After buying one South Bend as a restoration project, another one in much better condition came up on ebay a week later and I was lucky enough to secure it for $600. My original lathe was a 9A x 31/2' of 1940 vintage that I posted details of HERE
The new one is an identical spec. 9A x 3 1/2' but is much younger at 1962, in much better condition and included a stand. Although not an original SB item it is very sturdy and supports the lathe well so I am going to stick with it for now.
It came with a 3-phase motor so I sourced a Mitsubishi inverter (VFD) from ebay (which you can just see in the background of the pic) and fitted that successfully. The lathe is in a temporary position in my garage at the moment and will be moved soon so I will mount the VFD properly when that happens.
The main drive belt was a spliced leather item that I had to disconnect to transport the lathe and so I have now sourced a serpentine belt from a supplier in the UK. I pulled the spindle, back gear and countershaft today and cleaned everything up in preparation for mounting the belt. The plan is to just to tidy this machine up and keep it in working condition and use it to restore the original 9A.
Funny thing was it was my wife that suggested I buy this one and sell the first one. Gotta love a girl like that!
However, I have had a Myford ML7 lathe for a number of years so I am intending to sell this now instead of SB01 and probably put the money towards buying a milling machine of some description.
Regards,
Bruce
The new one is an identical spec. 9A x 3 1/2' but is much younger at 1962, in much better condition and included a stand. Although not an original SB item it is very sturdy and supports the lathe well so I am going to stick with it for now.
It came with a 3-phase motor so I sourced a Mitsubishi inverter (VFD) from ebay (which you can just see in the background of the pic) and fitted that successfully. The lathe is in a temporary position in my garage at the moment and will be moved soon so I will mount the VFD properly when that happens.
The main drive belt was a spliced leather item that I had to disconnect to transport the lathe and so I have now sourced a serpentine belt from a supplier in the UK. I pulled the spindle, back gear and countershaft today and cleaned everything up in preparation for mounting the belt. The plan is to just to tidy this machine up and keep it in working condition and use it to restore the original 9A.
Funny thing was it was my wife that suggested I buy this one and sell the first one. Gotta love a girl like that!
However, I have had a Myford ML7 lathe for a number of years so I am intending to sell this now instead of SB01 and probably put the money towards buying a milling machine of some description.
Regards,
Bruce
