New Southbender

So, I had been looking for a lathe for some time. Something not too big and heavy, and of course not too expensive. After several dead ends, I saw an ad for a South Bend "in excellent condition for its age". Short story shorter: I went to have a look, was surprised by how tiny it was (a 9 C, 3' bed), and the condition left much to be desired, but I still brought it home (I partially blame the restoration videos I had binge watched the night before on Youtube). Looks were deceiving: despite the small size, damn it's heavy! Struggled to get it loaded into the van, had to dismantle it to get it unloaded and into the garage back home. First verdict: Well, it seems to be a 1939, catalog number 615-YC. Has a brass plate from a Swedish import company so it probably came to Sweden when new. It has enough colours to look good in a Pride parade. The chuck is very worn, have to attempt grinding. Bed seems ok, spindle is tight, motor is upgraded (.5hp 3-phase). Gear tumbler is missing! I did not even realise that, the gear banjo was turned up against the spindle and lead screw was turning all the time. The superheavy cast iron chip pan/table is a big plus, needs some TLC to the wooden drawers and cabinet though. Did not come with much accessories, but seems to have all the gears.

Since it is already semi-dismantled (and I enjoy fixing things anyhow) I will go all the way with full restore and paint job on this.

As seen in ad


At home


Table


Things that make it go


Some mystery items and a backing plate


Shortcut


Charts

I've never seen a C on a tubular stand.

Congratulations on your new lathe.

That is a cheerful colour combo.
Love the stand.
I have a tumbler reverse you can have for the shipping.(from norway.)
The banjo looks homemade?

It *might* be that it never had a reverse tumbler...or even a place for one...if it is a model 5 variant...

To reverse those you install an idler gear into a threaded hole in the headstock casting.

What's under the banjo?? That will tell right off.

The stand is great! It doesn't look SB...looks more Sheldon with that heavy steel top.

if it turns out that it has the place for a reverser it would be a good candidate for a conversion...it does have the later bed with the relief for the power feed apron.

I bet on that stand its hell for stout with that short bed!

iwananew10K said:

It *might* be that it never had a reverse tumbler...or even a place for one...if it is a model 5 variant...

To reverse those you install an idler gear into a threaded hole in the headstock casting.

What's under the banjo?? That will tell right off.

The stand is great! It doesn't look SB...looks more Sheldon with that heavy steel top.

if it turns out that it has the place for a reverser it would be a good candidate for a conversion...it does have the later bed with the relief for the power feed apron.

I bet on that stand its hell for stout with that short bed!

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, that machine was made before the ABC designation. And no it does not have a place for the reverse tumbler assembly. It uses a idler gear to reverse the direction. And that's how I know that it was made before the ABC designation. So it will not have the cut out for the crossfeed gear. My machine was made in 1942, and it did not have the cut out for the crossfeed year. It would take a lot of work to convert this machine. My opinion fix it up and use it. Do not consider an upgrade, it would turn into a money pit, Especially in Europe.

Also, when buying parts for that machine, some of the parts may be slightly different. Ask questions about the part, Before you buy it.

Those were good machines. Good luck on restoring it.

Stay safe and have fun.

Joe.


Edit: I just took a second look at the picture. That bed does have a cut out for the apron gear, but those lathes did not come with the power feed apron. So that's kind of odd. Are you sure that it is a South Bend, and not a clone. I'm not sure when they started making the South Bend clones, And there is nothing wrong with a clone, You just need to know who made it before you start buying parts.

Thanks for your replies. Well, it says "South Bend" on three of the plates, and engraved on the bed is "Made by South Bend etc etc" so I have no reason to believe it would not be the real deal. Catalog number is stamped on the gear chart and identifies it as a model C, as far as I can tell, being very new with these things - bear with me.
Behind the banjo is indeed a threaded hole, and a larger hole - nothing seems to have been mounted there for a looong time, if ever, judging by the amount of dirt (and paint!) (I blew the threaded hole clean just to check).

Congrats. on your South Bend. Have fun. I am enjoying getting to know my 1941 13". Improving by the day.

You CAN get a tumbler reverse!

Question, does the gears on the spindle and the gears on the banjo seem to be the same pitch. If they match, you might have a few mismatch parts on the machine. I say this because the headstock Does have a place for a reversing gear assembly. If the gear teeth do not match, it will be impossible to cut threads or do any real metalworking with this machine. You will need a reversing gear assembly. Do not use the gears if they do not match. Looking closely at the gears, they do not appear to match. But pictures can be deceiving. Let's hope that they do not match. This will mean that you will have a much easier time finding parts for the machine.

Also, give us the serial number of the machine. It is located on the far right top front of the bed, between the two V ways. This will tell us the year it was made and confirm the date that you have for the machine.

Stay safe and have fun.

Joe.

The serial number is 95274. The banjo is a welded piece, aren't they normally cast? I will have to check the gears tomorrow, I have them soaking in kerosene now. Did some further disassembly, everything comes apart nicely and no big surprises so far. Some scoring on the countershaft and a broken screw for the carriage lock. Have done some paint removal with Nitromorse, I am no big fan of such chemicals but lathe parts are nothing you put in the sand blasting cabinet. Paint on order although it will be some time before I have everything ready for that - I do have a ten day vacation coming up but had planned to make firewood for next winter during that time, on the other hand I won't be doing that 24/7

Note how the headstock is scooted back...that is because it is missing the reverser so they had to scoot the head to make the gears mesh.

The spindle is a 20DP 24 tooth....your machine with the reverser if it were on would use 18DP gears on the banjo...the reverser's inner gears are 20DP to mate with the spindle but transition to 18DP starting with the stud gear.

iwananew10K said:

Note how the headstock is scooted back...that is because it is missing the reverser so they had to scoot the head to make the gears mesh.

The spindle is a 20DP 24 tooth....your machine with the reverser if it were on would use 18DP gears on the banjo...the reverser's inner gears are 20DP to mate with the spindle but transition to 18DP starting with the stud gear.

Click to expand...

Ah, good observation and point about the headstock position, makes sense! Thanks!

Looks like you have the metric transposing gears along with the gear guard. Those are somewhat rare in this country.