The Home Machinist!

I may be looking at a South Bend lathe shortly. The gentleman who has it is not sure what size it is. I think I can figure out swing by measuring from the center of the chuck to what would clear the ways and multiple by two, (please correct me if that's wrong).
What is considered the length? Chuck to tail stock? Longest stock the lathe will work? This is my main question.
Also, I hear South Bends are good machines but are there any quirks I should look for?
Thanks in advance, and I'll post what I find.
Ernie F.

You are correct on the swing. Ways to center of the spindle. Center to center distance is just that, or roughly measure from the spindle nose to the tailstock ram. Be sure it has a quick change gear box much more convenient than change gears. The Heavy 10 is the most popular followed by the light 10. The 13" is pretty popular too but bigger physically. The heavy 10 and the 13 could take 5C collets and had a 1-3/8" bore through the spindle. There are a few odd ball Heavy 10's out there.

Price depends on condition and tooling. South Bends had plain bearing headstocks which are fine if kept lubed and adjusted. Take your digital camera along, bring back pictures and post. Careful though if its a really good deal, it will not likely last long.

Thanks Marty
He did say it was a 13" and your info peaked up my enthusiasm. One of the reasons I'm looking is to hopefully replace the old lathe I have now and get away from the change gears. 1-3/8" Through the spindle would be nice too. We'll see how this works out, I don't think he has it advertised anywhere.
Ernie F.

Just beware of severe bed wear. Older SBs had soft beds. Look for ridges on the front way a foot out from the chuck. I know of two SB 13s close by. One is used, but in nice shape, the other is slap worn out.

Ernie,

Check out :
http://www.mermac.com/
and read the article on how to buy a lathe.

Good info on "field evaluations" of lathes.

You might also want to check out Practical Machinst at:
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/cgi-b ... matebb.cgi

They have a dedicated South Bend group and several SB Gurus.

Steve

The machine is in very good condition, very minamal wear. Tring to find missing covers for over the quill gear and cone pulley, other than that everthing is fine.

Ernie,

Very nice!

I think this will keep you happy for a long time.

If you need a micrometer carriage stop, let me know the distance from the peak of the front vee to the pad on the carriage where the stop hits.

Give the hoizontal distance as you are looking from the top and not on a diagonal. I'll see if one of the ones I have will fit.

Steve

Lathe "looks" clean. How much tooling is coming with it? Steady, follower, tool holders? May we ask how much? It almost looks as though it has its original paint? Good luck with it, I ran across a 13" with collet closer fully tooled for $1000 many years ago, I drooled all over it, but it had been sold before I got there!

Marty

Hey Steve
Yes I think the lathe will suit my needs for a long time.
That measurement seems to be about 1-3/4" to the center of the pad.
Ernie f.

Ernie,

I pulled one out and measured, and I'm showing 1.9". The stop is about 3/8" diameter. Let me know if you want to try one out. Contact me by email or pm.

Steve

I bought a Shun Shin lathe that was also dropped/bumped. It is brand new but the gearbox was cracked and sends in for repairs. The company lost the records in the meantime. I am looking for the contact details where I can buy a new gearbox/second I hand gearbox. I have tried but it seams that the manufacturer of the Shun Shin lathes disappeared. I will appreciate it if somebody can supply me with any information that can put me on the right track.

Thanks.

John C.

Metalman,

The SB lathe may be the "small bore" 13 " which will not accept 5C collets but uses the harder to find #2 or 2A collets. The way to tell is the small bore 13 has 1-7/8"-8 TPI on the spindle and the later large bore 13" has the 2-1/4" -8 TPI on the spindle. 5C collets will go up to 1-1/16" while the #2 collets only go up to 11/16".

This may or may not be important to you but generally the larger size collet one can go to the better.