New South Bend Workshop Model A Owner

Just got this off Atlanta CL today $1200 and I am glad to get my hands on it. Was used in auto repair business, owner said he used it perhaps once a month since the mid 70s, mostly making parts for his hotrod. I am no expert by far, but doesn't seem to have much wear. Now if I can just figure out how to get it out of the truck and where to put it. Came with a somewhat flimsy looking stand, I am debating whether to reuse the stand or put it on a sturdy bench I have made from 2X6 material for the top, and 4X4 legs.
Christmas in October!

Welcome. What is the serial number of your machine. It is located at the right side of the bed on the front. With that we can tell you when the machine was made.

A good rigid bench makes all the difference in the world. It should be considered a integral part of the lathe, and will improve the performance of your machine considerably. another question to be answered is how tall are you. If the bench is too low, you will kill your back trying to see what you're doing. And you do not need to lean over the lathe much anyway. If it is too high, again you will not be able to see what you're doing. I find a good rule of thumb is, the center of the spindle Should be approximately equal to your elbow height. That is the distance from your elbow to the floor when standing. if you are extremely short, you may need to lower this number, and if you're extremely tall, you might have to increase this number. I am approximately 6' 1", I use to be 6' 2", but I'm getting shorter as I get older. My elbow height is approximately 45". And that is approximately the spindle height of my lathe. I tried using a bench that was at the factory height, but I found I could not work with my machine very long without my back hurting. I found a large toolbox that when I replaced the wheels with leveling feet was just right.

make sure you take plenty of pictures as you disassemble your machine. It will help you when you reassemble it. Also, Make sure you ask questions before you make a mistake in damage something. Don't go off with a hammer or six-foot prybar trying to loosen something up. If it doesn't come apart, using the reasonable force, and the proper tools, don't force it. Ask questions here before you damage something. I'm sure you will get some help. and just so you know the screw on the clutch knob is a left-hand thread. to loosen it, you have to turn it backwards, like you are trying to tighten it.

Also, we love to see the progress that people have made, before and after pictures. So please post plenty of pictures of your progress.

Stay safe and have fun.

Joe.

Thanks Joe,
Very good advice, hadn't thought about importance of height of spindle, I'll have to include this consideration in bench determination. I know just what you mean about back hurting with slight bending over.
Serial number is 127476, and lathe has cool looking label "THIS MACHINE CONFORMS TO ORDERS OF THE WAR PRODUCTION BOARD" near the South Bend label. Must be about the same age as I am, I was also created during the war. ;-)
Rusty

Your lathe was made approximately 1942. That means is 74 years old. That's when my original lathe was made. But it did not have a war badge on it. it was a model C. I have replaced the bed and converted it to a model A. give us a few pictures of the bed in front of the Chuck so we can us assess the where. Also let us see the bottom of the tailstock, To see how much where it has on it. remember to take pictures and ask questions. We're here to help.

Stay safe and have fun.

Joe.

*seems* to have some sort of modification to the tumbler reverser or maybe a repair?

also has a Logan end cover fitted.

Neither of which matter as long as it works.
enjoy it!

Arrived in Garage

Unloading turned out to be easy with the help of a small electric winch. Will sit on a hand truck for awhile so I can move it around easily.

Photos

promacjoe;2842351 give us a few pictures of the bed in front of the Chuck so we can us assess the where. Also let us see the bottom of the tailstock said:

Thanks Joe,
Not sure how helpful these will be, But perhaps you can get some idea.



Rusty

Click to expand...

iwananew10K said:

*seems* to have some sort of modification to the tumbler reverser or maybe a repair?

also has a Logan end cover fitted.

Neither of which matter as long as it works.
enjoy it!

Click to expand...

I will have to admit I have no idea what a tumbler reverser is, or for that matter a Logan end cover, I am a total novice. Thanks for the input!

Quick Change lever Tied Down



Just realized the previous owner has the left quick change lever tied with a plastic tie wrap. Hope this doesn't indicate a major gear problem, but it will have to wait awhile before I investigate. I have to do some other work before I can get back the this, just wanted to grab this jewel quick before it gat away!

Rusty

Tie wrap looks to be keeping the end cover shut. The end cover is the piece on the far left side of the lathe, covering the gears between the headstock spindle and the gear box. Its the piece the guys said looks to be from a Logan lathe. The Logan probably had the screw that keeps it shut in a different place than South Bend had it.

clip that tie,swing the(Logan) cover open and take a pic of what's under there.

Not a close up,but a good view to see everything top to bottom so we can be sure everything is there and as it should be.

Probably just holding the cover plate closed.
Looks like you have a very nice lathe.
fred.

Thanks for suggestions RE plastic tie wrap

iwananew10K said:

clip that tie,swing the(Logan) cover open and take a pic of what's under there.

Not a close up,but a good view to see everything top to bottom so we can be sure everything is there and as it should be.

Click to expand...

Yes! It appears the plastic tie was just to keep almost perfect fit Logan cover closed. All teeth on gears inside cover are present, even though photo makes it look like some could be missing on the gear meshing with the spindle.

Rusty

Looks good! Someone just gave the reverser a longer handle(with the black knob)

I think the very bottom gears are on backwards...I think you will find the outer one that doesn't mate to anything is a 56 tooth gear and I'm betting the inside one is a 40 tooth gear...the 56 should be the inside one and the 40 should be just acting as a spacer... hold on and I'll post a pic...

Pic- (hosted on Steve Wells site)

http://www.wswells.com/data/howto/paula_stephens/9_10K_geartrain.jpg

Since we are looking at gears, here is lots of info

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...=http://bnordgren.org/files/model-a-gears.pdf

Wrong Ratio

iwananew10K said:

I think the very bottom gears are on backwards...I think you will find the outer one that doesn't mate to anything is a 56 tooth gear and I'm betting the inside one is a 40 tooth gear...the 56 should be the inside one and the 40 should be just acting as a spacer...

Click to expand...

Looking at the photo you reference and the .pdf posted by johnoder, (Thanks John) and counting gear teeth I can see, sure enough the spur gear has 20 teeth, gear one has 80 teeth, and the gear that should be the gearbox gear has 56 teeth.

So for sure the gears are reversed. Wouldn't that cause all feed rates to be wrong, not to mention all pitches to be incorrect?
You would think someone would have noticed!

Rusty

Nice little machine, when we moved mine, my brother in law and I just picked it up and carried it, they aren't too much for a couple strong guys to handle. The gears that are reversed are made to be switched for some of the courser threads, look on your gear chart and it will tell you what the gears should be for a given thread or feed. Good luck and have fun with your new toy!

Wouldn't that cause all feed rates to be wrong, not to mention all pitches to be incorrect?

Click to expand...

Man that warms my old gear head heart - never had a lathe but instantly perceives the essential relationships

Thanks for the great help and encouraging words

johnoder said:

warms my old gear head heart ...

Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words, but real credit is owed to this forum and sharp eye of iwananew10K who pointed out the incorrect placement of the 56T Gearbox Gear. And to South Bend Lathe Works, because if it hadn't been for the Revised Edition 55 of How to Run a Lathe which I studied carefully before venturing to purchase a small lathe, I would have no idea about such things as feed rates or how screw pitches could be made.

Rusty

Ready in new location

Location is in a vintage 10X12 shed constructed by previous property owner sometime around 1960. To get the late in, it was necessary to first clean out all the garden tools etc, so I added a new shed for all that stuff. I decided to reuse the table the previous owner had the lathe mounted on. Because I don't have a way to pick it up and carry it, I needed to be able to use my small electric winch to hoist it off a hand truck, lower it onto the table, then roll the table into the corner where it goes. So I added casters to the table legs. Once in place I used blocks to get the casters up off the floor and level the table. Not the elegant solution I would have liked, but I think it will get the job done.