Help with a possible Lathe Purchase.

wagostino · Mar 5, 2012

I am new to machining and have been slowly building up a garage shop. I have resisted purchasing an Asian import in favor of patiently waiting for some older american heavyweight eqipment. There is a lathe advertized on CL nearby. lathe southbend 9x24 mod c

The add describes the Lathe as follows: lathe southbend 9x24 mod c, complete with tooling underdrive stedyrest 4 4jaw 2 jacobs 110v with change gears.

It doesn't look like any other South Bend I have seen. There seems to be a noticable lack of motor above. Is that what an underdrive is?

The asking price for this Lathe is $800. I have requested the serial number from the seller. What should Iwatch for here? Is this lathe worth $800?

wagostino · Mar 5, 2012

The seller could not find the serial number. He states that the factory it was in sent it out to be "cleaned up and gone through". He also mentioned that there were scallop like marks on the ways in someplaces and that was supposed to be a good sign.

Tinkwithanr · Mar 5, 2012

It really depends on the condition, and without pictures or a more detailed description that will be very hard to determine.

The serial number can be found on the end of the bed between the saddle and tailstock ways.

A good condition 9" with lots of tooling could be worth upwards of $1800, while a poor condition with little tooling could barely be worth more than scrap metal. Try and go take a look at it, and also use the search function on this site to look up other 9" people have bought to compare with. Hopefully together you will be able to decide if it's worth it to you.

Hope this helps,
-Jon

wagostino · Mar 5, 2012

Thanks Jon,

wagostino · Mar 5, 2012

Can you tell me anything about the Underdrive? What sould I be looking for when I go to look at the Lathe?

kevink · Mar 5, 2012

I have never seen a South Bend with a headstock like that.

wagostino · Mar 5, 2012

Exactly. If it does come with all the gears, steady rest, 4 jaw chucks and etc, it seems like a good purchase. I am leary on the "Underdrive" and would like as much information as possible going in.

wagostino · Mar 5, 2012

I foung a PDF copy of the parts list for the Underdrive head stock. It seams legit.

wagostino · Mar 5, 2012

New pictures

Here are some more pictures. Can you tell anything about the tooling or any other useful information?

phantom71 · Mar 5, 2012

kevink said:
I have never seen a South Bend with a headstock like that.

Same here, if you can picture it without that weird cover you can tell it is a southbend. Maybe sblatheman will chime in on this one with some info.
Cheers,
Mitch

Joe Carroll · Mar 5, 2012

quick change

You might want to familiarize yourself with lathes that have quick change boxes. My opinion is that $800.00 is too much for a change gear lathe even with those accesories. Good luck, Joe

kitno455 · Mar 5, 2012

This was the first style underdrive, only used on the b/c models. Tony covers it about 1/3 of the way down this page:

Page Title

allan

promacjoe · Mar 5, 2012

you can find information about the Lathe at,
www.lathes.co.uk.

Scroll down to the center of the page and you will see this lathe.

According to the information, the lathe came in two versions. One version with a flat belt, and the other version with V belt. To my knowledge, this is the Only South Bend underneath drive lathe that came with the V belt option.
If it uses a V built, it is a rare lathe.

Note: if you get the lathe, contact " lathes.co.uk ". He is always looking for new pictures for his website.

wagostino · Mar 5, 2012

Thanks to everyone. I will be patient and keep looking for an older American made Lathe that isn't quite so unique.

Wayne

freekforge · Mar 6, 2012

if you still have the chance i would buy it. changing the gears isnt as bad as everyone makes it out to be. it also looks like it has quite a bit of goodies to come with it. it also appears that it was used in war production during ww2 because of the small red tag on the front.

Blob · Mar 6, 2012

freekforge said:
changing the gears isnt as bad as everyone makes it out to be.

That's true, but after having both a change gear lathe and then a quick change, I think the quick change is very much worth having. Also with a model C South Bend you will not have power cross feed, and longitudinal feeds are done with the half nuts which can lead to premature wear. In your area there should be ample opportunities to get a quick change lathe - if it was me, that's what I'd do. FWIW.

autofrite · Mar 6, 2012

there's a dirty,rusty 9a for sale here,no mention of any tooling or rests,has an apron thats slotted for the taper attatchment.
1000 is too much for one that needs a great deal of attention.

paulsomlo · Mar 7, 2012

Blob's right - I have both a 9c and a 9a and having the gearbox is very nice.

I've never seen that early of an underdrive for sale, it's kind of a curiosity. The underdrive config takes up a bit less space than the horizontal drive. In your neck of the woods, small South Bends are a dime a dozen; that lathe's not going anywhere at $800. Out here, in the great American iron desert, a 9c in very good condition might fetch that much. If you still want it, wait a week or two, then offer the guy $400.

Paul

wagostino · Mar 7, 2012

I actually contacted a guy from this forum who lives a few miles from me. He posted in 2005 that he had two model As. I took a chance and sent him a message. i am going to his house on Saturday to take a look. If that doesn't work out I will keep looking.

wagostino · Mar 7, 2012

Out of curiosity I will ask about the red tag on the front of the Lathe. What does it mean? Does having a lathe used in WWII production mean anything other than touching history?

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