# Saddle Question



## Minimillx2 (Apr 7, 2016)

I have a South Bend 9c and today I took a look at what I believe is a 9a with the quick change gear box. I'm not 100% sure if it's a 9a though, under model it just has an "A" so I would assume that it is. Anyways, it does not have the saddle but it does have apron still. Hopefully my terms are correct....  Anyways, will my saddle from my 9c bolt right up to it?  Here's a picture of the saddle on the machine I looked at today. Thanks!!


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## Chuck K (Apr 7, 2016)

The saddle appears to be missing.


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## Redirish (Apr 7, 2016)

Minimillx2 said:


> I have a South Bend 9c and today I took a look at what I believe is a 9a with the quick change gear box. I'm not 100% sure if it's a 9a though, under model it just has an "A" so I would assume that it is. Anyways, it does not have the saddle but it does have apron still. Hopefully my terms are correct....  Anyways, will my saddle from my 9c bolt right up to it?  Here's a picture of the saddle on the machine I looked at today. Thanks!!
> 
> View attachment 126561


Your saddle may bolt to it, the question is whether your cross feed screw has the gear that mates with the drive gear in the apron. I have a parts book for the 9" lathes, but it's out in my shop, I can look into it tomorrow and see what the different cross feed screws look like, if that will help.


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## Redirish (Apr 8, 2016)

Did some research on this, your saddle will fit, but you will need to find a cross feed screw for a 9" A or B so you can have power cross feed.


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## Minimillx2 (Apr 9, 2016)

Thank you very much!!  Just found one last night with the gear on it and purchased it.


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## Redirish (Apr 9, 2016)

Minimillx2 said:


> Thank you very much!!  Just found one last night with the gear on it and purchased it.


Good to go!!


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## Minimillx2 (Apr 9, 2016)

I'll post some pics after I get the machine home and set up. It's an amazing find!  This thing is basically brand new, and possibly could be, it's just missing the saddle. It'll need a good cleaning from many years of dust build up. Comes with a set of collets and a 3 and 4 jaw chuck and possibly more tooling as well, just didn't take a super close look as I was sold with what I saw for a whopping $250!!


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## 4GSR (Apr 10, 2016)

One word of caution, a new/used saddle not a original mate to this bed may not fit perfectly.  Should be close enough to get you by. It really needs to be scraped and fitted to the new bed for a proper good fit.  I did this swap to my 9"C lathe and never did change out the cross feed screw to one with a gear.  I hardly ever need power cross feed on this lathe.  If I do need it, I have larger lathes I use for that purpose.


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## Minimillx2 (Apr 11, 2016)

4gsr said:


> One word of caution, a new/used saddle not a original mate to this bed may not fit perfectly.  Should be close enough to get you by. It really needs to be scraped and fitted to the new bed for a proper good fit.  I did this swap to my 9"C lathe and never did change out the cross feed screw to one with a gear.  I hardly ever need power cross feed on this lathe.  If I do need it, I have larger lathes I use for that purpose.



Hmmm, that's something I never thought about. Is the scraping process something I could tackle myself or find someone local to do it?


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## dlane (Apr 11, 2016)

Also if there are taper pins on it  they were hand drilled and the holes won't line up with different pieces 
FYI


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## Redirish (Apr 11, 2016)

Minimillx2 said:


> Hmmm, that's something I never thought about. Is the scraping process something I could tackle myself or find someone local to do it?


   I wouldn't get alarmed about the fit of the saddle on the ways, clean the saddle and ways thoroughly, apply Prussion blue lightly to the vee surfaces of the ways and carefully place the saddle on the ways. Press down on the saddle and lift it straight up, check the contact pattern in the vees of the saddle. That will show you whether it needs scraping or not. Also, as you probably know, there are no taper pins involved.


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## Minimillx2 (Apr 11, 2016)

Redirish said:


> I wouldn't get alarmed about the fit of the saddle on the ways, clean the saddle and ways thoroughly, apply Prussion blue lightly to the vee surfaces of the ways and carefully place the saddle on the ways. Press down on the saddle and lift it straight up, check the contact pattern in the vees of the saddle. That will show you whether it needs scraping or not. Also, as you probably know, there are no taper pins involved.




Thanks for all your help so far!!  I'll be picking up the lathe this Wednesday and getting it home and set up.  I'll report back in a couple days, and of course come with pictures!


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## Minimillx2 (Apr 16, 2016)

Well here it is. Got it home Thursday, did a quick wipe down and put it back together. It's not in its permanent home yet but made a few chips with it. So far I love it compared to my 9c!  Very quiet, power cross feed is a dream for a cut off tool. I did a little research and it's actually a 10k, not a 9a like it thought. The bed has no wear on it that I can feel or see, and the saddle I bought for it has very minimal wear if any at all as well. It fits on it nice and flat. I took the compound off my 9c for it but I'm thinking I may need to find one specifically made for the 10k as its a little low. I had to adjust my tool holder to its highest setting to center the tool bit. There's a bit of backlash in the cross feed that I have to look into tightening up, maybe a thin washer behind the dial?  Anyways, very happy with this machine. Here's a few pics I promised!


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## Redirish (Apr 16, 2016)

Looking very good there, I thought when I saw the previous photos that it was a 10K because of the handle on the tumbler gears.


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## 4GSR (Apr 19, 2016)

I wouldn't worry about finding a correct compound at the moment.  Make you a 1/2" thick spacer to put under your QCTP.  May have to make the hold down bolt a little longer by the same amount to compensate for the height adjustment.  Ken


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## mordamer (Apr 23, 2016)

I just bought one that looks almost identical to your lathe. Yours may be in better condition than the one I purchased. Your new lathe looks incredibly nice.


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