I'm working on a 1940 model 9A Workshop Lathe. It does not have a lubrication plate on it and has no holes where the lube plate might have been attached. The only plate on the end gear cover is a small distributor plate. Did South Bend ship lathes without lubrication plates? If any one has a lathe of the same vintage I would like to see which version of lubrication plate is on it. There's also two mystery holes in the tailstock end foot. (photo attached, rotated) These two holes are larger than holes normally used to attach plates. I'm not sure what might have been attached here. The plates that are on the lathe are the gearbox plate, the South Bend plate on the bed, and the distributor plate.
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1940 9A Missing Plates
- Thread starter jkull
- Start date
- Replies 13
- Views 1,940
iwananew10K
Diamond
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2010
- Location
- moscow,ohio
mine didn't have a lubrication plate.
RustySparks
Aluminum
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2005
- Location
- Atlanta GA
My 9A Workshop, "War Production Board" SN around 1942, has no lubrication plate.
Thanks for the replies. All of the South Bend lathes that I've seen (not too many) all had a lubrication plate, usually on the end gear cover. I'm still trying to find out what should be where the two holes are in the tailstock end foot. I haven't seen any photos of South Bend lathes that had anything there. Lathes with leveling screws had a round plate, but this lathe doesn't have leveling screws.
That looks similar to mine, but your lathe doesn't have the two holes in the tailstock end foot. I'm not sure what plate or attachment uses those two holes. Your photo doesn't show if there's a lubrication plate on the gear cover.
hsracer201
Hot Rolled
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2015
It could be those holes were from a distributor tag and not from the factory.
I doubt that the distributor would put two plates on the lathe. There's a distributor plate on the end gear cover.
iwananew10K
Diamond
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2010
- Location
- moscow,ohio
Does the bed have DOD markings? Likely the holes were for identification tags and someone kept them for souvenirs.
No DOD markings. Haven't seen a plate in this location on other lathes.
mcruff
Stainless
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2004
- Location
- Albertville, Alabama
Mine is a 1942 war production lathe, mine has the lube chart and the gear change plate on the gear cover and a war production board tag on the bed about 4” from the right end in the side of the bed. My lathe has no frosting on the ways and was scraped roughly compared to ones before or after the war.
mcruff
Stainless
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2004
- Location
- Albertville, Alabama
Here it what was original to my 1942 Model B.
Thanks for the photo. It looks like that would be appropriate for a 1940 lathe too. I think I'll make a plate like that for my lathe unless someone comes up with something different on a 1940 lathe.
