# Moody lathe.... South bend clone made in canada ...



## Brain Coral (Nov 2, 2013)

Hello all,

I bought this lathe today which turns out to be a South bend clone of a 9" lathe. It's an awful dirty looking mess at the moment, but I think that it will clean up nicely. It didn't come with much, but the original bracket and cone pulley drive is intact ( removed for moving ) and it came with a 4-jaw chuck and steady rest as well as a threading dial and change gears.

It was manufactured by Matthew Moody and sons in Terribone Quebec, but I have no idea of how early it is. The serial number is #198 and the model number is #1125.

Here's a few pics...

The former owner and son in the background and my brother with his head chopped off... 

























As you can see by the threading chart, this lathe has an 11" swing. It also looks like it has a 1" spindle hole. I have already begun dismantling the lathe and have managed to remove the apron, cross-slide, top slide and saddle. I could see that there was a definate "frosting on the ways and after some cleaning with mineral spirits, I am happy to note that nearly all of the frosting is like new, with little wear near the head-stock. I believe that this lathe is fairly old but the threading chart doesn't look to be all that old.

If any of you out there have a Moody lathe, I'd like to hear about yours. There seems to be very little info on these lathes.

I am having some difficulty in dismantling the top slide. Any of you who have a 9" South Bend and have taken it apart might be able to help me.

Here's a pic...




I can remove the nut, the ball crank, the micrometer dial, but I can't get any further. I assume that the last bit with the line to zero out the micrometer dial can be removed and then the feed scew and nut can be removed.

Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.... 

Brian


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## Chuck K (Nov 3, 2013)

If you look at the bottom of the "dial collar" (I don't know what the actual name is) you should find a whole for a spanner wrench.  It's probably all buggered up from someone previously using a punch instead of a wrench on it.  The collar needs to be unscrewed and then you can remove the screw assembly. Good luck.

Chuck


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## itsme_Bernie (Nov 3, 2013)

Looks like a 9 or 10K clone?  I wonder why they would clone it when you could buy one only a few miles away?  Were customs so stringent back when that was made?  

I like the nice single knob under the compound for adjusting the angle...  A slight pet peeve for me with the South Bends (and most machines like this).

I have been seeing people discussing entirely different machine suppliers like Busy Bee that I don't believe would deliver to the US either...  


Bernie


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## Brain Coral (Nov 3, 2013)

Chuck K said:


> If you look at the bottom of the "dial collar" (I don't know what the actual name is) you should find a whole for a spanner wrench. It's probably all buggered up from someone previously using a punch instead of a wrench on it. The collar needs to be unscrewed and then you can remove the screw assembly. Good luck.
> 
> Chuck



Thank you so much, Chuck. I'll have a look and try that. That makes sense to me. I knew that it had to come out of there to remove the scew, but wasn't sure how.

Brian


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## Brain Coral (Nov 3, 2013)

Hello Bernie,

Yes, it's a South Bend 9 clone, although the swing is 11". Moody was but one of many manufacturers cloning South Bend lathes, trying to get to ride on the massive wave of success that South Bend experienced. There must have been patents expiring and so on. I'm not sure what the climate was like with importing and exporting, but don't think that it was a major factor at the time.

That thing with Busy Bee and Grizzly was a family affair and an arrangement between family to not export between the two countries. Word is, there was a falling out, so the gloves are off and both companies will ship accross the border.

"(I like the nice single knob under the compound for adjusting the angle... A slight pet peeve for me with the South Bends (and most machines like this)."

I am not sure what you are referring to here... are you referring to the square bolt that tightens the compound after adjusting to the angle ? If so, early South Bends had but one bolt, but later on a second one was added to provide better holding power. This particular lathe has two bolts.

Cheers...

Brian


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## Brain Coral (Nov 5, 2013)

Hello again Chuck,

It was threaded in but on this particular lathe, there isn't a drilled hole for a spanner wrench, so I lightly tightened it in a vise with a cloth on the jaws and it came loose without much effort.




Thanks again... 

Brian

- - - Updated - - -

Here's a few pics of the ways after a light cleaning with mineral spirits. The photos don't do the frosting justice, but the ways are in really great shape with almost no wear at all.













Cheers... 

Brian


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## Chuck K (Nov 6, 2013)

Brian, The ways look great.  I would use some oil and a scotchbrite pad on them and shine them up.  I know people will tell you not to use abrasives on your ways, but I think if I needed to remove .0001 off my ways with scotchbrite I would probably still be scrubbing on them a year from now.  It's kind of surprising that the collar didn't have pipe wrench marks on it.  I'm thinking that it probably has been taken off before.  As long as you have that collar off, it would be a good time to mill or drill a hole in it so you can use a spanner next time.  Just mill it opposite the hash mark so it will be out of site on the bottom of the collar.

Chuck


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## itsme_Bernie (Nov 6, 2013)

Brian Coyle said:


> Here's a pic...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I see my confusion...  I saw your Allen key, and the ball for your compound handle aligned with the angled end of the key in the pic..  So I thought it was a dedicated compound handle, handily placed under the compound!  
Maybe that's a good modification!  



Bernie


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## Brain Coral (Nov 6, 2013)

Chuck K said:


> Brian, The ways look great. I would use some oil and a scotchbrite pad on them and shine them up. I know people will tell you not to use abrasives on your ways, but I think if I needed to remove .0001 off my ways with scotchbrite I would probably still be scrubbing on them a year from now. It's kind of surprising that the collar didn't have pipe wrench marks on it. I'm thinking that it probably has been taken off before. As long as you have that collar off, it would be a good time to mill or drill a hole in it so you can use a spanner next time. Just mill it opposite the hash mark so it will be out of site on the bottom of the collar.
> 
> Chuck



Hello Chuck,

I'm with you on scotchbriting the ways. As long as you use a lubricant with it ( Varsol is also good to use ), no harm done. I'm sure that you're correct that the collar has never been removed. Great idea about providing a hole for future use of a spanner wrench.

I am itching to get to the shop to work on the lathe. I should be taking a 3-day weekend coming up, but work is so piled up for me that I'll end up working part of Saturday and part of Monday.... *sigh* ... the life of a self-employed carpenter... But... that means that I have all day Sunday to play in the shop... 

Cheers... 

Brian

- - - Updated - - -



itsme_Bernie said:


> I see my confusion... I saw your Allen key, and the ball for your compound handle aligned with the angled end of the key in the pic.. So I thought it was a dedicated compound handle, handily placed under the compound!
> Maybe that's a good modification!
> 
> 
> ...



Hello Bernie,

Oh, that's what you were referring to... Hahaha... yeah, I guess that the pic is a little misleading, especially when the thread is about a "clone" .

Brian


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## Brain Coral (Nov 9, 2013)

Hello all,

I had a couple of hours this afternoon to play in the shop, so I started to tear down the lathe further. Before I started into it, I noticed a faded and dirty decal on the front leg at the headstock end. It's difficult to read from the photograph, but the top section simply says the location of the business... "Terribone, Quebec". The bottom section says... " Better In 1845... Still Better Today " ...

Mind you, South Bend had the market for sure and still enjoys a lot of enthusiasm and allegiance, but it sure looks like Moody was making an attempt to break into South Bend's market. I do think that they made a decent lathe, but with the scarcity of information and examples, I don't think that they were very successful in gaining a foothold.

Here's a pic of the decal...




I am going to try to preserve the decal. I daubed at it very carefully with mineral spirits just to see what it said, but feel that mild soap and water with a q-tip would be less apt to destroy the decal. I may put a coat of varnish over it to seal it in.

I just thought that it was rather interesting... 

Brian


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## Brain Coral (Nov 9, 2013)

After checking out the decal, I set to work to dismantle the back gear assembly as well as all of the gears on the outboard end of the headstock. I realize that these pics may be boring, but they are also a good record for me when it comes time to re-assemble the lathe.

Here goes...



















So now I am about to remove the headstock from the bed of the lathe. The outboard bolt is accessible, but the inner bolt is not. So, I have determined that I will have to lift and suspend the bed, in order to remove the feet, which will then allow me access to the other bolt. After removing the headstock, I will then remove the bed rack gearing.

I will likely begin placing sets of parts into de-greaser while I work on the headstock. It looks like I will have to order a spanner wrench to remove the adjusting collar at the end of the spindle.

I should do a search here, but I am crazy busy and, yes, just a bit lazy.... but is there a PDF file on a South Bend 9 for parts?  I'm thinking that this lathe is similar enough that a parts list might help me.

Cheers.... 

Brian


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## Chuck K (Nov 9, 2013)

Usually the headstock is held to the bed by bolts and brackets.  One in front and one in back.  The bed is usually attached to the the legs with the bolts going through the chip pan.  It appears someone has been using the machine to turn wood.  That will gunk things up pretty good.  You have some serious cleaning ahead of you.

Chuck


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## Brain Coral (Nov 9, 2013)

Hello Chuck,

Yes, this headstock is the same with bolts and brackets. The outer bolt is fairly easy to get at, but the inner bolt will have to be accessed from underneath the bed, hence having to remove the feet from the bed. I'll post some pics of the procedure tomorrow.

Oh, the wood shavings.... It seems that the wood shavings have helped somewhat, by soaking up oil and grease and have kept the lathe free from rust. The clean up should be fairly straight forward with a little scraping with a plastic scraper, varsol on a rag and then into the de-greaser tub.

I'm not sure what the original colour of this lathe was and may find the colour behind where the leadscrew was. This lathe isn't a museum piece so I may paint it a different colour than what I think is original.

Brian


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## Brain Coral (Nov 10, 2013)

Well, I'm back again... I was hoping to have a full day in the shop to work on the lathe, but a load of topsoil on my driveway, threatening to freeze solid got in the way. I did manage to sneak in there for a couple of hours, though. First, I needed to get a 16" Westcott's Chuck out of the de-greasing tub.. clean it up, oil the parts and put it back together, before I could resume work on the lathe. It's around 100 years old and came out of a local monastery.

It's one heavy bugger.... :yikes:

Here's a pic of the chuck...






In order to remove the headstock from the bed, I had to lift the bed up and remove the feet in order to get at the "chuck side" bolt of the headstock.

Here's a few pics of the procedure...





This first set-up was a bit sketchy and the lathe wanted to turn turtle, so I passed a rope through the spindle to steady things....




Headstock removed and on to the other foot...







After removing one of the bolts, a Quick-Grip clamp helped to hold the foot from binding the removal of the other bolts...





Same clamp to aid in the removal of the rack...




I still have to remove the legs from the chip pan and have several sub-assemblies to take apart, but I will start from the bottom up and work on each assembly in turn, de-greasing, cleaning and restoring oiling holes, etc. as I go, as well as freshly painting as I go along.

This is a fun little project for me and everything is relatively light. I cant remember ever having a lathe bed that I can pick up and move around without too much trouble.

Thanks for looking in.

Cheers... 

Brian


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## Chuck K (Nov 10, 2013)

Looks like your making progress.  If you're planning on using that 16" chuck on it, you may have to relieve the ways a little. )

Chuck


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## Brain Coral (Nov 10, 2013)

Chuck K said:


> Looks like your making progress. If you're planning on using that 16" chuck on it, you may have to relieve the ways a little. )
> 
> Chuck



LMAO.... 

Yeah, me thinks that I may have to relieve right through the chip pan to about the middle of the legs... 

Imagine the tourque required just to turn that chuck ?


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## greenhornet-1 (Nov 12, 2013)

Good score there!


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## Brain Coral (Nov 15, 2013)

Hello Greenhornet,

Thanks....   I did pay $300.00 for it, so in this condition, I'm not sure what kind of deal I got, but in my neck of the woods, these little lathes don't come up that often. I did buy it with the idea that it would be a satisfying project to work on and clean up.

I've settled on a colour that has been mentioned on the Logan forum... Benjamin Moore Baby Seal Grey 2119-30....  I think that it will look real nice on this lathe. I had it made up in an alkyd enamel and will brush it on with a sponge brush, as I have all of my projects. This method seems to work well for this type of paint and for me.

I am looking forward to lots of shop time this weekend and will keep the pics and narrative coming.

Cheers... 

Brian


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## Brain Coral (Nov 15, 2013)

Hello all,

I'm back again with a little further progress. I had a few hours this afternoon, so I finished dimantling the rest of the lathe.... removed the bed, motor pivot bracket, motor mount and brace, chip pan from the legs and the wooden shelves from the legs.

Until this afternoon, I had assumed that these boards had been added by the previous owner, but now see that they are likely from the factory. There are two levels of bosses integral to the leg castings to support the boards. The top board is simply trapped between the legs by the assembly, while the bottom board is bolted through with carriage bolts and square nuts. I can see that this was meant to give more stability and rigidity to a top-heavy lathe. In addition, these boards provide a handy set of shelves for storage of chucks, steadies and tools.




This pic shows the bosses for the shelves...




Here's another pic of the decal on the leg casting after another cleaning. Before I cleaned it further, I took multiple pics so that I maybe can reproduce it as has been suggested.




I managed to clean the legs, chip pan and bed casting as well as giving them all the first coat of paint. Next, I will clean and paint the feet of the bed. I want to concentrate on these parts to have something to place the upcoming completed assemblies onto.

















I am looking forward to lots more time in the shop this weekend.

Cheers... 

Brian


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## schor (Nov 15, 2013)

Nice job so far. Is it going to look like this one when it's done?

http://vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=16668

Too bad there are no docs for it on the site.


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## Brain Coral (Nov 15, 2013)

Hello Steve,

That fellow did a real nice job on his restorsation. Too bad that he's missing some critical parts. I don't know if it will look as nice as his, but it will certainly look and work better than when I found it. It's a fun little lathe to work on and all of the parts are light to move around.

There is an Army Green colour that is on the lathe, but it's difficult to know if this was the original colour or not. Regardless, this new colour will look good when it's done. 

Thanks for your interest and encouragement... 

Brian


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## woodtickgreg (Nov 15, 2013)

Subscribed! Cool thread, I'll be watching this one come together. Thanks
Greg


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## Brain Coral (Nov 16, 2013)

Hello Greg,

Thanks...   I managed to get the feet cleaned up and painted before going to bed.

 Next, I need to dismantle the headstock and soak the bearings, spindle, backgear, etc. in de-greaser. Then I will clean and paint the headstock. Once that's done, I'll put the legs, chip pan, feet, bed and headstock casting together.

Cheers.... 

Brian


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## woodtickgreg (Nov 16, 2013)

Brian Coyle said:


> Hello Greg,
> 
> Thanks...   I managed to get the feet cleaned up and painted before going to bed.
> 
> ...


Get some pics as you go, I for one would love to see how this thing is put together. The head stock and spindle bearings look a little different from what a normal south bend is, I would like to see that. This old lathe is pretty cool and will be fun watching you work on her and breath some renewed life into it.
Greg


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## Brain Coral (Nov 16, 2013)

Well, I'm stymied as to how to get the spindle gear to come off of the spindle. It is threaded on the spindle and has a grub screw with a plug of brass to hold it in position on the spindle, but it won't budge. Yes, I have removed the grub screw and brass plug and have wedged the back gear so that the spindle won't turn and am using a strap wrench on the gear. I did try heating it slightly with a propane torch, but it still won't budge.




Am I missing something ? I have left it soaking in some penetrating oil for now. There doesn't seem to be any corrosion, so it must be mechanical. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks... 

Brian


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## woodtickgreg (Nov 16, 2013)

I have never seen a set up like that, kinda why I was hoping for some pics. Do you know for a fact that all the pins, screws, plugs etc. are out, and know for a fact whether it is right or left hand thread? Do you have a parts breakdown for this lathe that might shed some light on the various parts and how they come apart. Good luck and keep us posted.


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## Brain Coral (Nov 16, 2013)

I got it sorted out. A friend suggested that only the outside part was threaded and that the gear was likely keyed. So I tapped at the hole with a brass drift punch and got it to unscrew. Then the gear came off the key and spindle with some coaxing. I'll post some pics tomorrow.

Brian


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## Brain Coral (Nov 17, 2013)

Ok, here's how the parts looked like as they came off the spindle...










I am so glad for the help that I got. When it was pointed out to me, I thought... " Of course... !!! "

Now, onto the next puzzle... How does the spindle come out ? I'm assuming that it would press out of the bearings towards the chuck side, but I'm not going to frig with it until I investigate it further.

Cheers... 

Brian


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## woodtickgreg (Nov 17, 2013)

Very cool, glad you got it figured out. It's not how I pictured it coming apart. Thanks for sharing the pictures of this unusual lathe.


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## Brain Coral (Nov 17, 2013)

Hello Greg,

Thanks.... No, I don't have a parts diagram or any info on this lathe. I'm sure somewhere in a dusty corner somewhere something might exist, but with the very limited numbers of these lathes showing up and the fact that Moody hasn't enjoyed anywhere near the same enthusiasm as South Bend has, I highly doubt that someone is going to come forward with some literature.

I'm sure that there is a logical way that the spindle will come out of the bearings. I'll just have to do more cleaning, poking and prodding.

Cheers... 

Brian


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## Brain Coral (Nov 29, 2013)

Well, I am stiil trying to figure out how the spindle will come out...

Here's a pic of the set-up that I tried last weekend...







This didn't budge the spindle one bit. I'll have to dedicate some time to see if there is any additional mechanical items that need to be removed....

Brian


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## Chuck K (Nov 29, 2013)

Brian, Any spindle that I have ever removed just pushed out the front of the casting.  It can be kind of hard to get it moving, but once it starts it usually pushes out fairly easily.  Make sure you haven't missed any set screws.  There is usually one on the bull gear....sometimes you might find another one somewhere else.  I've always used a dead blow hammer to get it moving, but if your using the puller setup I would think you would want to use something that doesn't give.  I would replace the wooden blocks with steel.  You want it to pop free.  Lube it up real well and let it sit with pressure on it and it will probably break free.  I'm sure you'll get it out one way or another.

Chuck


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## Brain Coral (Nov 30, 2013)

Hello Chuck,

Thanks for the advice. I'll have to clean it carefully and look for additional grub screws.

Brian


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## Brain Coral (Dec 13, 2013)

Hello Chuck,

Well, no luck with the spindle removal... I did as you suggested and it didn't budge at all. I looked and prodded and looked some more, but couldn't find anything that needed to come out or loosened. That doesn't mean that there isn't something that I missed, but so far I can't sort it out. So, I put the headstock back onto the lathe bed and installed the feet and bed to the leg/chip tray assembly and am continuing on with cleaning, painting and re-assembly. 

I am hoping that in the near future that I will come across some knowledge, but for the time being, I will carry on.

Thanks for all of the helpful suggestions... 

Brian


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## Chuck K (Dec 13, 2013)

It's probably just stuck in place.  Some come out easy...others can be a pia.  It's just a matter of getting it to start moving.  I would think that a combination of your puller setup and a whack from a deadblow hammer while you have tension on the puller would get it going.  I've heard of people using heat, but I would think that would be a last resort.  You"ll get it.

Chuck


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## Brain Coral (Mar 7, 2014)

Well, it's been awhile. I never did get the spindle out, although I tried and tried.... Over the last week or so, I finally got the lathe finished, with a new forward/ reverse drum switch and wired in the motor to 110 volts.

Here's a few pics...

























It runs like a champ.... but my original intention was to fix it up and re-sell it, so I put it on Kijiji on Wednesday night and had it sold by 8:00 a.m. the next morning, with 5 other guys waiting in the wings, in case the deal fell through. The response was overwhelming. I could have had a bidding war if I had allowed it. A couple of the guys wanted to rush right out and buy it from underneath the first fellow who was on his way over from an hour's distance. I suppose it's smallish size and weight as well as it being powered for 110 volts were what was so appealing.

I had just a small tug of regret as we loaded it, but I know that this fellow will have fun with it and take good care of it.

Brian

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, just as a comparison....




This is what it looked like when I bought it... :yikes:

- - - Updated - - -


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## schor (Mar 7, 2014)

You did a nice job on the restore. There's not many good lathes of that size in the NB area, so I'm not surprised it sold so quickly.


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## stevecmo (Mar 7, 2014)

Brian,

That turned out really nice.  Good job!!!  And thanks for adding the "before" pic, that really put's it in perspective.

Steve


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## woodtickgreg (Mar 7, 2014)

Great job on restoring the old girl. She looks good again, before and after pic is quite impressive. 
P.S. Nice general mortiser in the back ground.


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## Brain Coral (Mar 9, 2014)

Thanks for the kind words, fellas.... 

Thanks Greg, that General mortiser works very well. I struggled in the past with an attachment for my drill press and finally bought the mortiser. It has way more capacity than I will ever likely use, like that the fence can swivel as well as the column tilts and has a capacity of up to a 1" mortising chisel.

It really came in handy with this divided light set of doors for a hutch that I built...
















Cheers.... 

Brian


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## woodtickgreg (Mar 9, 2014)

Very cool, so it appears that you are like me, a woodworker first and a hobby machinist second.


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## Brain Coral (Mar 9, 2014)

Hello Greg,

Yes, that is the case. I've been working as a carpenter for 27 years and always had a fascination for metalworking. I also collect old wooden handplanes and after reproducing some plow planes and having to struggle with making the metal parts on a drill press, I decided to buy a milling machine...... and now I've started down that slippery slope...

Brian


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## Benjinoob (Mar 24, 2017)

Brain Coral said:


> Well, it's been awhile. I never did get the spindle out, although I tried and tried.... Over the last week or so, I finally got the lathe finished, with a new forward/ reverse drum switch and wired in the motor to 110 volts.
> 
> Here's a few pics...
> 
> ...




Man really wish you'd figured out the spindle.  I'm at the same point now with the same lathe.  Does not want to budge for me either.  We seem to be the only 2 people in the world who've worked on or even seen these lathes lol. Your finished restore looks great though!


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## Benjinoob (Mar 24, 2017)

Don't know if you saw this in your attempt.  There is a small pin or something at the rear gear of the spindle.  It is between the gear and the bearing.  Don't know what it's for but thinking its a spacer. 
 Also had a thought that MAYBE if you push the spindle back first it might push the bearing out?  Probably not but curious what it's for.


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## Benjinoob (Mar 24, 2017)

So I'm thinking this is not going to work... Just snapped a 1/2" threaded rod I was using as a puller in half


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## markba633csi (Mar 25, 2017)

It looked as though Moody went one better than South Bend and used ball or roller bearings in the headstock-no wonder it was so easy to sell!
Mark S.


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## Benjinoob (Mar 25, 2017)

markba633csi said:


> It looked as though Moody went one better than South Bend and used ball or roller bearings in the headstock-no wonder it was so easy to sell!
> Mark S.



Ya they have tapered roller bearings


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## Benjinoob (Mar 25, 2017)

markba633csi said:


> It looked as though Moody went one better than South Bend and used ball or roller bearings in the headstock-no wonder it was so easy to sell!
> Mark S.



A little hard to see here but you can kind of make it out.


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## Benjinoob (Mar 25, 2017)

Here's a better pic of the back bearing.  It's a Timken 14187-A.


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## woodtickgreg (Mar 25, 2017)

Well I guess it would be safe to say that you will be replacing the bearings, especially after crushing the crap out of them trying to pull the spindle with enough force to snap the steel rod, lol. Actually it's a good thing to replace the bearings at the machines age, you probably will never do it again! it's all a learning curve my friend.


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## Benjinoob (Mar 25, 2017)

woodtickgreg said:


> Well I guess it would be safe to say that you will be replacing the bearings, especially after crushing the crap out of them trying to pull the spindle with enough force to snap the steel rod, lol. Actually it's a good thing to replace the bearings at the machines age, you probably will never do it again! it's all a learning curve my friend.



If anything it would only be the back bearing.  It seems the head is cast in such a way that the bearing at the back has to be pulled off the shaft to remove the spindle.  I only pulled on the spindle itself no direct force on the bearing.  I don't understand why it does not budge AT ALL as all the videos I've watched show these bearings slipping off relatively easily.  I've been over the entire headstock very thouroughly and I'm sure there are no retaining screws anywhere that I am missing. It should just pull out.

I've also determined that it HAS to come out the front as the opening is cast to the exact size of the spindle in the other direction.  It is a frustrating puzzle but I'm usually good with puzzles so I should figure it out eventually. I just hope I don't irreversibly damage anything in the process.


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## Benjinoob (Mar 25, 2017)

Well I finally got it!  Needed to adjust my puller a bit.  I think it was just the keyway on the bull gear that was really tight.  Glad I got it. There was SO MUCH crud in the bearing pockets that needed to be cleaned out.  Years and years of axel grease squeezed in and jamming everything up.


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## woodtickgreg (Mar 25, 2017)

I think a happy dance is fitting at this point. Glad you got it.


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## markba633csi (Mar 25, 2017)

Hey you got it! Great! I was really curious to see what was in there.  
Mark S.


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## Benjinoob (Mar 25, 2017)

markba633csi said:


> Hey you got it! Great! I was really curious to see what was in there.
> Mark S.



Me too!  Pretty straight forward stuff it seems.  4 fibre washers or wicks maybe?  You can see one on the bearing on the spindle.  A really deep half moon key on the bull gear.  The pin I pointed to earlier is on a spring.  I think my intuition that it was a spacer is correct.


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## Benjinoob (Mar 26, 2017)

Anyone know where to get washers like the one on this bearing?


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## woodtickgreg (Mar 26, 2017)

Benjinoob said:


> View attachment 229760
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'm going to guess that your probably going to have to make your own for that lathe. Just going to have to do some searching for the felt material. You might be able to find some round material and cut it to length and connect with a dab of super glue. Or stamp out some rounds out of flat material. Make your own cutters to do that out of sharpened pipe or whatever you find for the sizes you need. Maybe try McMaster carr to see if they cary any kind of felt washers or material. I would think chances of finding one felt washers for that lathe would be slim.


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## Benjinoob (Mar 26, 2017)

woodtickgreg said:


> I'm going to guess that your probably going to have to make your own for that lathe. Just going to have to do some searching for the felt material. You might be able to find some round material and cut it to length and connect with a dab of super glue. Or stamp out some rounds out of flat material. Make your own cutters to do that out of sharpened pipe or whatever you find for the sizes you need. Maybe try McMaster carr to see if they cary any kind of felt washers or material. I would think chances of finding one felt washers for that lathe would be slim.



Ya I'm sure they're not manufactured anymore lol.  Appreciate the input.  I will look into that felt material.


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## woodtickgreg (Mar 26, 2017)

I just did a quick google search for felt gaskets and washers and a ton of stuff came up. There was even companies that will custom cut them to your specifications. That might be a good way to go since they will have the dies to cut the material cleanly. You just need to take some measurements and add a little to the size and thickness so that it seals well after it gets soaked with grease and oil.


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## Benjinoob (Mar 26, 2017)

woodtickgreg said:


> I just did a quick google search for felt gaskets and washers and a ton of stuff came up. There was even companies that will custom cut them to your specifications. That might be a good way to go since they will have the dies to cut the material cleanly. You just need to take some measurements and add a little to the size and thickness so that it seals well after it gets soaked with grease and oil.



Ah, maybe my search was sparse because I didn't search for gaskets. Thanks!


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## Brain Coral (Mar 27, 2017)

Well Done, Ben... 

You are likely the most knowledgeable person in the world on Moody lathes...


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## LeakyCanoe (Mar 28, 2017)

Yes, and here I am lurking with my Moody in the dock for a possible future restore...and only an hour or so away from you Ben to boot    

Here's a couple of shots of it I have saved on the computer before I moved it out of it's former home where it was a steady user.  Still unsure as to it's fate...it remains a good steady user as is but I'm sure me or a future owner will be wanting to bring her back to full glory someday.  For now it is content to toil away unmussed without any make-up.





I don't know how many of these they sold out of La Belle Province back in the day but they sure seem to have passed the test of time.  I guess when you clone a SB 9 and then make design and build improvements on top of that you end up with something pretty good.


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## Benjinoob (Mar 28, 2017)

LeakyCanoe said:


> Yes, and here I am lurking with my Moody in the dock for a possible future restore...and only an hour or so away from you Ben to boot
> 
> Here's a couple of shots of it I have saved on the computer before I moved it out of it's former home where it was a steady user.  Still unsure as to it's fate...it remains a good steady user as is but I'm sure me or a future owner will be wanting to bring her back to full glory someday.  For now it is content to toil away unmussed without any make-up.
> 
> ...




Wow yours does see a lot of use!  Still looks in good condition though.  They really do hold up.

If you want to watch my progress on the restore I started an Instagram account.  Just finished stripping the head.  It's a little slow going as I have a 3yr and a 6mo old and my wife doesn't want me leaving them with her to hide in the basement lol.

The account is @vintagemachineandknifemaking


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## woodtickgreg (Mar 28, 2017)

It would be nice if you ran a thread here on the restore as well. I would love to follow along and this would be a great place to share what you learn along the way. There's not many of those lathes out there and people could learn from your experiences with it.


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## Benjinoob (Apr 2, 2017)

There's a little brass plug in this last piece on the spindle.


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## Benjinoob (Apr 2, 2017)

woodtickgreg said:


> It would be nice if you ran a thread here on the restore as well. I would love to follow along and this would be a great place to share what you learn along the way. There's not many of those lathes out there and people could learn from your experiences with it.



You're right,  I will continue to post progress on this thread.  Maybe easier for people to understand than starting a new one.


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## Andrew Sloan (Mar 23, 2020)

Can anybody tell me if Southbend change gears or back gears are a direct for for this lathe?

I just picked one up but it's missing a few parts. Got it for less than scrap value so I can't complain.


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## Xavier (May 6, 2021)

I just picked one up too, I am looking for parts and information


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## Xavier (May 6, 2021)

Benjinoob said:


> You're right,  I will continue to post progress on this thread.  Maybe easier for people to understand than starting a new one.


Are you still working on your Moody lathe, I just picked one up and I think it has been butchered somewhat. I have two big issues:
The lead screw gear is wrong, from the pictures posted it seem to be a large gear that meshes with the smaller gear on the idler gear, mine has a 72 teeth gear instead which is meshing with the larger gear. Way too fast of a feed rate.
I cannot tighten the idler gear properly, there is just a bolt which means when it is tight the gear doesn’t turn. Any details on how this gear is secured to the fork would be great


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## Glendaler (Dec 15, 2021)

I just picked up a Moody a few days ago, got it all stripped for cleaning now. Seems some people are having trouble with the spindle but mine came out pretty easy. Once I got the feed gear and preload nut off the back side I just loosened off a set screw I found on the cone pulley, put a couple punches between the bull gear and the front of the headstock so the teeth wouldn't hit the inside of the housing and dropped the end of the spindle on a piece of hardwood and it popped right out.


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## Glendaler (Dec 15, 2021)

Here's mine when I started. No motor, chuck, or feed gears so the plan is electronic leadscrew, 3 phase motor with vfd and whatever chucks I can find.


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## Dabbler (Dec 15, 2021)

I love those moody lathes!  well found!


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