The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest new engine lathe

Had a buddy call me to see if I wanted a lathe. I said yes. I called the guy who had it and he said that he wanted $150 for it.
I told him I'd be there later in the afternoon.
I got there and it looked to be all there, and it came with a ton of tooling. I'm talking about a thousand dollars worth of tooling.
I didn't even ask him to plug it in.
It's a South Bend 9" with a 4 foot bed rail.
It looked old to me, but I know next to nothing about lathes.
When I got to home I read the Data plate and saw a date of 8-9-11.
1911 not 2011. Old indeed.
I plugged it in and everything works.
It is very ornate looking. I wouldn't mind having it in the den so that I can glance at it from time to time and just smile.
I plan on taking it apart and thoroughly clean and lube everything. 114 years is a lot of time for grime in the works to cause some problems.

You've got a real classis there. Does it have a quick change gearbox, or did it come with a half bushel of loose gears for doing threading? You can find a metric ton of South Bend parts and accessories on Ebay. I've got two of its bigger siblings, 13" swing lathes with quick change gears and 4 foot beds.
Jerry

That's a great find Carl! At $150, you got a steal of a deal.

In the den? Clean it up and make something with it! Just like an old truck, it was built to work!

Don

It only has one extra gear for threading which is bolted on top of the gear below it which is a neat and handy idea.
I am having trouble finding any information on a 1911 model as far as how everything is supposed to work.
I don't yet know enough about what the different parts are called to even ask an intelligible question.

Can you post some pictures, particularly of the motor and belt drive system, and the gearbox?
Jerry

That's neat. I've wanted a metal lathe for quite a while but around here they're not all that common, don't come up for sale often and are pricey. I'd be okay with smaller...like 7 x 12 or so.

Carl and Jerry - Since pictures can't be posted in the Spoon, maybe we need to move this thread to the Tool Chest forum. In there, Carl and others can post pictures of their lathes so we can all share in the cool tools and info. It's a TOOL and definitely can support our trucks (amongst other things) and just kinda belongs in that forum IMHO.

Up to Carl, but if you're okay with the move, we can make that happen.

Jon, you might want to rethink that idea. As long as you have shop space for the machine, bigger is usually better. I can do small projects on a big lathe, but I can't do big projects with a small one. My 12 inch Craftsman lathe with a 48 inch bed can make carburetor jets- - - - -or driveshafts. I just bought an extra set of 48" ways, and I'm planning to splice the two together and add a second carriage and tailstock assembly to give me a total of 8 feet of usable bed space. I've also got a "parts" lathe of the same design that I'm planning to raise the headstock, tool post, and drive system by 2 inches to be able to have a 16 inch swing. With the 14 inch face plate I acquired a while back, I'll be able to modify stovebolt connecting rods for different size bearings for stroker crankshafts.
Jerry

Jerry is right, bigger is better. I have run a lot of big machines over the years and you can machine small stuff on a big machine.
Like take a small engine to be rebored on a horizontal mill that has a 8x12 foot table and you road the headstock.

Don

I bought a South Bend lathe, same size as yours, a couple of years ago. It is from 1943. According to the story, only machinists could order lathes during the war and then only with approval of the War Production Board. A machinist was going to order one and his friend, a dentist wanted one, too. So two were ordered and the dentist used his for his hobby (whatever that was, not production use). The guy I bought it from was the second owner and he too, was a hobbyist. He showed me a percussion rifle he had made with it. I am the third owner and a machinist friend came over to look at the lathe and says it is in great condition. I also got a ton of parts, quick change tool holders, etc. As I am a neophyte, he gave me a 1941 booklet from South Bend, titled "How to Run a Lathe'. I have done some small stuff, for example, replicated the shoulder bolts that were rusted and broke, that hold and hinge the cowel vent on my '42 (they are 8-32, but have a 1/4 inch shoulder that acts as a bearing surface). You can buy reproductions for $20 but it is so much more rewarding to make your own.

Of course, after aquiring the lathe I had to get a small milling machine, but that is another story.

Kent

Dan, go ahead and move it to the tool forum. I should have posted it there in the first place.

One of my Van Norman cylinder boring bars has a small tag on it that says "wartime production finish". Apparently the factory was not proud of the fit and finish of the machine- - - -not up to their usual standards.
Jerry

I'm not Dan, but I can move it. Consider it done.

Nice find Carl!

They made those 9” South Bend lathes in the late seventies. I ran one during my career for many years. Great lathe and great find. You’ll find many uses for that lathe including turning wood.

This is for Jon and others interested in buying a lathe. Both HR and Don are right on size. My go to lathe in the shop was 15” x 56” South Bend. It only took up about 3’ x 8’ of space and you could do most everything on it.

Swing on a lathe is deceiving. The swing of a lathe refers to the maximum diameter of a workpiece that can be turned over the bed. For a 9” lathe, this means it can accommodate a 9” diameter piece, but practical limitations exist.

The carriage or saddle, which moves along the bed, occupies some of that space, meaning the actual diameter of the workpiece that can be turned is often less than the swing measurement.

Working close to the chuck means the cross slide is also limiting the swing capacity.

The type of chuck used can also limit the size of the workpiece. A face plate allows for larger pieces to be mounted, enabling the full swing capacity to be utilized.

Larger lathes, like the 15” x 56” model I ran, are generally more robust and can handle larger cuts and tougher materials. This makes them more versatile for a variety of machining tasks.

In this case the bigger is better!

I am very aware that your name is not Dan.
When people get a little too chummy with me, I like to call them by the wrong name to let them know that I really don't care about them.
No offense of course.
Thanks for moving the post for me.

OK Sam. 😉
Now where are those pics of your new toy that everyone was asking for?

Jerry & Don, you're correct and I realize it but I don't think I have room for anything large...unless it was really a great price and all. Interestingly the larger lathes around here are not bringing as much as the small ones...I suspect for that same reason.

Well, that might be a bit harsh, but we would really like to see your new toy!

My almost first one belonged to a good friend who, 50 years ago then was as old as I am now. It was from an overhead belt drive shop. He used it for steam engines. I got outbid at his auction.

I have, and use several. Largest is 12x48; smallest is 3x18. Also have the Carter prototype metering rod lathe.

Jerry - I can make carburetor jets on the 12x48, but it is MUCH easier on the 3x18.

Carl - did you sleep the night after you made the deal???

Jon

Jon, I am still high as a kite on life stumbling into that deal. It is a beautiful piece of machinery to just look at.
Pics will be on the way soon. I've been a little busy.

Update on the South Bend lathe. It was manufactured in 1933. I have it up and running now. I need a set of threading change gears for it now.
You have to wait in line in the hen's teeth line before they let you stand in the change gear line.

I have disassembled, cleaned up, oiled and reassembled the saddle, cross feed and compound feed assemblies.The only thing that I needed to fix was a bend feed screw on the compound assembly. I chucked the screw in the chuck and used a dial gauge to determine which way and how much it needed to be bent to run true. I used a 12" long piece of wood with a 1/2" hole drilled in it to leverage it back to true.
Works fine, last long time.

Via some deep internet digging I have discovered that this lathe is a 1933 9 in swing, 4 ft bed South Bend New Model Simplex.
Now I need to find a half a bucket of change gears so that I can cut threads. They are 16 DP with 5/8" centers.
BTW, the original paint color of this lathe is the same color are an AD 216. I call that color 'oily grime dark gray'.

Is this the gear set you're looking for? Just found it on Ebay.

www.ebay.com/itm/376452567925?

How about a quick change gearbox? They're less expensive than the change gear set, if you can manage to adapt the box to your lead screw setup.

Carl - Not sure where you found your info on your new lathe, but I came across this scanned original 1933 South Bend Lathes Catalog that may provide some great resource info. Tons of reading and illustrations. Maybe it will help you locate the change gears you seek as well as learn more on the lathe?

Hotrod,
I wish that guy knew how to hold a tape measure better on the bore size of a gear. It's hard for me to tell if that is 5/8" for sure. Another problem is that there is no mention of if they are 16 DP gears. Most of the South bend gears after 1933 were 18 DP.
That set has some extra gears that don't go to my lathe and is missing a few that do.
I haven't been able to figure out how to contact the seller to see if he can tell me if they are 16 DP gears.
A quick change box that would fit this lathe sure would be nice, especially if it came with the lead screw for at least a 4 ft bed.

Dan,
Thank you for the link. I had already found that, but then lost it. Now I have it again!

Update:
I have made substantial progress with this 92 year old lathe.
I have had trouble locating the 11 change gears which did not come with this lathe. I ran into a feller who said he'd make me the entire set for $100.
They are 3D printed out of some kind of plastic. I figured that if they didn't work, I wouldn't be out any more money than what I throw away on stupid, unhealthy habits every couple of weeks.
I have put them on the lathe and they work like a charm. The material is resistant to lubricants.
I have turned a bunch of aluminum, brass and steel and cut some external threads. 1/2 X 28 thread for a barrel shroud, we'll say...

What did the guy use as a pattern for the 11 gears?

Lathe gears are designated by what's referred to as PD which is Pitch Diameter, and profile angle.
With these details all they need is the tooth count for all of the gears and the CAD program does all of the work.
I guess.

That's not a barrel shroud- - - - -it's a "hearing protector"! LOL!
Jerry