11" swing, 5 ft bed, Catalog No. 164-B South Bend Lathe

I recently acquired the title lathe. Could someone please direct me to more information about it, or have any additional data? QC gearbox, motor in pedestal, flat belt drive. Another tag on it says "The A. Benson Company, Inc., Machinery and Mill Supplies, Baltimore, Maryland". I can provide some pictures of the tags, but will have to take some of the equipment later. Thanks. zuhnc

Try this link
The SBL Workshop
Sounds like the Model O I just picked up ,mine has the over head drive.

South Bend Lathe Works - Publication Reprints | VintageMachinery.org
South Bend Lathe Works - Publication Reprints - 11-Inch Series "R" Lathe // Bulletin # 11-R | VintageMachinery.org
I didn't see 164-b in 11 inch.
There are other pfd catalogs in reproduction reprints
South Bend Lathe Works - Publication Reprints - South Bend Lathes Catalog No. 1-C | VintageMachinery.org

164-B is Series N - as rare as it gets

Sort of a cadillac version of the Series O

Scan of mine - thanks to Mr. Wells for hosting

http://www.wswells.com/data/bulletin/bulletin_100/bl_100.pdf

April 1931 on the Bulletin

Instead of the "knob with star" for selecting between long, cross and neutral feeds as in the Series O, you have a push - pull knob

Other tasty items are the hard spindle and double wall apron - neither of which ever appeared on Series O

I do, in fact, have the "star" knob. I have narrowed it down to a Series N, but, in searching all the links provided above, have not discovered a 164-B catalog number. However, in looking at the PDF referenced in post #4, there is a 164-B, and all the illustrations correspond with what I have. Thanks for providing the link. I have discovered I have downloaded the document, but overlooked the catalog number. I have three buckets/boxes of accessories and tooling, but have not had a chance to look through them. What type of parts are available? The QC gearbox plate indicates "longitudinal feed 4 times......" Single phase motor, someone has added a magnetic contactor on the back of the motor pedestal, with "start-stop" push buttons above the "forward/reverse" drum switch. I have three other projects in front of cleaning and inspecting this, so it will be a while before I can use it. It was acquired from a machine shop, that used it on a regular basis, so was operational when recently removed. I will get some pictures and post here, over the weekend. Thanks all for the referenced information. zuhnc

Excellent score! IMO the N series is better than the later ones...more convenient to operate and the cross feed roughly equals the long feed.

edited due to my not seeing Mr. Oder's link

No 164-B on page 19

Thumbnail is N Series apron - no "knob with star" - it was replaced by the in-out plunger

iwananew10K said:

Mr. Wells has you covered...see pg 19 here....

http://www.wswells.com/data/catalog/1934_cat_94/1934_cat_94.pdf

Excellent score! IMO the N series is better than the later ones...more convenient to operate and the cross feed roughly equals the long feed.

Click to expand...

Oops, I did not see your link John...previous post edited...I do wish they would have kept that apron and the t slots for later models...one of my pet peeves was that darn reduction for the cross feed rate...

If it was in recent use the oiling wicks should be working if the kept up with it. I would check it all out and make sure oil is flowing to the right places. It sounds like you will be on top of everything. There are some utube videos on rebuilding the apron and replacing the wicks. Even your experienced it gives you a heads up on what your getting into.
You may just need to clean it all up and lubricate. There are replacement wick kits for sale on ebay for about $100.00
Mechanically they are not very complicated to go through to assure something isn't getting ate up.
Between this forum P.M., Steve wells website and the Vintage machinery[ reproduction reprints] and website. There isn't much that you cant find an answer to.
iwananew10k and Johnoder are two of the pro's.
Steve wells is great and latheman and Technical Ted are also there when needed
Many others that are here.
There are many others. I shouldn't have started a list and left out others.

Look up thomasutly 16' rebuild thread. its good reading

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...south-bend-16-x-60-lathe-resurrection-299300/
A 16" is not a 11" but a lot of it pertains to your lathe

I am no pro!
I am however an exceedingly fun guy.

Thanks for all the information and insight. This lathe was in use up until the last few months. A machinist had his own shop, but decided to quit the business; in talking to him he has been a machinist for about 60 years or so. He says time to quit! It is quite dirty, but on initial inspection everything operates smoothly. I have not got it connected to power, so can't determine if the motor and electrics work properly; I am sure they do. Some tooling, two three-jaw chucks, one 4-jaw chuck, a couple of face plates, a few dead centers and one live center, tool holders, internal boring bars and holders, a turret, steady rest, and a bunch of taper adaptors and drill chucks, among other things. Some of the taper adaptors look like they have been in water for quite a while and are badly rusted; probably not usable with any expectation of accuracy. It will certainly be a change from my current 3" mini-lathe. The apron has both the star wheel for the clutch, as well as the in/out plunger for the two feeds. Wipers are badly deteriorated. As mentioned previously, this project is fourth in line, so will be a while before I start cleaning and examining in detail. Rest assured I will be trying to soak up some knowledge from this forum. Thanks to all for the links. zuhnc

Hi There! I also have a southbend lathe with L.A. Benson Company, Inc tag on it. Do you have any pictures of yours?

Thanks,
Jack - Baltimore, MD.

I also have a 1921 vintage 11" X 36" South Bend lathe and I need a tailstock for it.
I will gladly trade the Clausing? tailstock that came with it.
Mark

Since my last visit here I have moved to Macks Creek, MO. The Lathe was disassembled for moving. I did disassemble and clean up a lot of the parts prior to the move.
I have, within the last 6 months, finished cleaning all the parts and spraying with primer. I reassembled everything, replacing all the felts, oilers, etc., that needed replacement. The motor is DOA, and no one has any information for rewinding it. Westinghouse Model CU, 1/2 HP. I have since installed a 1140 RPM, more modern, capacitor start, reversible, motor on it. Waiting on a motor drive belt.
I find the contactor and disconnect box were added, I think, by the end-user, a school, I believe. I cannot say this is true, however; it may have been factory installed for the customer.
I have not done any accuracy testing, other than ensuring the spindle play is correct.
I will post pictures in a week or two. zuhnc