Well, I brought the South Bend home yesterday. What a mess! I spent all day getting it cleaned up. I still have the headstock, end gears and QCGB to clean. I expect I'll end up painting this one as well, since the paint is coming off in huge chips. It appears to have been painted at least twice in the past, but little of it remains.
Other than the paint, though, it is in reasonable condition. Wear, but nothing appears to be worn out at this point. The lead screw appears to be in very good condition, as do the gears in the apron and the end gears. In cleaning, I found some surface rust on the ways, but no pitting, and a little on the tailstock ram. The tailstock ways show a little wear, as do the saddle ways. Most of what I thought was rust has turned out to be just gunk and is cleaning up, though.
Several months ago some renters of mine left me a large crock pot for which they had broken the lid. I kept it, thinking some day I'd find a use for it in my shop. I filled it with rust-remover fluid and turned it on low. It enhanced the action of the rust-remover noticeably. Cleaned up a bunch of rusted parts very well.
So, now to finish cleaning it this week and put it to work making parts for the DR! I'll wait until I'm finished reassembling the DR before I take the SB apart for paint and refurb.
When I picked up the SB the owner let me look through her late husband's shop for parts and accessories for the lathe. The shop is a mess and has been stacked with junk by a hired hand on the farm since her husband's passing. I found a small tool box that had all his lathe stuff in it. I found several dead centers and several mics, so now I have a full range of mics, most of which are Mitutoyos, a set of Starrett inside mics, two screw thread gauges, a ton of bits, an a boring tool and post, and a bunch of extra holders. I got 3 and 4-jaw chucks in good shape, a set of Hardinge 3-C collets, a collet closer, and a taper attachment with the lathe. I was happy to find the thread protector and collet insert in the tool box, along with a set of Rivett collets. I expect I'll be selling some of these parts that are redundant.
One thing that really fascinates me is the cutest little milling attachment you ever saw. Looks like it attaches to the compound, but lacks a vice. Wonder what he used it for. If anybody knows anything about this thing, I'd appreciate the info. No manufacturer marks on it, but the graduated collar and handle looks like South Bend parts. I'm going to inquire about it on the South Bend forum as well.
In the pics you see the SB next to my DR. Still working on getting the shop cleaned up and organized, but we're progressing.
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