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1935 SBL 405 questions.

taftracing

Plastic
Joined
Feb 13, 2012
Location
Summerfield florida
Hi I just bought a 9" south Bend lathe 3' bed serial number 59429. Never having owned a lathe and wanting to get one, I came across this lathe it looked old and sure enough it is. lol Now after doing some research on what it is and some of what to look for I discovered a missing tooth on both the large and small gear on the back gear assembly. Checking with some parts people I have only located 1 back gear and it's 250.00
what are the differences in the 10" and heavy 10 back gear? I see they have the same number of teeth and have read some will work with spacers but I haven't read any specifics.

Also before I go and spend good money after bad what should I look for in common problems and worn parts. I'm not sure if I should commit to rebuilding this or hit it in the head and parts it out.

My need is for a working lathe not a antique restoration. I've already seen that this may be a problem with parts and tooling.

any help or advise greatly appreciated. Tim
 
Tim -

One tooth shouldn't be a problem. I'd say run it for awhile, and if you still want to replace it, do it at your leisure. The 9 and 10k are interchangeable, don't know about the heavy 10. Two places you might find a backgear would be ebay and forum member "penelopepitstop", who can be reached by private message. Maybe someone will read this and have one to offer up.

Paul
 
Hi I just bought a 9" south Bend lathe 3' bed serial number 59429. Never having owned a lathe and wanting to get one, I came across this lathe it looked old and sure enough it is. lol Now after doing some research on what it is and some of what to look for I discovered a missing tooth on both the large and small gear on the back gear assembly. Checking with some parts people I have only located 1 back gear and it's 250.00
what are the differences in the 10" and heavy 10 back gear? I see they have the same number of teeth and have read some will work with spacers but I haven't read any specifics.

Also before I go and spend good money after bad what should I look for in common problems and worn parts. I'm not sure if I should commit to rebuilding this or hit it in the head and parts it out.

My need is for a working lathe not a antique restoration. I've already seen that this may be a problem with parts and tooling.

any help or advise greatly appreciated. Tim

Congratulations, they're a good old machine. I've become quite attached to my 405, which is a bit older than yours (#56352). I use mine almost daily.

A few things: a/ The missing teeth can be repaired, or, as Paul says, may be OK to use in the interim while you seek out someone to braze them up for you. I have recently seen at least one member on an SB forum (maybe here, can't recall) offering that service. I'm fairly sure the 405s' back gear countershaft isn't directly interchangeable with other SBs', though possibly one could be modified to fit; perhaps someone more knowledgeable than I on that issue will chime in.
b/ You can easily replace (almost drop-in) the spindle for a later one, which will be hardened and also have the more universal 1-1/2" -8 tpi thread. This will make tooling-up a lot easier, and make it more likely that what you buy will fit your next lathe (as long as it's a SB 9 or 10"!)
c/ Spindle adjustment by shimming is a common theme here, as is felt wick replacement and type of oil to use. These topics should be easy to find in a search.
d/ 405 parts turn up all the time both here and on fleebay, though some are harder to come by than others.
e/ Wear is an issue, but all old machine tools have wear, and it's almost a given that we learn various ways to adapt to that reality. There's lots to read here on that subject alone(!)

PS - I for one would love to see some photos(!)

Good luck with your new old lady (and don't spare the oil(!)
Shaggy
 
Thanks guys, I very glad to read your posts. I'll be looking to replace the spindle with the 1 1/2" for sure that will make life so much easier on me. Of course once I do that all the 5" 405 stuff goes up for sale.

Here's some pictures of my SBL. lot's of work ahead of me but it's a nice size lathe for my needs.

southbend405lathe003.jpg


southbend405lathe001.jpg


southbend405lathe007.jpg


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southbend405lathe005.jpg


southbend405lathe006.jpg


southbend405lathe002.jpg


I bought the lathe because I also built a small foundry in my garage, I'm casting aluminum cases to adapt motocross engines to gokarts that I race. I need to be able to machine bearing pockets, seal bores, line bore the cases them selfs. and from what I read I'll be able to do some mill work with the correct attachments. all thou I do intend to buy a vertical mill as well in time.

Foundry equipment is all home made.

castingmxenginekartcases008.jpg


castingmxenginekartcases006.jpg


castingmxenginekartcases010.jpg


castingmxenginekartcases011.jpg


castingmxenginekartcases013.jpg
 
I also own a 405.

It is an odd bird, see list below.

Do not run the back gear with a missing tooth, the tooth next to it will break and may jam and break more teeth. You can repair a missing tooth, there are several methods.

The back gear shaft on a 405 is slightly longer, any back gear from a 9" will work if you shim it.

It is difficult to find a spindle that will fit the 405 bearings. One solution is to replace the headstock from a different model lathe.

Join southbendlathe group in yahoo and contact Jim B, has done the conversion. See Jim's lathe below and mine below.

southbendlathe : All about South Bend Lathes: All Models

Why a 405 is different:

It has a left hand lead screw
The change gear are 20dp with a 5/8 bore ( standard 9" is 16dp)
The spindle nose is 1 3/8 x 10 TPI ( standard 9" 1 1/2 - 8)
It has no reverse threading lever, you have add a reverse gear at the top of the gear train

It is a nice little lathe but difficult to find parts.

The broken tooth was cause by someone trying to get the chuck off. We hear this once a week. NEVER use the gear train to lock the spindle.

Ed S

PS My solution to the oddity... I bought a 9" wide bed as a back up.
 

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I take it back, Ed is right - don't try to use back gear with the teeth missing - wait and get it repaired.

I disagree though about the difficulty of spindle replacement - I successfully fitted a later hardened spindle from a 1955 9" (got it from Iwananew10k, who was very helpful). The ODs for the bearings and the bull gear were practically identical. The OAL is about .120" greater, but it's no big deal. It went right in, adjusted up, and I've never had a problem since.
I also replaced the plain thrust washer with a needle bearing, as many others have done.
best
Shaggy
 
Hello,

I can fix up your backgear. Small end is easy/cheap, big end less so, but there are some options there as well. Send me an e-mail or PM for details.

Regards.

Mike
 
Thanks again for the responses. I once got a pool for free, by the time I finished installing replacing ect, I could have bought one brand new and watched them install it LOL. How ever the education in doing things lasts forever.

I am excited about owning this lathe and look forward to when I can fire it up fixed right.
 








 
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