Southbend 9"x36

[Jeeper75]

Hello, have sort of been looking for a metal lathe and came across one somewhat local, a Southbend 9"x36. Now I am a beginner at lathes pretty much. Used one about 5 years ago at school in machine shop class. Looks to be in good shape, has a 3 jaw chuck and all the change gears for threading. What is a going price for one of these. He is asking 800.

Ad

I have for sale a very nice old South Bend 9" x 36" manual lathe. Have had this @20 years now and have a new lathe on the way so I need to make some room! It is wired for 115Volt single phase electric. Comes with all the back gears, "Banana" tool post, Three jaw chuck with ID and OD jaws (matched to chuck), Live and dead centers, Face plate and three dogs. I can post a short video if you wish. The only known issue is the motor needs a little help starting. Motor was fully checked out many years ago and the function is fine (I just give the driven wheel a spin). Can send close up pictures if you wish. Thanks for looking! Added pics 1/17, Baggies have all the change gears (steel) well oiled to prevent rust.

 

[paulsomlo]

I think his price is too high, especially in that neck of the woods.

The tooling is nothing to write home about - if the chuck were new and high quality, that would make a difference. But it looks like your typical chuck that's been with the machine for 20 years, which could make it a boat anchor. Make sure that all the change gears are included - there should be 13 gears with a keyed bore, and three gears with a smooth larger bore, two of those three will be compound gears. I don't see a threading dial, so add another $100 to your tooling budget.

Sounds like the motor needs a new start capacitor, not exactly a bargaining chip in the seller's favor. You could play dumb and claim that the motor will need replacing soon.

It's hard to tell, but in the bottom picture, it appears that the front V-way may have a ridge near the top, or it may just be oil. As these lathes wear, they'll develop that ridge.

Looking at the pictures in his CL ad, it appears that lathe was made near the end of 1938, what some refer to as a "transitional". I would expect the serial number to be around 85,000 or so.

I think a fair price, depending on condition, would be closer to $600, possibly a lot less. It's a change gear lathe, not nearly desirable as one with a quick change gear box. I've been watching my local CL here in Colorado for five years now, and as rare as lathes are here in the great American iron desert, I don't think that lathe could fetch much more than $700 here. And one thing you should know; you're in one of the better places in the world to be shopping for used metalworking machinery. Since you don't have an immediate need, you have the luxury of time. I don't think that lathe is going anywhere fast at that price. I also see there's a small Clausing for $950 on your CL, three times the lathe as that South Bend. If it's a SB that you want, look for a 10L (Heavy 10). If you really want a 9" SB, get one with a gear box on the factory cabinet with the motor down below. Keep us posted.

 

[Jeeper75]

Thanks for the info, kind of thought it might be a little high, considering there is hardly and tooling. Might just have to pass for the next one.

 

[zkling]

Too high, especially since it doesn't run properly ("motor issue"). Double that price and you can get 4x the machine. Anymore I wouldn't even look at a non quick change machine, even then it better be fully outfitted. Depending on what you make metric could be a concern.

BTW If you want a real machine, there is a huge auction in Springfield tomorrow.

 

[geologist]

The lack of a QCGB and no threading dial is what puts the nail in the coffin at that price.

Give C.W. Wood a call. They're in Cincinnati. They'll deal quite a bit on their machines, especially smaller ones. http://www.cwwood.com/

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

I'll echo the sentiments on the quick change gear box, as that's not only necessary for thread pitch changes, but also feed rate changes. You'll also note that that lathe only has the half nut to engage the lead screw for carriage feed, and not the clutch style nor the feed change lever that allows you to use the cross feed or the carriage feed driven by the lathe itself.

Its a fairly simple lathe, and as others have said a bit pricy for the utility..

Dennis

 

[ibedayank]

I'll echo the sentiments on the quick change gear box, as that's not only necessary for thread pitch changes, but also feed rate changes. You'll also note that that lathe only has the half nut to engage the lead screw for carriage feed, and not the clutch style nor the feed change lever that allows you to use the cross feed or the carriage feed driven by the lathe itself.

Its a fairly simple lathe, and as others have said a bit pricy for the utility..

Dennis

why there is change gears in the pics... for threading and feed rates


very OLD lathe flat leathern belt driven think steam engine driven by shafts on ceiling

 

[HoosierBuddy]

The lack of a QCGB and no threading dial is what puts the nail in the coffin at that price.

Give C.W. Wood a call. They're in Cincinnati. They'll deal quite a bit on their machines, especially smaller ones. http://www.cwwood.com/

Agree. A quick change gear box would be a necessity if it was me. And, most of the SB lathes I see have one.

Phil

 

[Jeeper75]

Thanks for al the good info, will be on the hunt for something better.

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

why there is change gears in the pics... for threading and feed rates


very OLD lathe flat leathern belt driven think steam engine driven by shafts on ceiling

Yep.. get that. My point.. changing thread pitch and feed rates is not quick on that particular lathe.. it can be done but requires changing the gear, vs. quickly moving a couple of levers on the QC gearbox.. that's my only point (other than the observations on the carriage/feed change and clutch).

Many don't appreciate the clutch on a SBL (or other makes that have them), in lieu of using the half nut, but if you run the carriage into the headstock (accidently of course ).. with a clutch you may not break the leadscrew because it is likely to slip, but with a half nut engaged and running into a hard stop... it is virtually guaranteed to break the leadscrew or half nut....

Jeeper75: something else to look out for and consider is a taper attachment. If you plan on doing much long tapers (like a Morse taper, or the taper on a cannon or ??) they are super valuable ..