South Bend 9A

N

Napaman

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I have the opportunity to purchase a South Bend 9A for about $600, but the problem is I know that the back-gear is damaged and the main drive gear. My questions is do people think the ways are in any way salvageable? I have included pictures. No tooling comes with the lathe. Just want to know thoughts on it really. If I can have tolerances to within .005 I would be stupid happy.

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SB 9 Car.jpg

SB 9 Front Plate.jpg

SB 9 Overview.jpg
 
You could always just put a spindle in it. There's always some on Ebay.
 
4ssss said:
You could always just put a spindle in it. There's always some on Ebay.
Click to expand...
Yea that or a VFD controller for speed control. I am worried about how much the ways have been worn down. There is no way that I would be able to scrap the ways right now.
 
From the pictures it appears that there is quite a bit of wear on the ways. Also the gears appear to be somewhat rounded off. My personal opinion is to wait for a better machine to come up that has tooling. The price seams a bit expensive for what I see in the pictures. Al
 
As far as usability the way it is, depends on what your intended use is. Short stuff, say no more then 6 inches long or so, You could likely do good (I can't speak for the cross slide, or compound, they may also be an issue). The longer, and the thinner the project, the wear in the ways will matter more.

From my experience, if the ways are worn that much, the underside of the saddle will also be worn about the same. The cross slide, and compound will also have a good amount of wear. What hurts more then the wear, is the taper formed from the wear being more ate one end, then the other. For the cross slide, and compound, that will be loose at one end, and tight at the other, and no amount of adjustment on the gibbs will take that out.

The compound, is short enough that you can get it close with a long file, but you could quickly mess it up if you are not careful.

The lead screw looks decent, so the half nuts may also be usable.

If that new bull gear, and back gear in the pic is included, that helps the price some, But I also agree, the price seems high. But prices, and availability vary a lot by area.
 
I had one just like it--enjoyed the heck out of it. When I bought mine it had the same gear damage and was missing the gear train cover, Replacing the back gear and bull gear is pretty easy. I knew absolutely nothing about a metal lathe when I bought it and managed to change them. Paid $450 for it 7 or 8 years ago. Bought it in San Antonio (machine desert)
 
I only see one damaged gear (the bull gear). Are replacements included for the gears? If so, that's a plus. The price is still a little high if there is no tooling. Are there missing parts? What about the way tightness near the chuck? One can check this by tightening the carriage lock so that the carriage slides in the worn area, then crank out to see if it sticks. Seeing a test cut is a plus.
 
I didn't see it in the pic, but where is the rest of the drive train?
 
That does look like a fairly substantial amount of wear on the ways, but for hobby use it might be acceptable -within limits. Depends on what types of parts you will be making and the level of precision you require. A skilled person can make good parts on even a very worn lathe. Out here on the west coast that would be a good price, especially if the replacement gears are included. 9As, out here, usually start at 1200$ and go up from there.
mark
 
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