South bend lathe inquiry

[Nick7]

Hello
Im new to this forum and generally new to machining
I am upgrading from an atlas and looking to go into a sb
I am looking at this on Sunday
Owner says it’s a 14.5” with 36” center to center
The cabinet style looks like that of the 13” ( the 36” center to center is the part that tells me it may be a 14.5” ?)
Model tag is too wore out to read
So I will find out Sunday
Is the 13” more desirable than the 14.5” ?
Are parts plentiful for both or is one less desirable ?
Thank you

 

[Nick7]

Hello
Im new to this forum and generally new to machining
I am upgrading from an atlas and looking to go into a sb
I am looking at this on Sunday
Owner says it’s a 14.5” with 36” center to center
The cabinet style looks like that of the 13” ( the 36” center to center is the part that tells me it may be a 14.5” ?)
Model tag is too wore out to read
So I will find out Sunday
Is the 13” more desirable than the 14.5” ?
Are parts plentiful for both or is one less desirable ?
Thank you

 

[L Vanice]

Determine what spindle nose it has. Some chuck adapters and other nose tooling are easier to find than others. for instance, I think some SB lathes had 2-1/4-6 threads, which is not very common.

Larry

 

[wood2steel]

Nick, if you can get the serial number on the bed near tailstock, jump over to the Southbend forum here, and those guys can dial in your model specs. 13's were common, 16" machines usually saw heavy use and 14's were rare.

 

[SLK001]

Serial numbers won't give you anything but the year of manufacture. A simple ruler will give you the size.