# SB Lathe Serial #'s



## Cheeseking (Oct 15, 2013)

Sorry about the crummy cell phone pics.   If this info should go somewhere else pls move.  I just ran across it looking thru my reference library at work.   Hope it helps.


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## wa5cab (Oct 17, 2013)

Hang onto them until the list owner gets Downloads fixed and working  again.  Then append them all into a single PDF and upload them.

Robert D.


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## TheSandman (Oct 21, 2013)

I need a little bit of help.

I'm trying to date my SB lathe and from researching, I'm THINKING it's a late 30's

Serial number on the end of the bed is 81629

I'm having trouble trying to understand the pictures against my SN.

Thanks!


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## old_dave (Oct 21, 2013)

TheSandman said:


> I need a little bit of help.
> 
> I'm trying to date my SB lathe and from researching, I'm THINKING it's a late 30's
> 
> ...


The Serial Number Reference Book that Cheeseking shows is the 11th edition. It doesn't have serial numbers for machines earlier than 1950. (I'm not absolutely sure there are no exceptions to this but I had some correspondence a number of years ago with a person involved in the publication of this and he said they used 1950 as a cut-off year because the book was getting too thick.) I also have the 10th edition of this reference. It shows your South Bend was built in 1941. The last serial number for 1940 was 80362 and for 1941, 106199. South Bend used a single series of serial numbers until 1947 when they instituted a unique series for each model with the serial number followed by a letter specific for each model.
David


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## wa5cab (Oct 22, 2013)

David,

What is the exact title on your 10th Edition?  Any chance it includes Atlas machines?

Robert D.


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## jimkinney (Oct 22, 2013)

My SB lathe doesn't have a serial number stamped on the bed.  Are there any other locations that there maybe another number stamped?

I'm guessing that the bed may have been replaced so it has no numbers stamped on it.  Judging by the tumbler handle (no detent) that it's an early 40's vintage.

Thanks,

Jim


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## old_dave (Oct 22, 2013)

wa5cab said:


> David,
> 
> What is the exact title on your 10th Edition?  Any chance it includes Atlas machines?
> 
> Robert D.


The title on the front cover is _Serial Number Reference Book for Metalworking Machinery_. The copyright date of this edition is 1988 and the publisher is Hearst Business Media Corp. The 11th edition has the same "exact" title; it's copyrighted 1994 and the publisher is Machinery Dealers National Association. 

Does the 10th edition include Atlas machines? The short answer is "no". (Pause for a deep breath here.) The Clausing Atlas section of this reference includes a category "MACH. TYPE: Lathes TRADE NAME: Atlas" and notes that these machines were formerly manufactured by the Covel Manufacturing Company, Benton Harbor, Michigan and cross references the original Covel model numbers with later Clausing Corporation numbers. The Covel line consisted of grinders (surface, tool and cutter etc., plus optical comparators which Clausing took on also), not lathes and certainly not the venerable Atlas line. This error is repeated in the 11th edition. In addition to not including any Atlas machines, neither edition includes any Clausing lathes or milling machines. I have no idea why not. 
David


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## old_dave (Oct 22, 2013)

shawn said:


> I'm not quite understanding how the reference guide works either. The serial number on my SB 9B is 923NBR7? I am guessing 1964-1965?
> 
> Shawn



My understanding is that the serial number given for each year is the last serial number assigned that year. So looking at the pages above posted by Cheeseking, for the 9 inch South Bend the last serial number assigned in 1962 was 52500N and the last number assigned for 1965 was 53950N (and so presumably the first number assigned for 1965 would be 52501N). It looks like your serial number is missing a couple of digits. The letter "N" is specific for the 9 inch South Bend, models A, B and C. I expect the letter "B" in your serial number is because you have a Model B 9 inch South Bend. 

David


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## Cheeseking (Oct 22, 2013)

This might be a good place to find what you are looking for on SBL's

http://www.wswells.com/serial_number.html

Again, my apologies if this violates some forum rule regarding links.   I have no affiliation just remembered I had it in my bookmarks.


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## old_dave (Oct 22, 2013)

Cheeseking said:


> This might be a good place to find what you are looking for on SBL's
> 
> http://www.wswells.com/serial_number.html
> 
> Again, my apologies if this violates some forum rule regarding links.   I have no affiliation just remembered I had it in my bookmarks.



Thank you very much for posting this.I've been thinking that I had seen something like this but couldn't remember where.
David


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## wa5cab (Oct 31, 2013)

Cheeseking,

Links of that sort are in general OK.  Restrictions are mostly related to other sites whose owners have explicitly stated that they don't want any links to their site showing up here.  Unfriendly folks, in other words.

David,

Thanks.  Too bad.  Have you (or anyone else) seen any earlier editions of the Serial Number Reference Book...?  I did a brief search on eBay but did not turn up anything even remotely related.  

Robert D.


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## old_dave (Nov 1, 2013)

wa5cab said:


> Cheeseking,
> 
> Links of that sort are in general OK.  Restrictions are mostly related to other sites whose owners have explicitly stated that they don't want any links to their site showing up here.  Unfriendly folks, in other words.
> 
> ...



The preface of my 11th edition says _Serial Number Reference Book_ was first published in 1955. When I bought this new from the Machinery Dealers National Association they told me they still had some copies of the 10th edition so I bought that too. I just looked on Alibris and Abebooks (as well as ebay" and didn't turn up any copies either. I also don't know that any editions later than the 11th have been published.

David


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## wa5cab (Nov 2, 2013)

Dave, et al,

I just took a look on Amazon and searching for the exact title name turned up four listings.  One was 11th and two didn't give the edition, but all three were listed as Not Currently Available.  I presume someone bought them and the seller hasn't deleted their ad.  The fourth said 7th edition 1974 and said that two were available.  When I clicked on that one, the details showed that one of them was the 7th edition but the other one from a different vendor was 4th edition 1969.  I bought the latter one and will report the cutoff date (oldest) when it arrives.

Robert D.


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## wa5cab (Nov 9, 2013)

I received the "Serial Number Reference Book for metalworking machinery" 4th edition 1969 today.  It covers up through 1967 (assuming that the company was still in business then).  It does not include Atlas, Clausing, Colchester, Logan to name a few.  The SB entry goes back mostly year by year to 1940 (there are a few skips) and sporadically before that back to 1925.

Robert D.


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## old_dave (Nov 10, 2013)

wa5cab said:


> I received the "Serial Number Reference Book for metalworking machinery" 4th edition 1969 today.  It covers up through 1967 (assuming that the company was still in business then).  It does not include Atlas, Clausing, Colchester, Logan to name a few.  The SB entry goes back mostly year by year to 1940 (there are a few skips) and sporadically before that back to 1925.
> 
> Robert D.


Thank you for this description of the 4th edition. Its coverage of South Bend serial numbers sounds like it's the same as in my 10th edition (of course the 10th edition includes years after 1967; goes through 1987).

Again the 11th edition goes back no further than 1950.
David


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## Grendel (Feb 21, 2021)

TheSandman said:


> I need a little bit of help.
> 
> I'm trying to date my SB lathe and from researching, I'm THINKING it's a late 30's
> 
> ...


I too am looking for the exact date on my south bend, Mine is 19101 numbers without suffixes are pre 1947, and were sequential, the best I have found was in the 19510 region dated at 1919 may 10th, so mine is about 500 machines before that, yours would predate mine so pre 1918, apparently according to the south bend website you can order your serial number card, and they will let you know when it was made


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## finsruskw (Feb 21, 2021)

Check out the numbers roster at Wells.
I sent them my numbers and some pic's last spring and they finally got aroiund to adding them a couple months ago.


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## Grendel (Feb 21, 2021)

yes, only just found that page, and have emailed them with my serial number to help them along the way


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## frankly2 (Mar 6, 2021)

These serial cards are available thru Grizzly Industrial for SouthBend Lathes. I don’t remember how much, but I found a lot if info thru this method on the history of my machine. All you need to supply is the serial # and their fee.


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