Need help with Lathe id

[pmooney]

Good morning, inherited a lathe recently and I'm not to familiar with them yet. Need some help figuring out what I have here. We have an old BSA lathe I use occasionaly at work and finally got this one for the house. Came here for some education! Thank you!

 

[Maui]

If you can move the tailstock forward there should be a series of numbers or numbers and letters stamped together on the flats between the V ways. You may have to clean some grease and grime out of the way to see this. Tell us what you find there and we may be able to give you some good information about this lathe.

Maui

 

[cvairwerks]

Looks like a clone of the South Bend Model C. Could be one of number of makers that copied that design.

 

[pmooney]

Awesome, thank you. I'll check for numbers tonight. I've also got a Dalton lathe tucked in the corner and a nearly complete South Bend. Both smaller units, I'm a sucker for old equipment, even if I'm not using it. Almost like artwork to me. Ill grab pictures of them also.

 

[pmooney]

Ok, looks like a J 1439 or maybe a JI 439 under the tail stock.

 

[pmooney]

Here's a quick shot of the Dalton, did a little poking around and seems like Dalton havent made a Lathe since the late 20's. Maybe a 100 year old piece here, very cool!

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

Older SBL is my guess...

 

[VocaTexas]

You might try posting at the Hobby Machinist forum or at Old Wood Working Machines in their metal working forum.

 

[Maui]

Prior to 1947 South Bend stamped only numbers between the V ways, and after 1947 they used a combination of letters and numbers. But to the best of my knowledge they never used a J as a part of their serial numbers. So it looks like this is not a South Bend lathe.