What's new
What's new

Sidney Lathes

Cal Haines

Diamond
Joined
Sep 19, 2002
Location
Tucson, AZ
Despite all my years here, I somehow missed out on the fact that the Sidney Machine Tool Company existed. They were located in Sidney, Ohio and a competitor of Monarch's.

There's a member in the Heavy Iron forum that's restoring one: https://www.practicalmachinist.com/...a-heavy-iron/1943-sidney-16x54-refurb-371306/

Here are a couple of threads that discuss the company:
Cal
---
 
Sidney was the older brother to Monarch where they shared staff when Monarch got started in 1909. After WW1 Monarch shifted to high end lathe development which Sidney choose not to do. It is interesting that for such a small town (10K to 15K) in the early 1900's was home to two well respected Lathe builders.
 
Off an ebay ad some years back.
 

Attachments

  • Sidney 4.jpg
    Sidney 4.jpg
    96.8 KB · Views: 165
  • Sidney  ebay $7000 1.jpg
    Sidney ebay $7000 1.jpg
    92.4 KB · Views: 146
  • Sidney 6.jpg
    Sidney 6.jpg
    93.7 KB · Views: 127
  • Sidney 8.jpg
    Sidney 8.jpg
    90.9 KB · Views: 130
  • Sidney 5.jpg
    Sidney 5.jpg
    92.1 KB · Views: 129
My Sidney, with my Monarch behind.
IMG_0512.jpg

Both amazing machines. Wish the Sidney had a quick tailstock clamp like the monarch......
 
There is a connection between the SB 1307 and the Sidney.
A few more pics of the Sidney
 

Attachments

  • SB 13071.jpg
    SB 13071.jpg
    53 KB · Views: 85
  • Sidney 2.jpg
    Sidney 2.jpg
    90.3 KB · Views: 91
  • Sidney 3.jpg
    Sidney 3.jpg
    92.4 KB · Views: 97
  • Sidney 9.jpg
    Sidney 9.jpg
    93.2 KB · Views: 113
  • Sidney 7.jpg
    Sidney 7.jpg
    91.6 KB · Views: 86
That tool room Sidney looks badass, it bears a strong resemblance to the 13 southbend tool room lathe

There is a connection between the SB 1307 and the Sidney.
A few more pics of the Sidney

So what is the connection? Looks like a competitor to the 10EE. Several makers tried to compete w/ 10EE, but none were very successful.

I have been a South Bend 10L owner since the late 80's. And did have a 10EE for awhile. Had never seen that South Bend 1307. Wonder how that Sydney and the SB1307 compared to the 10EE?
 
So what is the connection? Looks like a competitor to the 10EE. Several makers tried to compete w/ 10EE, but none were very successful.

I have been a South Bend 10L owner since the late 80's. And did have a 10EE for awhile. Had never seen that South Bend 1307. Wonder how that Sydney and the SB1307 compared to the 10EE?


I remembered reading this

Sidney Lathes

www.lathes.co.uk/sidney
Another late-model Sidney lathe, made from the late 1950s until the early 1960s, was the 1307, this version also being sold as a South Bend. The lathe was fitted a 3-phase motor driving a DC generator that supplied the lathe's DC drive motor through a Louis Allis Select-a-Spede Drive.Full details of these later lathes can be found here.

The link continues the story

 
I remembered reading this

Sidney Lathes

www.lathes.co.uk/sidney
Another late-model Sidney lathe, made from the late 1950s until the early 1960s, was the 1307, this version also being sold as a South Bend. The lathe was fitted a 3-phase motor driving a DC generator that supplied the lathe's DC drive motor through a Louis Allis Select-a-Spede Drive.Full details of these later lathes can be found here.

The link continues the story


Made my post and did some internet searching. Apparently South Bend either bought or licensed the design from Sydney.
 
Last edited:
Made my post and dead some internet searching. Apparently South Bend either bought or licensed the design from Sydney.

See this thread: DC Motors on South Bend Lathes

In post 12 SBLatheman states the South Bend 1307 was made in South Bend. Also note in this thread that production of the SB 1307 continued for several years after Sidney ceased building lathes. SBLatheman also says the 1307 was designed by the same man who designed the 10EE (Clifford Bickel?). It remains unclear to me what the connection is between the Sidney branded lathe and the South Bend 1307. Are they in fact identical with parts being interchangeable between them? In the thread I reference SBLatheman gives 1960 as the earliest record he has of the SB 1307 with the last being made circa 1977. Did production by Sidney and by South Bend overlap in the early 1960's?

David
 
I got one here, 1950’s toolsteel way 32 speed herringbone

Very nice. That must be a lovely machine to run!

Off an ebay ad some years back.

Man, I can't imagine what that went for. I'd pay to run one of those for a day.

My Sidney, with my Monarch behind.

Both amazing machines. Wish the Sidney had a quick tailstock clamp like the monarch......

Looks at this man with all the heavy iron haha. Awesome combo. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how they compare and what you prefer what for. The triple bolt tailstocks is an annoyance undoubtedly, but it doesn't slip.
 
See this thread: DC Motors on South Bend Lathes

In post 12 SBLatheman states the South Bend 1307 was made in South Bend. Also note in this thread that production of the SB 1307 continued for several years after Sidney ceased building lathes. SBLatheman also says the 1307 was designed by the same man who designed the 10EE (Clifford Bickel?). It remains unclear to me what the connection is between the Sidney branded lathe and the South Bend 1307. Are they in fact identical with parts being interchangeable between them? In the thread I reference SBLatheman gives 1960 as the earliest record he has of the SB 1307 with the last being made circa 1977. Did production by Sidney and by South Bend overlap in the early 1960's?

David

I
t does not appear that South bend bought Sidney. They may have bought rights to build the 1307. I copied this information from a law suit where a guy hurt his hand. Identical lathe ??
It does appear to overlap.

Copied material
Sidney Machine Tool Company in 1956. The original company no longer exists, having been purchased in 1961 by the Buhr Machine Tool Company (Buhr-Sidney), and then in 1963 by Summerfeld Machine Company (Summerfeld-Sidney). Summerfeld-Sidney stopped manufacturing lathes in early 1964. The product line was discontinued and no lathe bearing the Sidney name has since been manufactured. In 1967, McFadden Machine Company (McFadden-Sidney) purchased Sommerfeld-Sidney. In April 1974, 10 years after the original company ceased manufacturing lathes, the Sherbondys acquired some of the McFadden-Sidney assets from Paul and Goldie McFadden for $90,000. The assets purchased consisted of various drawings, specifications, parts and patterns necessary to produce parts for the old Sidney lathes. Excluded from the sale were machine tools, production equipment, and raw materials. The business name "Sidney machine Tool Company" was carried on as a proprietorship by the Sherbondys, who have operated the business solely [190 Cal. App. 3d 1550] as a proprietorship since then.
 








 
Back
Top