# How Did I Do On This South Bend Purchase?



## mordamer (Apr 23, 2016)

I just purchased this lathe but have yet to get it into my shop. I have been reading up on the South Bend 9" lathes but I am an amateur at best (only about 20 hours using a lathe, but I am a mechanical engineer and understand them pretty well). I did read the write up on mermac about inspecting a used machine before I went to look at this lathe. I could find no major issues on this lathe. As far as I could tell the bed shows very little wear. I ran all of its functions on all speeds and it sounds perfect to my ears. The compound had definitely been crashed a couple of times. The lathe was supposedly owned by an oil refinery when new and then a highschool up until the late 90's. The man I purchased it from had acquired it from the highschool and was somewhat of a tool hoarder, but seemed to know very little about the machine and claimed to only have used it a few times in the last 15 years.

I know nothing of the value of these lathes around the country, but I have been looking for one for months and this is the first to pop up for sale in the area. I paid $1400. Comes with a steady rest and follow rest as well as an extra compound rest that has not been crashed. Comes with all the tools in the pictures.

Is there anything you guys can tell me about my new lathe by looking at the pictures?
Is there anything glaringly obvious that is wrong with it that I missed because of my inexperience?
How old is this lathe?


----------



## mordamer (Apr 23, 2016)

Pictures of some of the tools. Also comes with the south bend book on how to run a lathe which is awesome!


----------



## David VanNorman (Apr 23, 2016)

It uis great Taper ATt and all . You did fine .


----------



## DoogieB (Apr 23, 2016)

It's an older one with only one git oiler at the QCGB and small dials, but it's still the "modern" design.  You would have to spill the serial number at the tail stock for a better year designation.

You can never tell by a few pictures on the internet, but the lathe looks in good shape: no rust, no missing teeth on the gears and the cabinet looks clean and not obviously abused.  Highlights are the preferred (to me anyway) space saving under-mount drive, both rests, face plate and taper attachment.  Looks like you even got a thread stop in the drawer.

I would say that about 75% of compounds for the SB9A/10K have chuck dings, including my lathe.  That someone picked-up a clean one is nice.

Make sure it's oiled-up to play with it, but you will definitely want to re-felt the lathe soon.  When these lathes sit awhile the felts turn into licorice and don't work very well.


----------



## the gentleman (Apr 23, 2016)

You got a fair deal , enjoy your new purchase


----------



## songbird (Apr 23, 2016)

Looks like a good deal here in southern Californial, just for a bench top lathe. The cabinet model makes it a super deal and having the taper attachment makes it a super score! Congratulations!


----------



## mordamer (Apr 23, 2016)

Thanks for the informative post doogieb. I will replace the felts in the near future. 

Serial number is 30032NKR7.

I do not know what a thread stop is. LOL. I will google it in a second.

On the taper attachment, that is one of the things on a lathe I have not been educated on. The previous owner never even mentioned it being on there during the sell. I also think that I may never use it. Is it something I could sell to offset the cost of the machine, or would you guys recommend keeping it?


----------



## Chipper5783 (Apr 23, 2016)

Don't sell the taper attachment.  You probably won't use it often.  Instead, learn to use it.  There are several ways to generate a shallow taper using a lathe - using a taper attachment is one of the easiest/slickest methods.

I have the TA on my machines and have used them only a couple times in many years - but certainly nice to have when you need them.

You have a nice lathe with the full dress package - don't break it up.  Even if you never use that attachment, it will help sell the lathe when you pass it on.


----------



## DoogieB (Apr 23, 2016)

Looks like it was made in the early fifties.

If you haven't been here already, you might want to root around in this site.  Lots of good information:

http://wswells.com/

Chipper gave you some excellent advice.  Besides, you're in the wrong hobby if you want to save money.   You've only begun to spend...


----------



## woodtickgreg (Apr 23, 2016)

I'd say it was a fair price for a well tooled complete machine with the taper attachment. Nice looking lathe.


----------



## Eddyde (Apr 23, 2016)

Nice score!!
You can get all the info on your machine by getting a "Serial Card" aka "Lathe Card". It is available through Grizzly, who is now the distributer for South Bend.
http://www.grizzly.com/brands/south-bend-lathe/serialcard
I got one for my SB,it gives lots of info, including the original purchaser, motor, included accessories etc.


----------



## ChuckB (Apr 24, 2016)

That would be a fair deal in my neck of the woods.


----------



## A618fan2 (Apr 25, 2016)

That would have been a great deal where I live - the last SB I saw tooled like that went for $3500.  Nice git!

John


----------



## timvercoe (Apr 30, 2016)

Wanna make a quick hundred bucks?   Maybe 200?   Let me know.  Seriously, In N. AZ  a friend of mine just sold a 9in south bend with change gears for 2000.  In this part of the world that is a great deal.  I am a supporter of keeping all the equipment that came with the lathe, with the lathe.  And if possible acquiring more, like a milling attachment or and a grinder attachment.  

Tim


----------



## woodchucker (Apr 30, 2016)

you got a great deal. The taper attachment is worth the price alone practically.
Seems very good.  Like DoogieB said, felts.. I would not run it w/o replacing them. With it sitting so long, they are not going to lube the shafts.
Get it done before you do damage.  They are hard and not transfering the oil
I restored mine, and it was not hard.  http://imgur.com/a/6OT4a  , today it is a well used lathe.  BTW DON'T go the grease route for the cone on main shaft (when disconnected for back gear use), instead do the oil routine. Mine heated up and siezed (w/o damage just size) from grease. Oil is best, it flows freely , mine said oil, but many say they use grease, and it does not flow enough.


----------



## mordamer (Apr 30, 2016)

I am going to keep it all together. I was looking at possibly buying a milling attachment for it in the future. I am wondering if the milling attachments do a very good job on these small lathes? I will not be buying a mill and am wondering if the milling attachments are good enough for very limited work? Do you have to have a collet set to hold mill bits?


----------



## woodchucker (Apr 30, 2016)

I have a milling attachment. I don't recommend it. It does very light duty. Much less than I was hoping for.
I have a 3/8 end mill holder mt3 and draw bar to hold the bits.  I have a ton of 1/2" bits, but this really can't do larger cuts, so I'll wait until I find a suitable mill.


----------



## eeler1 (Apr 30, 2016)

Keep you r eye out for a used mill drill or one of the little mini-mills.  More usable than a milling attachment and will get you started milling.  I got a little sherline mill, and it's kinda frustrating after having used a full sized milling machine.  But for you would be a new experience, no frustration if you don't know anything else.


----------



## Chainsaw Driver (May 1, 2016)

I think you did very well.  Saw a 9" on craigslist here in Houston yesterday for $4K.  it's nice but not as nice as yours.  Congratulations on an excellent purchase.


----------



## timvercoe (May 1, 2016)

mordamer said:


> I am going to keep it all together. I was looking at possibly buying a milling attachment for it in the future. I am wondering if the milling attachments do a very good job on these small lathes? I will not be buying a mill and am wondering if the milling attachments are good enough for very limited work? Do you have to have a collet set to hold mill bits?



Your opening post asked if there was anything obviously wrong with the lathe.  I noticed there were no chips, needs some chips, can you get some on it?,    On a more serious note:  I would definitely get a milling attachment.  But in my experience most lathes, especially smaller ones just don't have enough mass and rigidity to be very effective as a mill.  The three in one machines approach this problem by making the carriage and cross feed larger, and again in my experience they don't really do the job.  Yet having the option to use the lathe as a mill is better than no option.  You can use a three jaw chuck to hold the end mill, but it needs to run really true.  A four jaw would be better and a collect would be the best.   Also you could build an arbor and use slitting saws and saw like mill cutters that are small, diameters, keep in mind the forces and how they multiply as the cutters get bigger......   I look forward to your first chip making day.  

Tim


----------



## parshal (May 2, 2016)

I picked up a real nice early 70's 10k for $2900 last month here in the Denver area.  Twice what you paid and it didn't have a taper attachment or steady rest.  Those alone are close to $1400.  Mine had a full set of Harbinge collets, QCTP tool holders, lots of bits, 4-jaw and 3-jaw chuck and headstock and tailstock drill chucks so I did decent on the tooling.  It was in great shape still having the grind pattern on 80% of the v-ways but was also a bench top model.  I would love to have a cabinet model.  I'd say you did fantastic!  It's amazing the different pricing in different parts of the country.

I replaced the carriage and tailstock felts as well as the spindle felts.  I didn't feel ambitious enough to tear apart the apron and gears to get to those felts.  The felts I changed out were in good shape but I got a good feel for the lathe and it was easy enough.


----------



## mordamer (May 7, 2016)

Spent almost every non-work hour this last week disassembling, stripping paint, painting, replacing felts, and reassembling. I have not done the taper attachment, steady rest or follow rest yet. I also haven't touched the counter-shaft assembly except to oil it.


----------



## dlane (May 8, 2016)

Don't see any chips ?


----------



## mordamer (May 8, 2016)

dlane said:


> Don't see any chips ?



Here!


----------



## dlane (May 8, 2016)

Nice,


----------



## mordamer (May 8, 2016)

Bad news. I went to put the steady rest on the lathe that the seller included with the purchase. I could tell as soon as I set the steady rest on the lathe bed that it was not the correct steady rest for my lathe. It has catalog number 126NR1 in the casting and after some googling it appears I have a steady rest for a 10L. This is somewhat my fault because I should have checked it before I purchased and I would guess that the old guy I bought it from might not know it was the wrong part as it looks like it was never used in awhile. I guess my best option with this is to sell it and buy one that is correct for my lathe. I just hope I don't have to pay way more for one that fits my lathe.

Then I started checking the other accessories and the thread stop is just slightly too large to fit the dovetail on my cross slide so I guess it may be for a 10L also. I could probably make a small gib that would work for this. What do you guys think? Sell it or make it work?

Then!!!! The face plate is obviously for a much larger lathe. The threads are way bigger than the 1-1/2x8 on my lathe. I will probably put it up for sale on ebay. Not sure if I will try to purchase a replacement for it. Don't know how much I will use a face plate. I would rather have a 4 jaw chuck at this point.


----------



## mordamer (May 8, 2016)

I forgot to mention that the follow rest appears to be correct for my lathe but I am missing the mounting bolts.


----------



## DoogieB (May 9, 2016)

It wouldn't hurt to put some measurements of the steady rest in your auction description just to avoid any problems.  It's annoying, but you should be able to flip this tooling and pick-up a steady rest to fit your 9A with some money left over.

It's kinda weird that the tooling in that drawer was actually for a heavy 10.  Does the tailstock wrench fit your lathe?


----------



## dlane (May 9, 2016)

Mordamer, if the faceplate is 2-1/4-8 threads I would be interested in it. How big is it ? I have a 10L.
I think I have a 1-1/2-8 faceplate


----------



## mordamer (May 9, 2016)

Best I can measure, threads are 2-1/4" x 8. Face is 8-3/8" in diameter.


----------

