Hello everyone, my name is Jake and this is my first post here. Thanks for all the great contributions that make this such a great community!
I have been hunting for a lathe for the last year or so. My aspirations have shifted and grown during the hunt from the initial import mini lathe to an older SB 9C, or a Logan/Atlas. Then, thinking power cross feed would be pretty cool, I looked more at the 9A/9B and various other contenders. After getting annoyed by the consistent high prices for these types of lathes in the Pacific Northwest, I nearly pulled the trigger on a 13 x 40 Southbend, but it just didn't feel like a solid deal.
Then I found the following ad on Thursday morning, which is literally a 15 minute drive from the mill where I work. I emailed 17 minutes after it was posted and was making a test cut on it within the next 30 minutes.
Needless to say, it's mine now.
The Good
The Bad
The Ugly
The Plan
First and foremost, is getting it to the shop. It is still tucked away in the back of the seller's shop, under power at the moment. I will post some pictures of that adventure when the time comes. He has a forklift for loading and I have access to a flatbed and forklift for loading, so it should be fairly trivial to get it home, all in one piece, though the headstock is massively heavier that anything on the tail end so rigging will be "fun".
The next step will be getting proper oilers installed on the spindle bearings. This will involve opening up the gear case, marking and pulling the spindle caps, marking and measuring the shim packs, lifting the spindle out and thoroughly cleaning out all the grease, checking the surfaces for major issues and cleaning everything up as best I can before reinstalling and checking the spindle bearing clearance with a lift test. Hopefully all is well and I can move forward with properly oiled bearings without too much trouble. I can't imagine why someone would grease these, but I don't think it would cause too much grief with a max spindle speed of 410 RPM. Hopefully it was a folly to switch to grease and not an attempt to hide sloppy bearings...
While all the above is transpiring, I'll be treating all the painted surfaces to a nice bath in Purple Power and I'll clean up all the dirty oil on the ways and get some fresh way oil in place. There was very nearly zero rust on the lathe, but I'll go over everything little by little and see what's what. I haven't even measured the swing yet, so am not entirely sure what size the lathe is yet, though the 45 speed screw cutting gearbox suggests it is no larger than an 18. I suspect it is a 14 or 16, but I'll know soon!. As I'm cleaning the ways, I'll hunt down the serial number and see if we can figure out a rough manufacture date, as well. Im guessing mid to late 30's? The double V-belt motor drive is suspect to me...
Since it is under power and working well enough as is. I plan to waste no time in putting this sucker to use. I hope to draw off of some of the expertise here to get it cleaned up and making good cuts in the near future, and I'll document as much of the process as is practicable. I'm no John Oder, but I prefer not to cut corners and enjoy doing things as properly as I can given my limited capabilities. This means documenting the state of the machine and working through the functions as designed and as found as I move along. Hopefully this little journey will be a worthwhile endeavor for me and a fascinating read to some of you. Many thanks for all I've learned about the heritage of this old girl from you folks thus far; I look forward to the journey that lies ahead.
Cheers!
- Jake
I have been hunting for a lathe for the last year or so. My aspirations have shifted and grown during the hunt from the initial import mini lathe to an older SB 9C, or a Logan/Atlas. Then, thinking power cross feed would be pretty cool, I looked more at the 9A/9B and various other contenders. After getting annoyed by the consistent high prices for these types of lathes in the Pacific Northwest, I nearly pulled the trigger on a 13 x 40 Southbend, but it just didn't feel like a solid deal.
Then I found the following ad on Thursday morning, which is literally a 15 minute drive from the mill where I work. I emailed 17 minutes after it was posted and was making a test cut on it within the next 30 minutes.
Needless to say, it's mine now.
The Good
- It runs!
- Single Phase
- Everything appears to work as it should
- It has a QCTP with a small handful of tool holders
- Power feeds work great in both directions for carriage and cross feed
- Tailstock and quill move freely
- Integrated thread dial in the carriage bridge is cool
- Gear shift and back gear control levers work great
- The gears in the gear head look like new
The Bad
- No TA
- No 4 Jaw nor Faceplate
- No Rests of any kind, Live centers, drill chucks, etc...
The Ugly
- Well, it's in a converted barn-shop, so there's that...
- Someone replaced the spindle bearing oilers with grease zerks.
- There is significant slop in the carriage traverse hand wheel.
- It's missing the thread and feed chart.
- The gear train cover has been welded once, but looks like it can be cleaned up and made respectable once more
- It's real, real dirty.
The Plan
First and foremost, is getting it to the shop. It is still tucked away in the back of the seller's shop, under power at the moment. I will post some pictures of that adventure when the time comes. He has a forklift for loading and I have access to a flatbed and forklift for loading, so it should be fairly trivial to get it home, all in one piece, though the headstock is massively heavier that anything on the tail end so rigging will be "fun".
The next step will be getting proper oilers installed on the spindle bearings. This will involve opening up the gear case, marking and pulling the spindle caps, marking and measuring the shim packs, lifting the spindle out and thoroughly cleaning out all the grease, checking the surfaces for major issues and cleaning everything up as best I can before reinstalling and checking the spindle bearing clearance with a lift test. Hopefully all is well and I can move forward with properly oiled bearings without too much trouble. I can't imagine why someone would grease these, but I don't think it would cause too much grief with a max spindle speed of 410 RPM. Hopefully it was a folly to switch to grease and not an attempt to hide sloppy bearings...
While all the above is transpiring, I'll be treating all the painted surfaces to a nice bath in Purple Power and I'll clean up all the dirty oil on the ways and get some fresh way oil in place. There was very nearly zero rust on the lathe, but I'll go over everything little by little and see what's what. I haven't even measured the swing yet, so am not entirely sure what size the lathe is yet, though the 45 speed screw cutting gearbox suggests it is no larger than an 18. I suspect it is a 14 or 16, but I'll know soon!. As I'm cleaning the ways, I'll hunt down the serial number and see if we can figure out a rough manufacture date, as well. Im guessing mid to late 30's? The double V-belt motor drive is suspect to me...
Since it is under power and working well enough as is. I plan to waste no time in putting this sucker to use. I hope to draw off of some of the expertise here to get it cleaned up and making good cuts in the near future, and I'll document as much of the process as is practicable. I'm no John Oder, but I prefer not to cut corners and enjoy doing things as properly as I can given my limited capabilities. This means documenting the state of the machine and working through the functions as designed and as found as I move along. Hopefully this little journey will be a worthwhile endeavor for me and a fascinating read to some of you. Many thanks for all I've learned about the heritage of this old girl from you folks thus far; I look forward to the journey that lies ahead.
Cheers!
- Jake
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