Advise on Clausing 10x36 vs South Bend CB145T 13 inch

Hello,

I got to check out two great lathes this weekend. Was hoping to get some experienced advice between the two.

Clausing 10x36. Comes with 3 and 4 jaw chuck. Looks like the chucks just screw into place.

The South Bend comes with 3 and 4 jaw chuck and taper attachment.

Other tooling between the two is negligible.

Both are solid. The south bend definitely felt more robust and I liked it more. But the Clausing was solid in every aspect and had virtually no wear to the beds. The Clausing did feel a little underpowered. When I put it in the higher RPMs it really bogged the motor down to get going. The south bend had plenty of power.

Clausing was asking $1200, South Bend was asking $1500.

Clausing was probably late 60's or 70's. South Bend is probably 1944 with a serial number in the 15000's. It didn't have the serial number that detailed the type of spindle or anything. But it's the one that's 28 inches between centers. It looks like it has a cam lock nose of some kind, but I forgot to ask the guy to tear it down and take a look.

Clausing I'm having really hard time finding any replacement parts if it ever needed it. Steady rest and follow rest are virtually non-existent.
South Bend parts seem to be readily available on ebay.

So that's what I know. I'm not familiar with how universal spindle noses are and stuff like that. I definitely want them fitted with 5C collets. Is it any more difficult or expensive to fit a 5C collet chuck into either of these? I can find face blanks for the Clausing in the threading they have, but then I have to drill and shape them to fit. I think the South Bend already has a D1-4 cam lock.

The South Bend had electrical issues when we tried it out. It wouldn't engage the high speed. Low speed worked fine and we did a few cuts so I could try things out and see it wrun. There's something wrong with the relays in the back panel or something odd. I'm leaning more towards the South Bend, and he's trying to fix it. But I'm pretty sure I'm going to miss out in the Clausing if I wait for an answer on the South Bend. I don't even mind if he just rips all that fancy electronic stuff out and just throws in a simple one speed motor. The ranges of speeds between forward and back gear and 4 step belt pulley seem to be sufficient for what I need.

Any insight of advice would be much appreciated. What should I be concerned about especially with fitting tooling and most importantly getting a 5C setup working with it?

Thanks,
Nick

Having had both lathes you are looking at I would definitely go with the South Bend. My reasoning is that if you buy a 10" lathe you are going to want a lager one. I had a 12" 5914 Clausing also and would still take a SB 13 over it. I am not a member of the "South Bend Cult" either, personally I prefer Sheldon lathes in that class.
Good luck Z

What size are the through holes of the spindle?

If you have access to photos of the two lathes, the spindle nose is easy to identify. Threaded, the chuck is solid against a shoulder, L00 (long keyed taper)the chuck will be against a ring with notches for use with a spanner, and lastly, a D (short taper) there will be a similar ring like the L, but instead of notches there will square socket drive pins.

In my book, the threaded is the least desirable because it can be dangerous to run backward or plug stop because the chuck can unscrew. L spindles were originally intended for small high accuracy lathes like toolroom but have largely been replaced with D nose chucks. While both the threaded and L chucks and plates are still available, they are becoming increasingly hard to find.

The standard SB will take 5C collets up to 1 1/8 with the use of an adapter that fits into the spindle nose. Handwheel and lever closures are available but new, pricely. Used lever closers come along occasionally

For more on the Clausing to the Lathes.co.uk. Tony's web site is an excellent source of information.

Between the two, my personal opinion is the SB for size, power, availability of parts and users.

Tom