South Bend Lathe 10K Model A

[jimustanguitar]

Well, I've done it again... Last week I picked up a South Bend Lathe to restore. I've been watching machine tools on a few different marketplaces, and I scored this one on FaceBook. It was listed with this photo and the title "South Bend Lathe 9 Inch" with no other description.... I'd seen enough of these go that I knew it was a "don't ask questions, just make an offer" kind of deal, so I did. And I got it!


I borrowed my dad's truck to go pick it up, and we had a really easy time of loading and unloading it with an engine cherry picker. I was actually pretty worried about this part because I wasn't sure where the fulcrum would be, how heavy the cabinet was, if controls or the leadscrew would be in the way, etc. but it ended up being really easy. I'm guessing that it weighs around 600lbs, and the extension of the engine hoist was plenty to lift the whole thing into the truck. I lifted it with a nylon tow strap woven through the webbings cast into the bed. The toughest part was fitting the moving dollies that we set it on between the legs of the cherry picker.

The seller was an older man in Elkhart who said that he worked in the sharpening industry as his career, and that he bought the lathe to start a business with his son in law, but they didn't use it more than a couple times. I don't recall whether he told me what the business was or not. Anyway, he bought the lathe from NorthWood High School, who I assumed bought it new for the school's shop class.

From what I can find based on the model and serial numbers, this is actually a 10" (10k aka "light 10") lathe, so being a 10 instead of a 9 was a nice surprise! It also appears to be a 1957 model. If anybody else is trying to ID or date a South Bend, I've found that this website has lots of great information with the estimated starting serial number of each year's production. www.wswells.com/serial_number.html The vintage machinery website also has excellent resources. vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=1617



The lathe came with a 6-1/4" 3-jaw Bison scroll chuck and an independent 4-jaw that's rusty, but doesn't look like it's beyond restoring. It's got a Phase2 branded quick change tool post that has two holders, a parting blade holder, a boring bar holder, and a knurling tool. It also came with some centers, misc tool holders, a draw bar, and some other misc. bits and pieces. Since the lathe came from a school, it's also got little baggies with dozens of little 1/4" cutter bits. They were probably the 'training' bits to keep the kids from crashing the machine too badly.


It also came with a 3-phase motor, and as chance would have it, a friend of a friend had replaced the motor in his SBL model C a few years ago, and I picked it up to recon and put in mine. It's a 1936 Westinghouse motor. I cracked it open the other day, and it's got brushes left, but they're sticky and don't slide very well. I'm going to clean up the brush plate and check the wires, and then I ought to be able to put it back together and just use it. Fingers crossed for getting it all spinning this week!


Grizzly owns South Bend Lathe now, and when they purchased the company, they inherited rows and rows of card catalogs and other records, and for $25 they'll scan the original serial number card and send it to you. I did this, and mine was sold to the Napannee School system in July of 1958. So I'm the 3rd owner. The card also confirmed that this is a 10" model, that the 3-phase motor is original, etc.


So anyway, that's where I'm at right now. I started the 4 jaw in the electrolysis tank, and I just ordered a rebuild kit that includes the felts for the whole machine. I'll post a bunch of pictures soon, but the typing was the hard part

[jimustanguitar]

I'm debating about whether to strip and refinish the lathe now, or if I should use it over the winter to really learn it, and then worry about painting it in the spring when it's warm enough... So I've been spending my time working on the parts and accessories that aren't painted. The first part I did was the 4-jaw chuck. 

Before: 



And after: 

[jimustanguitar]

Well, the fun with motors continues... The old Westinghouse motor that I picked up from a friend of a friend is just a little bit too different that I've decided against using it. The mounting pattern is different, which I could mill an adapter for, the motor shaft is 1/2" instead of 5/8" which I own adapter sleeves for, but the difference that makes me uneasy and tips the scale against it is that the oilers are in the wrong orientation for how it mounts on my lathe. The setup that this motor was for had it mounted with the base down on a table, and mine has it hanging against a tensioner in the back, so the oil cups would be sideways. The motor would probably survive, but after changing so many things about it, it would be a shame to run an antique dry and wear it out. I think I'll save it for another project.

So, I bought a Dayton motor for $30 that I found in an ad. It came wired for 220 even though the guy had it hooked up to 110, and last night I found out why. It smokes when you hook it up to 110. I checked with Glenn, and we both think I had the wiring correct. The previous owner just had it sitting around waiting on a project, so the owner before that must have cooked it and rewired it. I'm not sure how long or how well a motor wired for 220 would run on 110, but I'm thinking about looking for another motor before I go much farther. Third time's a charm, right?

I've got a lead on a different Dayton that's the right RPMs and voltage. I'll let you know if I jump on it or not... Unfortunately, being 3 motors deep into it is about the same price as getting a Chinese VFD for the original one, but those are the gambles you take with used stuff, so oh well.

[garyk]

Bought a smaller horizontal air compressor that had a 220 motor on it. Looked like 110! Would only run for a little bit before overheating. So much to learn.