South Bend Lathe help

[liliysdad]

I have been casually looking for a lathe to add to the shop, something I can learn on, just another skill to play with. I ran across this machine somewhat locally, and can pick it up for very little outlay.

The seller knows very little about it, seems to have inherited it. The biggest concern I have is the ID plate in what appears to be French, with graduations in metric. Am I right in believing this is a metric machine? Any idea on the size of this lathe? I truly think this is more machine that I want , or need...but curiosity has me.

 

[Jwallace1]

doesn't look like any south bend that i have ever seen although i am not an expert, the tag does seems to be french or some other language, without a make and model i would probably pass, might be a good machine but if its setup as metric and you want do any thread cutting other than metric you will be out of luck. the cross slide and compound would also be metric. if you ever needed repair parts they could be hard to come by

thanks

 

[Ecosta777]

Definitely no South Bend. I would also pass because of the condition, and because its all in metric. Probably impossible to convert to English without knowing the maker.

 

[liliysdad]

That confirms my concerns.

It does look very very similar to a few larger 14 and 16 inch South Bends that I located photos of... But it's enough different that it scares me.

 

[Jwallace1]

a lot of the older lathes looked similar, south bend, atlas, logan i think it was just the style back then, here is a picture of my 13" south bend the 14 and 16's look very similar just slightly bigger

thanks

 

[bctexas]

Hi Lilisdad! A great resource for South Bend info is here:

https://www.wswells.com/

The serial number database can give you a good idea of the age of a South Bend. The serial number is on the top of the front way, at the far right end. Also, South Bend lathes have ways with a triangular ridge, not flat like the ways on the lathe in the pictures you posted. The flat ways are a dead giveaway that what you are looking at is not a South Bend.

Pages you might find useful when evaluating a used lathe:

http://www.mermac.com/advicenew.html
and
http://www.mermac.com/klunker2.html

I bought a 1936 vintage 9 inch South Bend as my first lathe (serial 61781 in the database). It has lots of wear, but I have been able to turn out some useful parts. And I learned a whole lot from working with it. Plus it was cheap and lots of fun! I upgraded to a new lathe a few months ago, and the South Bend is going to a new home but I'm glad I got to be its caretaker for a while!

HTH!

 

[gm54210]

Looks like a Barbier Besson with a chip pan.

 

[liliysdad]

Hi Lilisdad! A great resource for South Bend info is here:

https://www.wswells.com/

The serial number database can give you a good idea of the age of a South Bend. The serial number is on the top of the front way, at the far right end. Also, South Bend lathes have ways with a triangular ridge, not flat like the ways on the lathe in the pictures you posted. The flat ways are a dead giveaway that what you are looking at is not a South Bend.

Pages you might find useful when evaluating a used lathe:

http://www.mermac.com/advicenew.html
and
http://www.mermac.com/klunker2.html

I bought a 1936 vintage 9 inch South Bend as my first lathe (serial 61781 in the database). It has lots of wear, but I have been able to turn out some useful parts. And I learned a whole lot from working with it. Plus it was cheap and lots of fun! I upgraded to a new lathe a few months ago, and the South Bend is going to a new home but I'm glad I got to be its caretaker for a while!

HTH!

Thank you so much.

I have reached a point where I want a lathe. I want to learn how to run one, more as a challenge than anything else. I live vintage machinery..and would prefer something with some history.

 

[pelletman]

Find yourself a nice 9 or 10 South Bend and make sure it has a quick change gearbox

 

[rsanter]

Negatives.
Metric
Condition
Flat belt

Positives.
If it can be had cheap enough it can be a great matching to learn on and last the rest of your life or more.
The condition looks poor but I have seen many of those machines clean up very well.
Because of how it looks and it being metric the seller should be willing to deal. If not then. On

Bob

 

[My Old Tools]

Flat belt is just fine, flat ways are not great. South Bend lathes are all flat belt at the head stock until you get into the Korean Turnadoes. South Bends have the advantage over most other older lathes in that parts can be found plentiful and reasonable. If it were a SB you could pick up the US change gears and a data plate and be on your way. Who knows where you would ever find gears for that machine. By the way, metric change gears for a SB lathe are valued highly.

I did exactly what you are doing many years ago. I bought a little Logan 210 first, then a SB 13 and a Sheldon EXL-46. I learned something from each of them and I still have the SB 13 toolroom lathe.