What's this Lathe worth?

[R6 Racer]

So, I'm looking for a lathe. I have asked questions here before & many have suggested that an older North American made unit would be the way to go. I cant afford to spend the $5,000.00 that it would take to get most of the good ones I see.

Then this one pops up for sale!


It's a South Bend 9” x 24” & all the info I have on it is...
- 3 &4 jaw chucks & a drill chuck
- reversible motor
- threading gears
- power cross feed
- new belts
- 110 volt – single phase

Is this a good type of lathe for a home hobby shop ?

Without any more info, what would you value this lathe at?
(what to offer, what to finally pay)

What more info do I need to be able to put a value on it?

If & when I go look at it what should I look for?

Steve

 

[Ign]

Machinery values vary wildly by location.

South Bends are cult machines, they have a devoted following and people obsess over them.

IMO the machine is worth around $1000 on a good day. If you were on the East Coast people might say $300-400. In an area where machines are rare and/or for a SB minion, they'd pay over $2000.

I don't care what it is, a 9x24 is a 9x24 and is only capable of so much.

 

[Steinmetz]

I'd never own a lathe without a quick-change gearbox.

 

[woody 73]

I am not seeing any pictures but I will tell you this much in my area small lathes that can be moved easy and are single phase go for big dollars. On the other hand large monsters that take a moving company and run on three phase go for very little money because of the moving costs involved and the costs associated with buying three phase start-up costs.

 

[A_Pmech]

I don't know a lot about South Bend lathe values, but I can say what Ign said about South Bend lathe owners is true. Many people obsess over these machines and the prices generally reflect that.

They make a good hobby machine and they don't weigh a lot, which makes them attractive to hobbyists.

 

[Zeke]

W/O any more info and no pics, I'd say it's small. But, the amount of tooling that comes with it is where the value is. Bare bones as described it's worth 500 US. I'm not saying you can get it for 500, that it's worth 500. Go to sell it and you'll see.

The cheapest quick change tool post is 250, so the value of tooling is paramount. Just a steady rest would bump the price by 200. Add in some centers, face plate and a couple of drive dogs and the deal would be starting to look real sweet at over a grand.

 

[Kevin54]

So, I'm looking for a lathe. I have asked questions here before & many have suggested that an older North American made unit would be the way to go. I cant afford to spend the $5,000.00 that it would take to get most of the good ones I see.

Then this one pops up for sale!

It's a South Bend 9” x 24” & all the info I have on it is...
- 3 &4 jaw chucks & a drill chuck
- reversible motor
- threading gears
- power cross feed
- new belts
- 110 volt – single phase

Is this a good type of lathe for a home hobby shop ?

Without any more info, what would you value this lathe at?
(what to offer, what to finally pay)

What more info do I need to be able to put a value on it?

If & when I go look at it what should I look for?

Steve

It would make a very good hobby lathe. I wish you would have posted a pic though. As far as what to look for, you want to look for excessive wear on the bed especially up close towards the chuck. You want to make sure the compound is free with no binding, but you also don't want the compound to be loose.

The saddle is the "H" looking portion that rides on the bed. If there is excessive wear close to the chuck, where most of the work is done, it will throw a cut off. If you are cutting a long part, from the tailstock to the head, your dimension could vary considerably.

As far as the compound itself, run it to the extreme both ways, out and in, and see if you can move it back and forth, side to side. You don't want excessive slop in the compound. That leads to dimensions being off, and can cause chatter in your part along with broken cutters. And again, you want it loose, but not too loose. If running it between extremes, you find that it is loose in the middle area, then the lathe may have quite a few miles on it. Sometimes the gibs can be adjusted, but then that is just throwing a band-aid on the real problem of wear.

If it's a gear change head, make sure you have all of the extra gears with it. You don't want to buy something, then have to piece meal the shopping portion looking for parts to make the lathe complete. Chances are it's a good lathe, but remember that there are a lot of lathes for sale everyday. If you know someone that is well versed in machinery, see if you can get them to go with you to look at it. An older North American version sometimes isn't always going to guarantee you a good piece of machinery. It all goes back to how well it was taken care of in it's lifetime.

If you have a pic, post up a pic of it. It would help to make a little better determination of the shape of it so the members on here can give you a better idea whether it's a good deal or not. Also, what is the asking price for the lathe?

 

[rsanter]

Around here a south bend with some tooling and in good condition will go $1000 to $1500 easy
Two big things that affect value is the condition of the machine as reconditioning is expensive and the amount of tooling that is with it.
I will take condition over tooling any day

Bob

 

[scw1991]

I recently sold a 6"x18" Atlas (Craftsman badged) from the 1940's (model 101) for $500 down in Florida. It was complete with all change gears and in great condition. I had about 20 offers on it total. I probably could have held out for another $100 or so but was moving and needed to get rid of it. It was great for small hobbies and that was the extent of it as bore size through headstock was about 3/4" diameter.

Up here in Chicago, there are a bunch of engine lathes for sale. Average asking price on CL for a 9" lathe is about $1000-$1500 for a South Bend or equal. It really all depends on the condition it's in.

 

[R6 Racer]

Very strange!
I posted 7 pictures.

I went back & I think its fixed.
Can someone let me know if there working now?

Steve

 

[KMScott]

No Pic's yet.

 

[scw1991]

yes, I can see pics now!

 

[vintagefan]

I'd never own a lathe without a quick-change gearbox.

I'm in the same camp, but I can live with change gears for threading as long as the feed and spindle speeds are quick-change.

 

[KMScott]

For a garage lathe a $1000 is about right, really how many users would want to cut threads. Shucks most Machinist's on a Hardinge won't bother cutting threads. As long as it is under power, and the feed works, and the chuck some what spins a test piece fairly concentric then I would buy it. A larger industrial lathe takes more room needs 3-phase and is a bear to move.

 

[J HAV]

How much? It's a South bend 9B with power cross feed. If it has the ALL the change gears I would get it depending on the price of course. It seems do be in decent shape from the pics, but double check the wear on the ways and slack in the cross slide and compound like everybody said. That's a good lathe to learn and tinker around with in the garage. I have one, but mine is 9C. I still love it and it gets the job done. A lathe is only as good as the machinist running it

 

[zkling]

It's a decent home hobby machine. I don't really know what the market is like up there past the border . So kind of hard to put a value on it not being familiar with the area.

You have been given alot of good advice from the above posters. One thing I will add though, is make sure you check it over thoroughly before purchase. That machine screams "Restored by an amateur only to resell it" so hard to tell what other short cuts they took to make it look like that. Take notice how they painted alot of surfaces that shouldn't have been painted. Which tells me they don't know or care much about the machine. If they took the spindle apart, lord help the next owner. Those spindles need to be shimmed properly to run without destroying themselves.

The quick change gear box is nice, but not a necessity, unless you plan on cutting a lot of threads on the machine.

FWIW; I learned on a fully decked out 9A long bed, so I am very familiar with those machines.

EDIT, one other thing. Those machines have a threaded spindle, so a reversible motor isn't the best idea on that lathe. Unless you really want to live on the edge.

 

[Outlawmws]

I think most of the issues have been covered. SB made good stuff and it's a cut above an atlas of the same size.

My concern is it looks to have had a "rattle can" rebuild. Definitely make sure the ways are in good shape, that the spindle bearings are not worn out, that the carriage pieces are not also worn out. that the main feed screw operates properly and that the half nuts that couple it to the carriage are not shot.

Make sure all the required gears are there for threading and in good shape. you may not do it often, but having one missing/damaged gets expensive fast.

As the others have said, Tooling tooling tooling...

Value is VERY area dependent, and I have no clue how it is in your area...

 

[lilredex]

If you didn't make your move yet this should help...

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


Tooling is the next consideration, as already mentioned. If it checks out not to be a real dud, I'd go around $500 or so. A little more if the change gears set are complete.

Lots more info here.

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/south-bend-lathes/

For the record I bought a similar one from a friend for $400 and then two others that had been in a school shop (read abused) for $100. So values do vary.

If you get it......your first reference should be How to Run a Lathe by SouthBend....millions of copies out there.

 

[Kevin54]

For a garage lathe a $1000 is about right, really how many users would want to cut threads. Shucks most Machinist's on a Hardinge won't bother cutting threads. As long as it is under power, and the feed works, and the chuck some what spins a test piece fairly concentric then I would buy it. A larger industrial lathe takes more room needs 3-phase and is a bear to move.

You can use a phase converter to solve the three phase problem.

As far as cutting threads on a lathe, I do it quite often. If it's something that I don't have a die for, I'll cut the threads on the lathe. Granted, it's not something you do on a daily basis, but it's extremely nice to have the means to do it, especially if you can cut metric threads.

 

[KMScott]

You can use a phase converter to solve the three phase problem.

As far as cutting threads on a lathe, I do it quite often. If it's something that I don't have a die for, I'll cut the threads on the lathe. Granted, it's not something you do on a daily basis, but it's extremely nice to have the means to do it, especially if you can cut metric threads.

Kevin54

I could be wrong but I believe this lathe in question will not cut metric threads. I cut threads instead of using dies but I have access to a Hardinge, the easiest lathe to cut threads on. My shop is buried in the mountains of Colorado and the electric company laughed at me when I asked for three phase. Having a phase converter is really not a big deal you just need 50 amps or so to fire it up.

 

[Kevin54]

Kevin54

I could be wrong but I believe this lathe in question will not cut metric threads. I cut threads instead of using dies but I have access to a Hardinge, the easiest lathe to cut threads on. My shop is buried in the mountains of Colorado and the electric company laughed at me when I asked for three phase. Having a phase converter is really not a big deal you just need 50 amps or so to fire it up.

You may be correct on it not being able to cut Metric. As far as a Hardinge, that and a Leblond was what I used at work, and I agree, the Hardinge is a piece of cake. You can't find one for a reasonable price around this area. I looked for a decent lathe for quite a while and ended up buying a new JET lathe 13 x 40.

 

[lilredex]

They will cut metric threads if you have the right gears, such as these..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-METRIC-...9-B-C-LATHE-/400116977285?hash=item5d28d48e85

Or, another simplified way..

http://metalshopborealis.ca/metric/metric.htm

 

[R6 Racer]

Thanks guys!

A lot of great info here so far. The guy wants $950.00 for it. I am planing on taking a look at it tomorrow evening. I'll let you know how it pans out.

Steve

 

[lilredex]

New ad, if you missed it....


"I have a nice 9" South Bend lathe in good condition. I rarely used it since I bought it. Multiple speeds and thread-cutting ability"



http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-tools-power-tools-Southbend-9-Lathe-W0QQAdIdZ502307048


One more...http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-...-Lathe-Excellent-Condition-W0QQAdIdZ502288367

 

[zkling]

^ I would deftinitaly check those out first before the original one you posted. Not only are they cheaper, but more capable. So what they don't have a nice shiny amateur paint job?

The one without a picture may be a gem "Hardly used since new" Go see what that man has.

 

[Ign]

My shop is also buried in the Colo mtns so to speak and 3ph literally runs right down my road but the power company wanted to be, um, jerks (my nicest term) about giving me 3ph, insisting I HAD to be commercial. I guess every hobbyist who has a 3ph kiln, sewing machine or cooking range is also commercial.

RPC's can be had down to just a few hp, so you don't need 50A to fire one up. My 7.5hp RPC is on a 40A breaker. A VFD is often an option too. Smaller lathes may run fine on a static converter too.

I'm with Kevin54, it's not a big deal. It confuses me how many people are afraid of 3ph machines and thus deem them worthless. OTOH I shouldnt' complain because it means I can get 3ph machinery cheap.

And yeah, I've single pointed some Harley 1"-24 neck stems. You won't find that at your local Fastenal.