Good evening folks. Well this journey started just about 17 months ago when I brought home a heavy 9 south bend lathe. At that time I didn't even know how to turn it on or what all of the various knobs and doo dads were for. I decided to do a complete tear down primarily to get an understanding of the inner workings of the lathe but also to give it a good cleaning.
I didn't so anything for the first 7 months except look at it and wonder what I had got my self into. In Septemeber 2011 I started the tear down. I took a couple of months off recently due to some health issues and then got back it in March 2012. Today I put the last cover on and called it done.
Whiule this restore doesn't meet the museum quality standards set by some others (you know who you are
)every nut, bolt, screw, casting, gear and shaft was disassembled, cleaned and painted. I learned a ton through that process and wouldrecommend it to anyone who is a relative newby to lathes. I do have to say that it would never have happened without the generous help and support of many folks on this and other forums. I'm not going to name names because I'm sure I would forget one or more but you know who you are. Hopefully this process will allow me to give back to others based on what I have learned.
My next steps are to do the fine tuning / set up - primarily the tailstock alignment and recheck of the leveling. Then I will move to develop the skills necessary to actually make something
- so expect a lot more questions.
Here's a link to a short youtube video with somebefore and after pictures.
Sb Movie with Music - YouTube
Enjoy and thanks again.
Rick