South Bend lathe

[keith5064]

Work was gonna throw this lathe out, so I thought maybe I'd tinker with it so I had it dropped off at my place.. I know absolutely nothing about this but would like to learn...or if it's junk I'll throw it in the iron pile..practical machinist I'm sure would be better for this, however I'm not a member yet...

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[tomd]

One place to start would be the electric. Is it single or 3 phase? Motor specs?

 

[keith5064]

The switch says 3 phase 5hp, but it runs off regular power..

 

[larry_g]

I would say you have a good start there. I would go back to work and ask if they have the change gears and any more tool holders and the 4 jaw chuck. They may also have the steady rests about. Talk to the oldest guy in the shop, he may know where things are. What you have there could be parted out for a few hundred dollars, so don't throw it away.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[keith5064]

I do have a few more parts that we threw in a bucket.unfortunately the older guys are retired and moved or have passed away..may not be a top notch unit, but if I can fiddle with it for a little while, I wouldn't mind learning a little...

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[95vette]

Hello, Look on the right hand end in the flat part of the bed for a number, then look number up on google should be able to find out what year it was made. No don't throw it away you can turn a lot with it but will need to find a stack of gears to do any threading with it. Look in all the cabinets in the area it came from might get lucky and find tooling. Jim

 

[larry_g]

I do have a few more parts that we threw in a bucket.unfortunately the older guys are retired and moved or have passed away..may not be a top notch unit, but if I can fiddle with it for a little while, I wouldn't mind learning a little...

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Take a picture of what is in the bucket, post it here, and we'll tell you more.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[keith5064]

It's not alot, looks to be mostly junk? Lol

 

[Murphy4570]

Not junk. Chuck key, spare chuck jaws, cutting tool holders, etc.

Looks like it is mostly there. No threading function at all. You'll have to figure out how to change chuck speed on that model. There doesn't look to be any gear change handles like you see on a Monarch or American lathe. 3 jaw chuck is of limited usefulness. You can chuck most material, but it is not easy to work with and forget chucking up rectangular or square material. You will need good dial indicators, micrometers, etc to use that lathe properly. Being a machinist is all about precision.

Clean the hell out of it and apply oil to the ways and everything. Get a modern quick change toolpost. Check for wear on the bed too.

I'd recommend buying a few books on operating lathes and reading up. Also BE SAFE! You can kill yourself FAST if you do something stupid.

 

[whateg01]

As has been said, threading is out without change gears. The lack of a gearbox doesn't mean you can't threads. It just means that the different gear ratios needed to turn a variety of thread pitches has to be accomplished with change gears.

There is a boring bar holder, that's the thing in the middle to the left.

The teardrop shaped tool near the bottom is probably a taper drift tool for removing tools from a taper, such as a Morse taper.

The two pez dispenser shaped tools in the middle are tool bit holders. They go in the Armstrong-style tool post on the lathe in the pic.

Not sure about some of the other stuff.

Those jaws are the outside jaws for gripping something bigger than will fit on the inside of the jaws currently in the 3-jaw chuck. I don't know why a 3-jaw would be of limited usefulness. Sure a 4-jaw is more versatile, but I turn most of my stuff in my 3-jaw just because it is faster.

There are a few things that I don't know about.

A quick change tool post is nice to have, but if you aren't sure what you are going to end up doing with the lathe, I would settle on an inexpensive 4-station turret tool post. You can make parts with the Armstrong (also called lantern-style because if the shape) tool post, but setting it up is a pain if you haven't been doing it for 50 years.

Dave

 

[Whitworth]

Unless you're the type who finds tinkering absolutely irresistible, I wouldn't bother. Too much money and time to bring it up to snuff.
Sell it on Craigslist instead.

 

[rsanter]

Even a worn out lathe can be very useful for general work or repairs.
How much precision do you really need for a lot of the basic stuff you need to do.
I have 2 lathes and very seldom do I need to cut threads.

If nothing else that would make a killer wood lathe. I have wanted one of those old worn out lathes that I can get for cheap just to use it as a big heavy killer wood lathe

Bob

 

[R-Savage]

Great lathe. Tear it right down! To bare bones and rebuild it!

 

[raddksn]

Ship it to me!! I will evaluate it for 20 or so years and let you know what I find!!! All kidding aside nice score!!!

 

[Bigbandguy]

What is under the box on the left side, the one with hinges on the front? I have never seen that before but it is right over where the selector would be if there were gear selector lever on the lathe.... like maybe it was restricted to one setting for a particular production purpose? The old Sebastian gun lathe I worked on was pinned to one speed. When we took the pin out it was usable on all speeds. Lets see what is under the box. .... that might explain why no gears were hanging around.

 

[keith5064]

Serial number- 21076

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[keith5064]

Under the cover...

 

[lilredex]

From about 1920.

http://www.wswells.com/serial_number.html

The first book you need is "How To Run A Lathe" by SB.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=how+...UICSgC&biw=1280&bih=672#imgrc=zKHs7w9ogUqvbM:

 

[HoosierBuddy]

If I was looking at just starting into the home shop machinist hobby, I think that lathe would be too daunting a project and not have enough capability to be an ideal tool to own.

That being said, it's worth a lot more than "nothing". To the right person, a few hundred dollars, or even more if you part it out successfully.

Now, if your goal is not to learn to be a machinist, but more just to rebuild a cool old machine, then that would be a perfect project for you. You'll have a lot of time and money in it by the time you're done though.

Phil

 

[John in OH]

Work was gonna throw this lathe out, so I thought maybe I'd tinker with it so I had it dropped off at my place.. ...

If you got this for "free" from your work, you got a great score! This is a very nice size lathe and appears to be pretty complete with the exception of the change gear set (which you can probably eventually find on eBay). And, as already mentioned, it doesn't have a thread dial, but that's not a biggie IMHO. Lathe is probably from the 1930-40 era.

The switch says 3 phase 5hp, but it runs off regular power..

 

[Firebrand]

Nice score! Looks like a Model B or C with the change gear setup. I believe you could add a quick change gearbox to upgrade it to a Model A. History right there, just needs some love, Vactra oil on the ways and some chips piling up!!

 

[My Old Tools]

I would guess it is either an 11" or a 13", but without a frame of reference looks can be deceiving. It has a lead screw, half nuts, and clutch so it can cut threads. You will need to find some change gears. Check eBay and post on the PracticalMachinist board for South Bend. Lots of helpful people on the SB board. Clean everything well (I use kerosene and a brush) and oil it with way oil. The headstock will need spindle oil but Mobil One 10 or 0-20 will work well. You can remove the plugs and flush the headstock reservoir with kerosene too before adding oil.

 

[keith5064]

Thanks all for the words and direction..I'm going to get a copy of that reading material and see what comes of it. I'll probably start browsing around on practical machinist as well..thanks !

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[whateg01]

I don't remember if it was mentioned or not, but Chaski.org is a real good resource for the home shop guy. PM is okay, but I've seen a lot of "professionals" there who don't like you if you aren't using an expensive piece of CNC gear with high dollar inserts, etc.

 

[John in OH]

I don't remember if it was mentioned or not, but Chaski.org is a real good resource for the home shop guy. PM is okay, but I've seen a lot of "professionals" there who don't like you if you aren't using an expensive piece of CNC gear with high dollar inserts, etc.

Yeah, for some reason some of the guys on PM can be kinda cranky. But if you limit your posting to the Specific Machine Forum - South Bend Lathes you'll have no issues and get a lot of really good advice. Or, you can post in the Open Discussion section under Antique Machinery and History where you can also get a lot of support.

Avoid the Manufacturing Today section.

 

[My Old Tools]

I don't remember if it was mentioned or not, but Chaski.org is a real good resource for the home shop guy. PM is okay, but I've seen a lot of "professionals" there who don't like you if you aren't using an expensive piece of CNC gear with high dollar inserts, etc.

Not true if you stick to the South Bend board.