Hey guys this is my first post and Im really looking forward to being part of this machining community. This will be my first metal lathe, I got a shopsmith of craiglist a few months ago and Ive been restoring it and doing various turning on it, so I figured I could do the same thing by getting a southbend. Im hoping this will be both a fun restoration and a very useful tool to add to my workshop. Anyway heres my question, I found a southbend 9b, the owner believes it to be from the 60s, advertised on craiglist for $400. It includes a 3 jaw chuck and two 4 jaw chucks and 14 thread cutting gears, I know the quick change gear box is preferred but I dont plan on doing to much threading, so it seems like a pretty good deal. But I dont have any expirience with these lathes so Im asking you guys if you guys if this is a good deal or should I try to talk him down substantially?

the serial number is 1809NBR7

South Bend Lathe

That lathe prob is a 1947 or '48...Bob

__________________
Bob Wright Metal Master Fab
Salem, Ohio Birthplace of the Silver and Deming Drill, all others are copys.

For comparison, 5 years ago I bought a well used 1943 B model witha 3' bed for $495, it came with a rocker toolpost, a 3 jaw chuck, 3 change gears a nice 1/2" Jacobs ball bearing super chuck, a hand full of bits and a crappy dead center that was unuseable as it was. I think the price you quoted is good but don't discount the gear box due to not threading a lot, it is irreplaceable when it comes to turning in general. I converted mine to an A model 2 years ago. I am not a hobby machinist, I do it for a living so for me I knew what I was getting into, my issue was the money up front and the lathe availablity. The B model was cheaper than an A model and easier at the time to find. I made around $2000 on the machine in about 3 months worth of tinkering. It paid for all the parts to upgrade it and make it better and more efficient.

Mine as it stands now:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...athe/Lathe.jpg

For $400.00 I think it will be a good lathe for your starter lathe, it looks a lot nicer than the first one I had. Try and find a copy of How to run a lathe by South Bend lathes..HTH

In my opinion that is a good price. But there are a few things you need to know about this model. it is commonly known as an intermediate bed type. This is not bad its just different. There are a few minor changes that you need to be aware of when buying parts.

1. the obvious difference is the bed feet they do not interchange with the older or newer type beds.

2. what is not so obvious is that the space between the ways is a bit smaller. at least that is the way mine is. Mine measures .18 smaller than the standard bed.
The headstock and tailstock clamping brackets do not interchange directly. This is because the bed is a little beefier than the standard bed. It also means that's certain items such as a follow rest or other attachments that Mount in a similar way may need slight modifications to fit properly.

all other parts should fit normally without modification.


this information should not deter you from buying this lathe. there is nothing wrong with it as far as being an intermediate bed type. this is what I have. In fact I find this lathe to be a little bit more rigid.

it should be a good investment for you.

I hope you have lots of fun with it.


promacjoe

This machine will probably move fast at that price. Full set of change gears, steady
rest, driver plate, chucks. Nice bench.

And the all-time favorite: "will deliver within a hundred miles!"

If this machine were close to me, I would buy it - and I already have too many lathes!

I don't remember if a 9B has power feeds, but if it does, then the change gears control both the threading and feed rate. At some point, I just got tired of changing gears, you may as well. A machine with a gearbox shouldn't be much more money than that

YMMV

regards,

Jon P.

I could be mistaken, but it looks like it includes one of those super-rare extra large steady rests. If so, that right there is worth the greater part of the asking price.

Paula

I think the three chucks and the steady rest with the bench is good for the $400.00 and the lathe is free.....packrat2

thanks guys, I think Im going to go pick this up today, I managed to talk him down to 350 already online, and may try for a bit more in person. Another guy is going to give me a old southbend for free, however I decided it looks like its rust and quite a bit is missing, so I figured it would cost about the same to get a worse lathe. I will still be picking it up to try to see what I can do.


Thanks again

Well unfortunetly, I got a bad craiglister I called before I drove up to let him know I was coming, then after a half-hour drive he said he just sold it to guy who pay-paled him the money. Oh well, hopefully tomorrow I can go pick up the rusty one and use the money I would have spent on the first lathe fixing this one up.





So anyway, new question, what am I looking at here?