I am going to slow down and see what I purchased

This forum consists of a bunch of guys with a common interest. We are gear heads. I purchased this 13” SB a week ago. I have been all over the map what to do next. I almost stripped the apron to find very little metal shavings, a clutch that had clean oil saturated throughout. All the felts were there and in good shape. The tail stock is next. I have a China 3 jaw chuck with very little wear but is probably a piece of crap so that’s a big expense. I have not gone into the quick change set yet but I will.
I came up with a plan. Someone in this forum advised to wait and see what I have. That is good advice.
I’ll check the alignment from tail stock to head stock, look to see what the gear set looks like and make some cuts to see what I bought.
I am retiring in a few years and my idea is to spend plenty of quiet time tinkering with shop equipment. That’s what I like to do.
Thank you for the advice

Sounds like a very good plan, as a matter of fact I'm on the same one. Just a little bit smaller scale (SB9A) Plan is to get my garage insulated and heated this summer for future puttering...

You should have left the baseball story up, it was interesting. I'm sure many of us at some point played with some of the baseballs those machines produced. Were you originally from Haiti?
I recently bought a 13" SB myself, and I've also been wanting to get a milling machine and a band saw, but now I'm torn between getting a band saw and a plasma cutter/tig welder. I'm in the process of rehabbing my old drill press right now, I just took a break to have some coffee.
Aside from you, anyone reading this reply who didn't read your earlier post has no idea what I'm talking about

Janderso said:

This forum consists of a bunch of guys with a common interest. We are gear heads.

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Um, these are old South Bends. We're belt heads.

It's a good idea to get to know your machine before tearing into it. That's what I've been doing on my Heavy 10L. Figure out what needs attention, prioritize the list, then start repairing. That Chinese chuck may or may not be a piece of junk.

ja762 said:

You should have left the baseball story up, it was interesting. I'm sure many of us at some point played with some of the baseballs those machines produced. Were you originally from Haiti?
I recently bought a 13" SB myself, and I've also been wanting to get a milling machine and a band saw, but now I'm torn between getting a band saw and a plasma cutter/tig welder. I'm in the process of rehabbing my old drill press right now, I just took a break to have some coffee.
Aside from you, anyone reading this reply who didn't read your earlier post has no idea what I'm talking about

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Ja, I was in a talkative mood and I blathered a bit. Read it this morning and wondered why I would share such a story. I'll try to find the pictures. The Haitians watched me build the finish winder and when I started tearing it down to clean, inspect and determine what needed to be replaced-rebuilt , they told me the cotton thread would not feed properly if I removed the chunks of wood ans bailing wire they used as a work around for worn or broken parts.
I'll tell the story with pics if I can find them.
I really enjoy working on equipment. I spent my professional life as a manager at a Ford dealership. Payed the bills but I should have gone a different direction.

As long as the felts are wicking oil and there's lube everywhere it needs to be, absolutely "level" it up and make chips. Barring any scary noises that shouldn't be, it's how you'll find out what does (or doesn't) need replacing. Clean felts and oil are quite a find, sounds as though you may have gotten lucky with a machine that was recently serviced for that.

Janderso said:

they told me the cotton thread would not feed properly if I removed the chunks of wood and bailing wire they used as a work around for worn or broken parts.

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Not only can I picture it, but I can relate. I've worked for companies where things were doctored-up/held together with 9 wire, duct tape, and even chewing gum. They had a couple of different names for it, but in this day and age you can no longer risk offending anyone

Bought three things from China, a fork hoist, a pallet roller, and a four jaws chuck. All crap. Fork lift had no oil in the cylinder and the seal was nil. Pallet roller had no oil in the cylinder and one of the pole screws was missing. Key to the chuck had a square that first needed my work to fit the drive. Never again, I enjoy buying western things now.

MrWhoopee said:

Um, these are old South Bends. We're belt heads.

It's a good idea to get to know your machine before tearing into it. That's what I've been doing on my Heavy 10L. Figure out what needs attention, prioritize the list, then start repairing. That Chinese chuck may or may not be a piece of junk.

Click to expand...

I took the chuck apart over the weekend as well as the tailstock. The chuck is basically brand new. Once I cleaned out the chips and oiled it she is very smooth and closes to a perfect point.
The tailstock had no shims. I cleaned it up, the quill is not loose on the threads.
When I put a center in the tail and a drill bit in the chuck I brought them together and was very surprised to find very little deviation. I haven’t mic’T it yet but visually it is very close.