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How much would you pay for this south bend?

zero cool

Plastic
Joined
Jul 30, 2014
Location
Canada
Hello all,

I have an opportunity to purchase a south bend model a lathe. I was wondering how much you would pay for this lathe. It is a 9 x 36 and it comes with the taper attachment. It has been sitting in a warehouse so I will post before and after pictures for you to see.

Before:
Lathe_benchtop_9inX36in_South_Bend_Turcot_stk2337.jpg

Now:
IMG-20140728-00064.jpg

IMG-20140728-00063.jpg

Due to the place that I'm living, I cannot have a large lathe or a lathe that requires high voltages like 550v or 600v so these small lathes are ideal for me right now. So tell me, how much should I ask for it.

Thanks
 
Hard to tell from the photos, but it looks like it got wet and the ways are rusty. How good are you at rebuilding things? Price depends on location. Some places people would be all over that. Other places not so much. IMO, in its present condition it's maybe a $300 project. I'd be offering less. They've been had for less but in a lathe-starved area it might go for more. A flipper might flip the taper attachment to pay for the lathe. The condition of the ways is everything. If just rusty, they can be cleaned up. If severely worn, it's worth little.
 
I don't understand the "before" vs "now" pictures. What happened? How did it get into the "now" condition.

Hard to tell what it's worth without some really detailed pictures of the ways and the spindle. The blue paint alone should knock the price down substantially!

If it's in good shape and true and accurate, could be worth several hundred dollars. If the spindle bearings are bad and the ways are worn then the $300 opinion may be pretty close....if a little generous.
 
From what I can gather, they had it for a couple years under a tarp and forgot about it. I couldn't really give it the once over because it was under so much stuff but I was able to barely move the carriage and it seems like they put grease on it before storage. There was still a bit of surface rust which the owner said would "polish off" (i doubt that).

It's missing the counter shaft which we couldn't find and the apron is from another, either white or beige SB 9" lathe so they are compatible. Not sure where the bed came from because in all of south bend's papers that I've seen it says that the ways were hand scraped or flaked. On this lathe, there were no signs of it being scraped or flaked. I also read that only the heavy duty lathes had flame hardened ways so I can't say. Oh, and the tail stock lock doesn't work.

From what I could see, there were absolutely no chips or scratches near the head stock so it's either a new bed or the previous owner never dropped the chuck on the ways but at the other end, I'm no to sure. i believe that the company that I'm trying to buy it off of rebuilt it before. Not too sure though.
 
I don't understand the "before" vs "now" pictures. What happened? How did it get into the "now" condition.

What happened is that the used machinery business where I live didn't do so well for them. They down sized, and eventually moved on to real estate. Now the ware house that they have is packed with all sorts of lathes / presses / milling machines / and odd bits.

This lathe was something that they had advertised on their now out of date web site that I believed to be in good condition but it was another story when I got there.
 
Don't waste your time if you actually want to use it. I restored an old hurcus and though its awesome now I spent more then I should have and wasn't making swarf for a long time. The AL50-G series lathes that your find at schools and workshops (Though chinese) are amazingly cheap to buy and deliver and work really well and are quite accurate. Delivered no more then 800/900 bucks and far superior to those Seig POS. Aliexpress or alibaba is your friend if you speak englinese.
 
I'd say offer $300 for it. You could always piece it out if it's junk. The gearbox alone goes for $200 on ebay. It doesn't look that bad if you don't mind putting a little work into it.
 
It's missing the counter shaft which we couldn't find and the apron is from another, either white or beige SB 9" lathe so they are compatible..

If you mean the entire countershaft assembly is missing, which includes frame, shaft, bearings, pulley and motor, that's not good. Both the difficulty of acquiring a used assembly locally and what you'd have to pay for it, or the cost and shipping charges if you had you had to buy sight unseen from a distance, are important considerations.

i believe that the company that I'm trying to buy it off of rebuilt it before. Not too sure though

Whenever a used machinery or equipment dealer uses the term rebuild, I'm always suspicious that means only a DuPont Overhaul. Viewing your first photo of the lathe freshly DuPonted, I'm seeing very brightly cleaned steel on the ways, on the chuck, but what looks like significant rust on the taper attachment, lead screw, and other components, so I'm skeptical if the lathe ever was ever mechanically checked and properly reconditioned.

My thoughts are similar to other posters - if $300 or so would get you the lathe, you can't lose. If too worn or damaged to get back in working condition, you can ultimately sell over $1,000 worth of parts from it on eBay. The taper attachment, chuck, tailstock, apron, tool post, gearbox, handles, gears, etc, etc.

- Richard (9A owner)
 
Like they stated above... For $300 I would pick it up and part it out on Ebay. I'm sure some 9A owners are looking for parts to complete their machines. You would spend more than it is worth to make it whole again with the major parts missing.

Use your proceeds to purchase a lathe in better shape and more complete.

Don't let the 3 phase motors scare you away from another bigger lathe. With a VFD for 120 VAC or 220 VAC single phase power, you can run a 3 phase motor all day. Check out the several posts on VFD's on this forum. Awesome way to power a old 3 phase lathe or mill. You will ever gain variable speed control in the process.
 
I'd say offer $300 for it. You could always piece it out if it's junk. The gearbox alone goes for $200 on ebay. It doesn't look that bad if you don't mind putting a little work into it.

That would also be my approach but only if you don't need a lathe to use right now. By the looks of it you would have to put in time to get it in running condition and also you would be getting a lathe without any tooling. For myself I would probably go after it for around $300, but remember that buying a working lathe with tooling might cost more, but may suit your needs better. Just depends on your particular situation.
 
Thanks for all the replies!

We spoke on the phone and he gave me a price of 1200$ and told me that he found the counter-shaft and the ways could be polished clean. He says they coated the ways with grease so that's why it looks brown in the picture ( I was scraping it off with my nails when i was there trying to figure out what it was ) and that there is a bit of surface rust that will polish off with WD-40 and a cotton rag.

He says that they had this lathe "ready to roll" when it was stored so a question (although its a bit late) is can a lathe warp or become miss aligned just by sitting??

The last thing I want to add is that, being in Canada, Montréal more precisely, we don't see too many South Bends. All of the ones that didn't come with any tooling but had the quick change gearbox were always around 1000$. Maybe they're rare here. But it still fathoms me that people are selling a non working, non running lathe with no attachments, not even the dead centers, for upwards of 1000$

Anyways, thanks again guys!
 
From what I can gather, they had it for a couple years under a tarp and forgot about it.

So, you're saying the lathe got in that condition by sitting under a tarp ?

You believe that ? The now pictures look like $#!T.

You would be best to educate yourself before the purchase, not after, since that won't happen overnight.
 
Quote from post #5 above : ...What happened is that the used machinery business where I live didn't do so well for them....

I am not surprised that they did not do well in the used machinery business .
Set a lathe on the concrete , not even on a block of wood , cover it with a tarp , then a few years later try to sell it for top dollar without any tooling .
The blue paint really is a classic . ( secret handshake of uncaring sellers )
Here's a comp from just a few days ago right here on this forum : http://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...llent-condition-fully-tooled-1500-obo-288584/
Note the contrast .
It is not uncommon to drive several hundred miles to get a decent machine .
 
If I wanted or needed a lathe like that in the before pic, maybe $500. in the after pic, maybe $100. It looks like the taper attachment is all there, about the only saving grace. :codger:
 
Thanks guys!

He wont come down from that price so I'll just leave it at that. I've decided to buy a new lathe from south bend, grizzly, king canada or other places.

Thanks again
 
There's a reputable used machinery dealer not too from you, in Bethel, VT. He always has SB 9 lathes available--more than his website shows. I think it would be worth driving down to see him, and get a quality lathe. He has all the tooling & accessories you would need, as well. By appointment only.
(Incidentally, Joe lists SB sizes as distance between centers, rather than bed length. Don't know why.)

PlazaMachinery.com
[email protected]

Not connected in any way---just a satisfied customer having bought a lot of stuff from him. Don't buy new when you can get quality used.

Ron
 








 
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