Heavy 10 project

[woodtickgreg]

This is my first post other than an introduction. I have been searching for a used lathe to use for my tool making and who knows what else. I was hoping to find a nice workable logan and was looking for a few months. I work as a truck driver for a roll forming co. in the detroit area, one day on one of my deliveries to a shop that I go to all the time I was told to go upstairs to talk with the owner. Now this is a very old building in the heart of detroit, when I was up there I saw this old lathe tucked away in a corner surrounded by a ton of old machinery and other junk. So I asked, do you want to sell that lathe? He said I dunno, it's not mine, I have been storing it for a friend that lives out of state but i'll call him and see. A week later he said I called him and he will sell it, it was his fathers and he passed away and has no use for it, how much I said? He wants at least $500 for it. Can I look at it closer? I didn,t even know what brand it was as I couldn't get close to it, sure he said. As I aproached it I saw the large spindle bore, climbed around to the front of the lathe and saw it was a south bend! Oh happy day! Ways not damaged and in good shape, tail stock is there and functions smoothly, missing belt cover and bull gear cover is broken, handle for back gear eccentric is broken, But other than that it's all there and in good shape! original 3/4 hp 3 phase motor too. everything moves except the back gear and I think I can free it up. $500?.....I'll take it! Do you guys think this was a good deal? I will post pics as I go along with the refurb on this. Another question that I have is it looks like it has a collet chuck? Can I just remove the collet chuck and mount a 3 and 4 jaw chuck to this spindle or do I have to change the spindle shaft?

 

[bcall2043]

...........Can I just remove the collet chuck and mount a 3 and 4 jaw chuck to this spindle or do I have to change the spindle shaft?

Greg,

Welcome to the group. The answer to your collet question is yes. The grooved collar with spanner wrench holes on the spindle should unscrew and push the collet adapter out of the spindle. Once the adapter and collar are removed the threaded spindle can accept a threaded face plate or chuck assembly of the correct thread size.

Great find and good price.

Benny

 

[Splat]

It's funny how things happen, don't it? Nice find, Greg, and welcome to the fold! No other tooling, chuck, etc. came with it? Even still, if it's in good shape and just needs a cleanup ya did good.

 

[woodtickgreg]

It's funny how things happen, don't it? Nice find, Greg, and welcome to the fold! No other tooling, chuck, etc. came with it? Even still, if it's in good shape and just needs a cleanup ya did good.

Thanks, nope no tooling and believe me I looked around for anything I could find. I do plan to go through this machine and buy the rebuild manual and kit off of feebay. I think I may change out the motor to a 220 single phase rather than run a converter but not sure what horse power to run. But I will save the original motor if I ever want to put it back in. I still have to figure out what the spindle thread and size is. And I do want to get the serial card from grizzly. And I also plan to repaint it, seems like it is just primed or a flat paint now. Gonna be lots of elbow grease on this one, but I love these kinds of projects. Take something old and make it new again. Nothing like old american iron.

 

[Benji]

Your lathe was shipped, Midyear, 1949. One of the last with the cast iron base.
You have large dials on both the cross feed and the compound.
Check the cross feed dial. It may have 200 divisions. If so you have one of the latest dials.
I have a 42, came with small dials. but with a set of collets by 1/32's. I paid $800.

 

[woodtickgreg]

Your lathe was shipped, Midyear, 1949. One of the last with the cast iron base.
You have large dials on both the cross feed and the compound.
Check the cross feed dial. It may have 200 divisions. If so you have one of the latest dials.
I have a 42, came with small dials. but with a set of collets by 1/32's. I paid $800.

Wow, Thanks for the info! How did you find out all of this stuff? Is there a source for this info? Any way to determine what the spindle size and pitch is? Sounds like I have a good find. The more I learn about this lathe the more I think I need to do a full restore on it. I was going to just make it a user but now I think I will restore it. But the time it's going to take to do it is a bummer and I need to use it, Oh well it will be worth it. It is still in my truck, I am going to clear a space to work on it in my basement shop and a friend is going to help me get it out of the truck and in the basement. I will pull the underdrive unit and motor out of the base to lighten it a little. I really do appreciate your info on my lathe benji !

 

[woodtickgreg]

I started taking the base apart for inspection and painting, cleaned up and blew out the motor, it spins freely and has no play. The good thing is that the base and the lathe as well has onlt 2 coats of paint, the original and some one sprayed the whole thing with grey primer. Chemical stripper should work fine. I don't want to sanblast the base so sand doesn't get in the bearings of the underdrive shaft, it spins freely and doesn't make any noise or have any play, so I won't have to mess with it much, just clean up the pullys. The door and the 2 side covers, the chip pan, and the end legs I will probably sandblast. A quick inspection of the ways shows no wear at all and no nicks or dings! I cant believe the condition of the ways, a little oil and a fine buffing pad and they will clean right up. I do not think this lathe has seen much use at all. Oh and a quick look at the hand wheel dials shows 100 divisions.

 

[Splat]

Get the refurb kit and proper oils on Ebay. The refurb kit and the oil pack are both good buys. I bought the kit and the oil pack and have been steadily refurbing my 1957 Heavy 10. The refurb kit has all the felt wicks you'll need, good instructions and pics, and the oil pack is contains the oils recommended for your lathe. I wouldn't run that lathe until at least knowing the condition of the wicks, especially the wicks under the spindle.

From your lathe's serial # it is a large-bore spindle, 2-1/4x8. It looks like you've got a collet adapter in your spindle which, IIRC, will take up to a 1" 5C collet. You would remove the collet closing sleeve and the nose cap/protector to put a chuck on the spindle. I would suggest getting a 4-jaw chuck for your first chuck. The 4-jaw is more adaptable to different shaped workpieces and allows you to dial in parts better than a 3-jaw.

For more info on your lathe, and various other South Bend info, visit Steve's site http://www.wswells.com/ and also the Heavy 10and Heavy 10 files Yahoo groups.

 

[hardhatdiver]

woodtickgreg,

Just a note if you haven't done so already. When you remove the collet adapter, use a long piece of aluminum rod (or other soft metal, but aluminum is cheap) from the rear of the spindle. Don't use a piece of steel. Hold the adapter with your hand and knock it from the back. A few smacks should pop it out, and the thread protector just spins off. They can get fairly tight after being used a lot and staying in the spindle. I've been using the same aluminum rods for years on my 10L and 16" and just keep them with the lathes.

Regards,
Jeremy​

 

[woodtickgreg]

Thanks for the info guys! I do plan on doing a restoration sort of, mostly I am going to get the rebuild kit and manual and replace all the wicks, Inspect all the parts as I go and replace as neccessary. The problem I have with the paint that's on it is some idiot just sprayed the whole thing down with what looks like primer, overspray on everything, some parts are rusty and I want to clean everything well. The bed and headstock I will probably hand sand a little to even things out, wipe down with denatured alcohol, and brush on some paint. The ways look amazing! Drip pan, base, and legs I will probably spray. The bearings in the jackshaft assy in the base are in great shape, removed the belt and motor and gave em a spin and it spins a long time on it's own and makes no noise, no end play or up and down play either.
Etard, yep the bed is a little short for some, but it will fit well in my basement wood shop/work shop, the tag on the end of the machine says 3 1/2 foot bed.
Splat, Thanks for the tips, I do plan to get the proper oils, did you get your oil pack from the same guy that sells the rebuild kit and manual? I did find steve's site. The collet closer popped right off when I removed the coller, self releasing, measured the spindle and it is 2 1/4. I do plan on getting a 4 jaw scroll chuck first as my main use of this lathe will be for 1/2 square 304 stainless steel stock for the wood turning chisels I make for wood turners. And that is also why the large bore and short bed work for me. I really don't think this lathe saw much use, or it was cared for very well untill it was warehoused and forgot about.