, is there anyway to make the depth of the whole lathe/motor assembly a little smaller so it won’t stick out as much? Maybe getting a shorter belt? Even an inch or so would be nice. 

Thanks!


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## mattthemuppet2

putting the countershaft above the lathe or under the bench would do the trick, though that would take a fair degree of fab work to put together. Not impossible by any stretch, but maybe get the thing together and working first, then it'll become clearer how you can make it fit better.


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## DaveBarbier

mattthemuppet2 said:


> putting the countershaft above the lathe or under the bench would do the trick, though that would take a fair degree of fab work to put together. Not impossible by any stretch, but maybe get the thing together and working first, then it'll become clearer how you can make it fit better.


Yeah I was thinking of mounting it above. But you’re right, better to get it set up before any modifications. Thanks


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## White wax

Dave, I am new and bought a  Fragram LHB 108 two months ago and some say it is copied from the Southbend and pictures on the web show other lathes-like Select, David, Lin Huan, etc. I just want to inform you I received my lathe without any tools or accessories, manual and some broken parts - not a good buy at $530 !!! I believe this should be seen as your birthday present and you scored a lot! Well done and enjoy it.


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## DaveBarbier

White wax said:


> Dave, I am new and bought a  Fragram LHB 108 two months ago and some say it is copied from the Southbend and pictures on the web show other lathes-like Select, David, Lin Huan, etc. I just want to inform you I received my lathe without any tools or accessories, manual and some broken parts - not a good buy at $530 !!! I believe this should be seen as your birthday present and you scored a lot! Well done and enjoy it.


Thanks brother, so far I’m even enjoying it while it’s in the corner sitting on the ground. Can’t wait till it’s on it’s legs and powered up!


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