9" South Bend Jr Change Gears

Hey Guys,
This is my first post to this sight and I am the proud new owner of an old 9” South Bend Jr lathe. I am far from an expert on machining and I am just now learning how to operate a lathe. From what I can tell, my lathe seems to be in decent shape for its age and there is nothing “wrong” with it other than the usual mess you’d find with an old machine that’s been sitting for years. I am about to start a complete restore in the coming days and right now I am trying to round up parts and trying to gain as much knowledge as possible before I start. I’ve restored a number woodworking machines such as a table saw, drill press, jointer, band saw, etc. so I am aware that a metal lathe is a completely different animal.
Based on what I have been able the gather/ read (mostly on this sight) is that my lathe was manufactured around 1928. The Catalog No. is 22-Z with S/N: 37629. I will have a million questions when I get into the actual restore but for now I’m trying to put together a ball park budget of how much its going to cost to have it fully operational. When I purchased the lathe, it did not come with the change gears and I have not been able to find a full set on ebay or anywhere else. From what I’ve read, it sounds like the regular 9” SB Lathe used gears with a 9/16” bore and were slimmer in width than the 9” jr lathe gears. Please correct me if I am wrong, the 9” Jr needs 5/8”x1/2” gears? My questions is, Can I buy the gears for a regular 9” and bore the ID out and broach a new key way to fit the jr., Or are the gears totally different pitch/diameter? Any help with this idea or where I can find a replacement set that will work would be a big help.

If I remember correctly , they are a different dp . ( tooth count +2 divided by diameter ).
I sold a set on eBay a couple of years ago for just under $200 .

Welcome to the club- I have a 1927 9 Jr, and grew up just down Hwy 52 from you. The original gears are 16 DP, 14.5 PA, 5/8 bore, 1/2 face width. These types are still sold new by boston gear distributors (including amazon) but they are pricey. A cheaper option is to get a set of gears from a logan- they are the same size, but 7/16 face width. Or, you could get a set of 9" workshop gears and bore them, as you said. The only trick is that you need all the gears in the end geartrain to be the same DP and PA, can't mix them.

allan

Thanks guys...Im putting the cart before the horse on buying gears at the moment anyway so I have time to do a lot more research, maybe a set will pop-up on ebay in the meantime. That being said, Allan...are you sure the Logan gears have the same DP and PA? There is a set on ebay at the moment that has most of the sizes that I need.

Logan Lathe Change Gears | eBay

Check out that link if you get a chance and let me know if this is what you had in mind.
Small world that you grew up just down the road....Rowan County?
-Matt

Looking forward to reading about your restore, I picked up a 1928 SB 22YC last month. I stole it at $170, it's in unbelievable condition for it's age. Here's a link the guy posted on craigslist when he had it listed, everything in the link came with the lathe https://www.flickr.com/photos/94611274@N04/ .

Or just keep looking for one with ocgb

Tony, I assume ocgb was meant to be qcgb? I would like to have that but I have what I have...being new to this... I think I have an excellent machine to learn on. I bought this lathe not knowing what I was really getting myself into and the more I learn the more interested I become. We have a heavy 10 at work with a qcgb that I have some experience with so I'm not a TOTAL novice. All I knew when I took the trip to pick up this lathe was that it was a SB. It wasn't until I got it home that I realized it was nearly 90 years old... I love that about it. I didn't do nearly as well as $170 but I don't think I did too bad at $300. From the way it's looking I'll have about $850 in this lathe once it's all said and done. I don't think that's too bad for a top notch lathe. I have a Clausing VS drill press to restore this week and then it's on to the lathe...can't hardly wait to get started on it.

Dark Age 53 and Mgrdr1 - does your compound have a graduated collar (dial)?

Paul

paulsomlo said:

Dark Age 53 and Mgrdr1 - does your compound have a graduated collar (dial)?

Paul

Click to expand...

Just learning about lathes so I'm not sure if this is what you're asking about ( probably not )?

Im in the same boat as Dark Age 53, if thats what your talking about then yes. Both my cross feed and compound have a graduated collar. Just out of curiosity, why do you ask? Did earlier/cheaper depression models not have this?
-Matt

Im sure your gonna have a enjoyable time restoring the SB. Like my Dad always said, "they don't make kids like they use to" ... same applies to old iron ... SBs are built to last as evidenced by your "new" acquisition.
Tho Im no expert on your SB, I do know that you want to keep spindle / headstock bearing oiled. The spindle rides on a babbitt bearing and it must be oiled on a regular basis. You might want to consider reaching out to others here for council before making any adjustments to headstock bearings...there is a recommended adjustment procedure by SB. You probably know this but already but if not ... headstock bearing is adjusted by adding or removing shims from the pack (pack is actually a stack of very thin shims). If you remove the caps holding the headstock spindle don't mix them up if caps are similar. (Im not sure if they are similar or not but if they similar reassemble in same location / same shim pack).

Yeah, those Logan gears are what I had in mind. You'd probably have to put a washer under the nut to use them, since they are slightly thinner than the SB gears, but they would work fine, and you could re-sell them unmodified if you ever found an original set.

allan

Thanks Allan.

Thanks for the advice Av8or2....I'll keep that in mind when I get to that point. I had planned to take pictures and label stuff as I went alone. If you dont know what youre doing, documentation goes a heck of a long way.

What can you guys tell me about these rebuild kits I keep seeing when I ebay "south bend lathe parts" the wicks and felts, etc? Ive not seen one specific to my lathe.

Also, do any of you guys have any recommendations for a quick change tool post?

-Matt

Mgrder1 said:

Im in the same boat as Dark Age 53, if thats what your talking about then yes. Both my cross feed and compound have a graduated collar. Just out of curiosity, why do you ask? Did earlier/cheaper depression models not have this?
-Matt

Click to expand...

I've been working on a friends "wide" 9, built in 1927, and the compound, which had a 16tpi v-thread leadscrew, had a collar, not original to the lathe, brazed onto the handle, oddball units and not adjustable. And at 16tpi, there wouldn't have been convenient units anyway.

Normally, I recommend those rebuild kits, but in the case of these old lathes, almost none of the parts are used. I think your lathe may only have one or two "soft" parts. And the manual doesn't cover the early models, which are so simple, you won't need it. Wait until you get into it, then see what felts you need - you can probably get them here on the forum.

As far as a qctp, I'm using a KRF omni-post:Omni Post - The quick change tool post system for your lathe!. A lot of the guys here use the Phase II AXA, but I think it's really too large for a 9" lathe, just in terms of having to see around it.

Paul

I just watched a YouTube video of a guy stringing a new leather belt on his south bend lathe... At first I was thinking "screw that" but he said something that kind of stuck in my head... He side something to the effect that the leather belts with metal pins make an irritating noise. I watched another video of a machine that has that type belt and sure enough.... That would irritate the crap of me having to listen to noise for hours on end. So, I'll ask y'all's thoughts on splicing the drive belt the old school way... It's a littler pricey (about $50 by my calculations by the time you buy the belt, string, and needles) but on the other hand... It'd be cool to learn and I like the idea of being as authentic as I can. I don't want to do a serpentine belt but I'll do that be for I do the metal pin type. If any of you guys have any experience splicing leather belts with waxed string, please give me a few details.... I know the belt is 1" wide (found some on McMaster) and the string and needle I can get on Amazon...but I don't know what type of string to get. Synthetic? Natural? Braded? 1mm? 2mm? Single ply belt? Please let me know your thoughts.
-Matt

You could go to an automotive wrecking yard and buy a serpentine engine belt.
These work very well, providing you use the correct adhesive and clamps.
Grind each mating end on a belt sander and clean with acetone, before bonding the ends together.
Face the smooth side of the belt onto the pulleys.
Inexpensive and quiet.

I run a 3/4 inch wide poly-v (serpentine) belt on my 9 Jr. You don't have to cut it to install, but you do have to remove the spindle and countershaft.

allan

Here's what I've been running - Expertise. Comes with ends prepared, ready to glue.

I ended up buying the Logan change gears... It's missing a two that I need but I've found a local bearing distributor that has the size I need with a smooth 1/2" bore and a hub. The plan is to remove the hub, bore to 5/8 and broach a key way. The clausing VS drill press re-sto is going smooth so hopefully I'll be able to start on the SB re-sto the middle of next week....the questions are about to start coming!

If it was the eBay gears for $113.50 that you got then you did good. Logan gear sets usually go for $150-200. I prefer clipper belts on my Logan. They can be easily removed and replaced without taking off the spindle. The clipper belts make more noise but I've never had problems with it. For a while I laced the belts on, defiantly quieter. Easy to do and everyone should know how in case the belt breaks and ya gotta get the job done.