# Got my first lathe, a South Bend 10K



## DoogieB

Thought I would show-off my new-to-me SB 10K lathe I picked-up a month or so ago.  But first, why I bought it.

For a few years now I've been thinking about getting some machining equipment for my small workshop.  With my interest in RC models and model steam, being able to make precise parts has and will come in handy many times.  At first I looked at the tiny 7x lathes, but after watching quite a few machinist videos on Youtube (Mr Pete, Doubleboost, Keith Fenner), I realized that a 10" lathe would be much more capable and still fit in the shop if I moved some junk around.

While I'm not totally averse to buying import machinery, after some research I found that China, Inc. doesn't really make a full-featured smaller lathe.  For Grizzly, which is local for me, you have to start at the G4002/G4003 line of 12" lathes to get a complete lathe feature set.  

Of course, I had been searching CraigsList for almost year and seen alot of rusty, worn-out junk and the few promising deals were usually gone before I got home from work.  Just about when I was ready to give-in and drive to the Muncy showroom, this SB dropped into my lap less than an hour away. The seller couldn't have been nicer and the lathe followed me home that morning.




As it turned out that this was a good size lathe for me to buy.  With an engine lift I was able to easily get it inside the shop, but quite a few times I only had a few inches to spare one way or the other.  I like having equipment that I can move myself as I hope to have a bigger and better shop one day.  The underdrive feature is great space saver for a small shop as well.  

And here it is in place.




It's a South Bend 10K with a 4 1/2 foot bed.  It's a KKX model, which means it's a light 10 with a QC gearbox and underdrive motor.  The X in this case means hardened ways, which is a very nice feature to find.   It was manufactured in 9/74.

The lathe came with a very clean and tight Bison 3-jaw chuck.  Got a collet hand wheel and holder with 25 of the machine-specific 6K collets.  Also included was a "project" Logan 4 jaw chuck that needs the correct backing plate installed, a carriage stop and the usual odds and ends.

Since I bought the lathe I managed to find a SB steady rest and a cheap QCTP as the lantern tool post got old quickly.

Being an older machine I'm sure there's some problems, but having the lathe for a month now I don't see anything major.  Got Steve Brook's excellent "Guide to Renovating the South Bend Lathe" and at some time in the future I'll do a complete tear down/rebuild.  Not this year, though, as I'm having too much fun using it.


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## cuseguy

I'm impartial to the 10K as they were my first 2 lathes. Sort of like that first girlfriend that you never forget! I learned my craft on it and also to how to tear them down to fix and also improve it. That looks like a really nice example that you picked up. I'm sure it will serve you well. Mine sure did. 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 3.


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## Shadowdog500

That looks like a beautiful first lathe!

congradulations!!!

chris


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## grusso5

Wow, the lathe looks in great shape. I've seen a few guys purchase lathes like this and they were somewhat of a rebuild project. Looks like yours is ready to go. Is everything still pretty tight?

Congrats!

Gary


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## DoogieB

Thanks for the compliments, guys.



grusso5 said:


> Wow, the lathe looks in great shape. I've seen a few guys purchase lathes like this and they were somewhat of a rebuild project. Looks like yours is ready to go. Is everything still pretty tight?



Yeah, it's decently tight for it's age.  Of course, it's 4 years younger than me so it's still in the Springtime of it's Youth!  Can't be worn out yet, right?   The compound is really great; hardly any backlash.  The crossfeed has more, but it's controllable with the usual techniques.  I could probably make this a little better, but I'll save that for the future rebuild at a later date.

I think it still has it's original flat drive belt.  It's not leather though, but some kind of fabric belting.  Whatever it is, it still gets nice and tight, though.  When I bought the lathe, the seller demonstrated the belt release and I always make sure to release it when I'm done.

Just to prove I use the thing, here's a picture of the lathe with a few chips in the pan from this morning.




It's interesting how the camera flash makes things look and that carriage stop looks absolutely gnarly.  I guess I should clean and paint it.


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## LJP

That looks like a nice clean machine to me. I would just use it and make it a little more knarly looking!


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## brasssmanget

Very nice. I started out my hobby with a SB Heavy 10 - something about the look of them - it's hard to say no.   Congrats!


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## DoogieB

One other thing, after we finished loading the lathe on my truck, the seller said "Hey, I got some bookwork for the lathe in the house. Be right back."  I was thinking it was probably "How to run a lathe" but he came back with this stuff.




I said, "Well you don't see that very often."  It's the lathe's dirty papers!  Actually, in this case, the paperwork is far from dirty and looks like new.  Got the 10K sales and accessories brochures, price list and exploded parts diagrams.  Also got the stub of the warranty card.

One thing I learned with this paperwork is that there's a witness mark on the tailstock spindle so you can get your tool on centerline without a dead center.  Cool!


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## stevecmo

Wow, that looks like a great find.  Even has the large dials.  Nice!


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## kennyv

Nice lathe there  good find what year is it ?


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## Ulma Doctor

beautiful lathe!


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## DoogieB

Well, this is a blast from the past!

My SB 10K was shipped to the original owner in the fall of 1974.

This thread was originally from over a year ago, but I thought it would be interesting to show a picture of the lathe as it is now, fully "grown-in" to it's spot in the shop.  

The SB 10K has been the perfect lathe for my use and I'm glad I bought it.


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## T Bredehoft

It looks like it likes it there.  I admire the tool holder with the inch travel indicator for indicating work in the four jaw. Good idea.


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## DoogieB

I got the dial indicator idea from Doubleboost on Youtube.  There's lotsa good ideas on his channel like the way-protector board hanging by the outlet.  Another handy, simple tool is a ball bearing pressed onto a shaft which is used to straighten-out work in the chuck.  I believe in his last Sunday night update he described this tool again as he made another one for his new lathe.


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## spongerich

Nice.   My 10K is a 1972 3-1/2 footer.  Looks almost identical except it has the locking knobs on the drawers.
Mine also still has the original rubber/fabric belt.  After 40 years it's still in great shape.


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