South Bend lathe Minneapolis area. Looks beautiful.

[SLK001]

Some interesting information I came across though was that the spindle on those lathes used sleeve bearings. In the South Bend catalog, they tout the sleeve bearings as extremely smooth running to minimize any marks during machining. I wonder how long those sleeve bearings last and what the process is for replacing them.

No sleeve bearings for a 1945 SB lathe. At that time, the bearings were segmented cast iron. Sleeve bearings were re-introduced in the late 1940's.

As for longevity, if properly maintained, sleeve bearings should run for decades. They can also be adjusted to take up any slop that pops up during their life. Properly adjusted, the spindle rides extremely smooth on a thin film of oil. As for replacing, they simply slide on and off (IF you can get them).

 

[7milesup]

So you are saying that it has segmented cast iron bearings? I don't even know what that is... I will have to look it up.

 

[kb58]

I contacted the seller and asked him about the MN Navy.
His response:
Yes, there was MN navy. Ships and submarines named Minnesota used by the Navy.
Any other questions or concerns?

I was impressed by the ad until this bit. Assuming the context is what it seems to be, it's a very BS comment, as was said. I suppose that it's also possible that he really believes it, but seriously?

If you go look at it, I'd look it over Very carefully, especially the paint, to establish whether it really did come completely apart. Look for painted over screws, bolts, and seams. It started out sounding very good though, and as for what it's worth, what's an old car worth? Same answer.

 

[7milesup]

I don't think I will be going to look at it, although I am going to Minneapolis tomorrow.
As mentioned above, I believe that if I wanted to spend that kind of money I would purchase something more modern maybe. I mean, I can buy a PM1340 GT for not much more.

 

[SLK001]

So you are saying that it has segmented cast iron bearings? I don't even know what that is... I will have to look it up.

Here's a photo of a segmented CI bearing. Sorry about the watermark, it's not my image.

 

[7milesup]

Very interesting SLK001. I did a little more reading on segmented bearings. Welp, learned something today.