Southbend Heavy 10L Headstock

During the repair of my Heavy 10L I am finding a replacement of the headstock may be my best solution...to replace I need a headstock with a 2 1/4 X 8 spindle to match my adjustable chuck...you can contact me at [email protected] or cell 702-355-8968...Thanks for a great forum...John

Perhaps you should be more specific. There's a headstock casting on eBay right now but it sounds like you want the spindle as well. What else do you want as part of the "replacement headstock"? Spindle bearings? Backgear? Reversing gears?

All the parts are available but usually separately. It would likely be cheaper to just replace what is worn or damaged on yours.

I could be wrong but I believe the headstock is scraped to the bed. You might have issues with a mismatched headstock and bed.

Teryk

Thanks for the reply...I was thinking what I needed was the headstock minus the back gears...my spindle is toast as well as the bushings...let me study the possible issue of matching...my thinking was to replace the headstock vs individual parts to save money...as you can see I am new to this game...Thanks/John

Often times buying a large assembly remotely does not save you money as it is hard to determine the condition before purchase. You may end up having to replace parts on the headstock assembly you buy. If you're lucky you will be able to pull them off the assembly you have but you are still going to have to go through the whole thing anyway so why not just do it with yours and save yourself some money.

What shape is your backgear in (the one pressed onto the spindle)? They often lose teeth due to abuse and can be expensive to buy. If yours is in good shape, I'd think replacing just the spindle and bearings would be the cheaper option.

This is just my opinion. Worth exactly what you paid for it :-)

Teryk

I think you are correct...the issue of matching/shims of a headstock change and not knowing the condition of the spindle and bushings will be a guess at'best...my spindle shows wear (grooves) on the front and some heat discoloration on the rear...the pressed'on gear is in good shape showing no wear to the teeth...I will start watching e-bay and others for needed parts...btw my headstock has the WWII War Dept loan tags...that may be the good reason to keep it original...Thanks/John

Joe @ plaza machinery lists headstock parts including what looks like a complete headstock and spindle for $350. If you're worried about headstock/bed compatibility you could pull the spindle and bearings and put them in yours. I've always gotten honest descriptions and good parts from Joe, although communication can be slow.

http://plazamachinery.com

You might also check with SBLatheman on this site as well as Steve Wells.

Few years ago I replaced my threaded spindle headstock with a complete d1-4 headstock. Result is I have a headstock minus tumbler gears that I would part out if you are interested. I'd be happy to sell the whole thing but shipping would add a lot to the the cost (I'm in michigan). Anyway let me know if this interests you at all.

Regards
Dennis

jseines said:

I think you are correct...the issue of matching/shims of a headstock change and not knowing the condition of the spindle and bushings will be a guess at'best...my spindle shows wear (grooves) on the front and some heat discoloration on the rear...the pressed'on gear is in good shape showing no wear to the teeth...I will start watching e-bay and others for needed parts...btw my headstock has the WWII War Dept loan tags...that may be the good reason to keep it original...Thanks/John

Click to expand...

jseines, get on the South Bend Lathe forum and look at old posts on headstock grooves and scratches. You will learn that on a machine like a SB, they are really no big deal. Most guys approach their spindle like an automotive crankshaft, and think that it is wrecked. But there is nowhere near the speeds and forces involved; smooth cast iron or bronze bearings; no crankshaft journals that can break it from a stress riser scratch. You will not break that spindle unless you take it out and stick in under a multi-ton press. The grooves just end up serving as oil grooves. So just polish off any high spots-there may not be any-and put it back in. It ran for years without lubrication-thats what caused the scratches-and you are going to fix that in your overhaul. Set up the clearances properly and you will have an accurate spindle that will outlive your greatgrandchildren.

Of course, its your money and someone will be happy to take it from you if you insist!

Bill S

I now have the spindle assembly installed and am now finding the same problem that started this adventure...I replaced the damaged plunger spring and plunger pin, reassembled the spindle assembly, mounted on the headstock, installed bearing caps with shims to find the plunger pin, when extracted to release the cone, the pin strikes the cap preventing the bullgear to rotate...the 2 pins I have received were for a 10L and appear too long for my lathe...this problem has me stumped, what am I missing ? Cheers/John