100% new to lathes, need some help/advice on used South Bend heavy 10

Hi, I am completely new to lathes and would greatly appreciate some advice. I farm on the NE plains of CO and would like to find a lathe to have some fun with, and hopefully learn enough to use for odd jobs here and there around the farm. I have never operated a lathe, and I realize I have a lot to learn. However I have been researching for a while, and I like the sound of a South Bend heavy 10. Low and behold one came up that is within decent driving distance of me, but I have no idea what to look for as to condition. I have attached some pictures and a video that show a little bit of the lathe. I realize that these pictures and video are not nearly enough to tell much about condition, and some of the main parts(gears, etc) are not even shown at all, but as I have no idea what I am looking for I thought I would post these and see if anyone saw any obvious signs of trouble. Firstly in this video: vlc record 217 11 14 18h21m13s South Bend Heavy 1 Lathe VFD mp4 - YouTube it shows the lathe running, and it sounds to me like the bearings could possibly be making excess noise, again not sure please let me know what you think of the sound. The next possible issue is the gib on the saddle (I'm using a youtube video for reference here). In the video I watched, the guy mentions that the gib is sticking out a long ways which means it has not been screwed in to take up any wear. I circled the plug that the guy in the video called the gib.

It appears to me as though this "gib" is missing from the lathe I found for sale. I'm sure I could find a new one to put in, but would this indicate a larger problem, or excessive wear? Here is a picture of the lathe for sale with an empty hole where the other one had an allen head plug. I have also circled what looks like some cracks on one of the other pulleys, not sure if this would be a problem.

The next possible issue that I saw is 2 gouges on each side of the rails. They appear to be right directly under the chuck, and I am not sure if they are far enough to the left that the carriage will not travel that far and therefore they will not matter. The rest of the length appears to be smooth. Here is a picture of the gouges:

Here are a couple more pictures that I have of the lathe that I did not see any concerns with, but again I don't know what I'm looking for.



Here is a list of items that are said to be included with the lathe:
1hp inverter/VFD
3 jaw chuck
4 jaw chuck
face plate
dog drive plate
lathe dog
lantern tool post with tool holder
quick change tool post with Aloris AXA2 tool holder
(2) #2mt tailstock chucks
5c collet draw bar
(1) 5c collet
nose thread protector
rear spindle spider
NyCor drive belt by Albino custom flat belts

I realize this is not nearly enough information to get a good idea of the condition of the lathe, I just wanted to see if someone with more knowledge and experience with lathes would have any concerns with what I have available to look at. This lathe will be on an auction this weekend, and I was hoping to get some input to help me decide what it might be worth, or if I should avoid it. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Keith

Those chunks in the ways are on the tailstock ways. They aren't important. I've been watching it on eBay.

The cross-slide would be extremely loose and the lathe unusable without the gib. Most likely it's just missing the gib adjusting screw.

As a wild guess, the noise may be the metal link in the drive belt.

The damage to the ways suggests this is a school lathe. It also suggets there may be other damage. The drive pulley looks to be cracked but these may be scratches. If cracked, one would need to find a used one and replace the cracked pulley.
The bearings are sleeve bearings and should make almost no noise. If any SBL lathes have new bearings available, it will be the Heavy 10. I have not looked for them.
The cross slide gib appears to be missing along with the gib adjusting screw.
I have an ex school south bend with this same problem.
I hope to take a scraping class next year to learn how to fit parts properly.
Bruce Norton

I asked him about the missing gib via eBay. When/if I get a reply I'll post here.

I don't see a missing gib. The screw is there and the gib with its notch to fit around the screw is there too. See first pic. It does look unscrewed a long way compared to mine. Its either really loose or somebody replaced the gib and maybe neglected to scrape it in.

Erich said:

I don't see a missing gib. The screw is there and the gib with its notch to fit around the screw is there too. See first pic. It does look unscrewed a long way compared to mine. Its either really loose or somebody replaced the gib and maybe neglected to scrape it in.

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Are you looking at the screen shot of the youtube video? That one has a gib.

The picture of the actual lathe for sale is questionable. I got a reply from the seller that he would check it out tonight when he gets home from work and get back.

ETA: I tried to zoom it up and get a better picture. It gets grainy at this zoom but it does look like its missing.

Get close up pictures of the front v-way from the chuck forward for a couple of feet. Does not have the hardened bed, and bed/saddle wear can be a non-starter if it's excessive.
Doesn't have a steady, which will run another $400 or so...

pretty darn sure all the x braced beds are hardened whether they have the tag or not.

iwananew10K said:

pretty darn sure all the x braced beds are hardened whether they have the tag or not.

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Sorry, Chad, that's not true.
Get the unit code number from between the back vee ways on the right end. That will tell if it is hard or not.
Ted

The seller said the gib and screw are there, they are just very far in there.

Ted, which numbers or code in that location represent a hardened Bed?

hsracer201 said:

The seller said the gib and screw are there, they are just very far in there.

Ted, which numbers or code in that location represent a hardened Bed?

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Depends on the year. I'll have to look up when it changed, but on the older ones, the unit code number ended in "H&G"
Ted

Mine has a fair bit of wear, the head on the gib adjust screw is recessed in the hole on mine. Probably the case with the one you're looking at too. If the gib were missing you wouldn't be able to use it. The cross slide would slop around too much to be useful.

Thank you to everyone for your help. The numbers from the vee ways on the right end are DDB200RG on one, and 17530RKX on the other. Does anyone know if that means the bed is hardened?

Thanks again

kithnelso said:

Thank you to everyone for your help. The numbers from the vee ways on the right end are DDB200RG on one, and 17530RKX on the other. Does anyone know if that means the bed is hardened?

Thanks again

Click to expand...

Yes. DDB200RG is the unit code for 10" underdrive bed with X bracing and hardened and ground

Ted

Just my 2c. With that damage to the bed and that much wear in the cross-slide, I wouldn't pay much for that lathe. You can bet there's a whole lot more worn out and broken on it.

Teryk