Were Sebastian lathes good machines?

I say were, because I haven't looked at it yet. There is a Sebastian 12x36 FS 1 1/2 hours from me, wondering if it's worth driving to look at. Comes with all the goodies. I'm not asking if this one is a good deal, just if Sabastian in general were good quality machines in their day... If they were good quality, and she's not worn out, this one would be a great deal for me. US made?

Sorry it's not a definitive answer by any means, but they have some connection to Sheldon lathes. I think Sheldon may have bought the Sebastian line or built subcontracted Sebastian models? In any case, Sheldon's are generally considered good quality machines. At one time I was a member on the Yahoo Group for Sheldon lathes... they had a fair amount of info on the Sebastian line in the archives and files section. You might want to have a look there? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sheldonlathe/

Thanks for the lead, I'll check that out. I have to sell my wifes car first, so I could miss it, but there sure are a lot of lathes FS in the area (finally!). Wife doesn't know I might have to sell her jewelry too! There are some bigger ones out there, but this one would be easier to move, locate, and it's got the phase converter.

Jon,
Sheldon bought Sebastian in '55. Then in '82 Sheldon went out of business. The Sebastians were a good lathe albiet skimpy on the RPM like most older machines. Beat a South Bend anyway. OK, OK, so I'm partial to Sheldon.
Ray

Back in the day 1971 when I was shopping for a new lathe I looked at the Sebastian line of engine lathes. They looked very good to my 31 year old as yet inexperienced eye.

The Sheldon-Sebastian lathe I have cuts damn good for a 13" size, but is noisey as hell!. I've even replaced most of the gears in the headstock and still noisy. Has held up good for thirty years of use in my shop. Some wear, but what do you expect for a 50 year old lathe!

Ken


BtW, Mine is a Sheldon built one, not one of the earlier ones.

Ray Behner said:

OK, OK, so I'm partial to Sheldon.
Ray

Click to expand...

Why apologize for showing your intelligence? You say better than a South Bend-- the gearbox on my Sheldon R15 must have cost far more than my entire 14 1/2" South Bend. The South Bend is a pretty good, useable lathe. The Sheldon is a superb one.

Bill

Thanks guys. I'm sold. Anyone need a nice 93 grand marq?

I like your style, Knudsen. Draw us in with a lathe... then sell us a car! haha.

LOL I wish it were that easy! I would be on my way to look at and probably buy it

There are "Sebastians" and then tehre are Sebastians".

Later types are nice, got installed on shipboard etc.

But there are plenty of ancient and very "basic" Sebastian machines around as well, ones that are more like a wood lathe with extras. I'm not sure how old those are, some are probably 100 years old, others may be newer, and still be a low-end type even for their time.

So it might be wise to qualify the praise to cover the ones that have more-or-less modern features.

Sell Mom's Jewelry?

You might look into a cheap road trailer to store the lathe and live in after you sell her car and jewelry. Most wives exhibit some degree of tolerance when it comes to shops and tooling, but you are in danger of sliding over the line. Regards, Clark

JST said:

There are "Sebastians" and then tehre are Sebastians".

Click to expand...

Indeed, with Sebastian the answer is "it depends". I've seen some Sebastians of about 14 x 40 size, that I would guess about 1940's or 1950's vintage, that were actually pretty pitiful looking machines. The main detail I remember is the thin and open cast bases, but just in general they looked cheaply made. In fact thinking back on it now, they remind me of lathes made in the 1970's in India. So, is it a "good" Sebastian? Dunno...post a pix...

Milacron

sealark37 said:

You might look into a cheap road trailer to store the lathe and live in after you sell her car and jewelry. Most wives exhibit some degree of tolerance when it comes to shops and tooling, but you are in danger of sliding over the line. Regards, Clark

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip, Clark. I just don't have much choice, as I can't get her to get a third job to support my obsessions. I think she'll understand.


Not much of a picture, but it appears to have quick change gears. He said it weighs about 1000 lbs, so it's not one of the real heavy ones. I was looking for a benchtop sized lathe, like a SB. For me and my uses, lighter is OK. It's something like this, a SB, or a new chintech. With current availability in my area, chintech is out. If this one falls through, there are a lot out there to choose from. Craftsman, SB, Sheldon, Clausing...

knudsen said:

Not much of a picture, but it appears to have quick change gears. He said it weighs about 1000 lbs, so it's not one of the real heavy ones. I was looking for a benchtop sized lathe, like a SB. For me and my uses, lighter is OK. It's something like this, a SB, or a new chintech. With current availability in my area, chintech is out. If this one falls through, there are a lot out there to choose from. Craftsman, SB, Sheldon, Clausing...

Click to expand...

Unfortunately that looks like one of the El Cheapo Sebastians to me. I'd hold out for a newer Logan, Sheldon or SB unless this one is screamin deal and excellent cond.

Can't tell from photo. Viking had two speed levers sticking up. Gold Seal had two speed levers hanging down. Manufacturing ("no gears in head") had no speed levers at all. There were cone heads too, but not in your photo.

10" X 4 ft Viking was 1000 lbs

12" X 4 ft Gold Seal was 1300 lbs

A lightly built 8 speed lathe which in the smaller sizes was aimed at schools.

Some Timken equipped, others plain bearing.

My info from late thirties early forties.

Apparently in these two product lines, all of them from 10" to 16" had the same 2 1/8" - 8 spindle nose.

John Oder

Thanks for the info, John and Don. I think it's worth a look. I'll inquire about the vintage. Maybe get a better pic and a pic of the tag. I was also thinking it's the lighter variety, by the legs. Most of them have a much larger casting under the head end, same on the tail, from the few pics I've seen googling around.

It is a deal to me, comes with a lot of goodies and in my price range. May need to sell ALL her jewelry to get the covered trailer to live in though.

If it's 1300 lbs, it's going to exceed my hoist capacity, and I'll have to find another way to unload.

So, Don, it sounds like it might be lighter than a SB, speaking of heavy-duty-ness, not weight? I like the SB's because of their following and a certain charm they have, shortcomings aside. I'll mostly be playing around with it, trying to loose an eye or finger. Maybe spin a short Range Rover custom driveshaft or turn a brake rotor. Unlikely to be turning beautiful lamp bases out of 6" high carbon steel.

Sebastians like the one you are looking to buy were made by a company named ‘Stark” and are good, light weight lathes. Not fancy but will go about 1300 pounds. No double wall on the apron, just open gears. That one on C-L is price about twice it’s true value. I paid 600 bucks for mine and am doing a tear down on it right now. Think you ought to pass on this one, there are a lot better deals out there. Earl.

Don't want to be a wet blanket here, but I have to agree that this looks like a pretty light machine. Nothing wrong with that, if you understand that it's a light machine and it will do what you want to do, and the price is right. I'd check carefully to make sure the lathe isn't worn out and that the bearings are tight. Can't comment on the price, since you didn't say. That part is up to you anyway.

My big concern is that the Sebastians are associated with Sheldon. Don't mean to knock anybody's machine, but the awfulest lathe I have ever had the misfortune to own was a Sheldon - I think it was a 13" and I think it was a step pulley drive. Decent looking machine, seemed sturdy. But every time I used it something went wrong, or some design flaw showed up. Absolutely nothing about the machine impressed me. It was a clear step down from the 10" Atlas it replaced! Yes, a large part of the problem was the individual machine itself, and it's prior life in a school (my first and last school lathe, 30 years ago) but even if it were new, I don't think I'd a' liked it after owning it for a while. Odd thing is, a friend has a Sheldon shaper, and it seems to be a very well thought out and built machine. Go figure.

The best small, modern lathe (if you call 50 years old modern, vs. the South Bend design which is more like 100 years old) I personally have owned/used is the 11" Delta variable speed. Decent spindle speed range, sturdy construction, plenty of nice user-friendly features. The older ones are better, because the VS drive is controlled by a screw rather than that hokey cable arrangement the newer ones have. That's a lathe I'd shop around for!

I'm sure there are nicer lathes than the Delta in that size, I just haven't come across any. Maybe a Clausing 5900 series?

Note that Delta also made a 10" and a 14" machine. Never saw a 10", so can't say much about 'em. I was decidedly underwhelmed by the 14's, though.