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1945 South Bend 9 inch model A

vicfi

Plastic
Joined
Oct 5, 2020
Location
Bucks County
Hello, I just picked up my first lathe. It's a 9" South bend with a 4 1/2 foot bed. It's in pretty good condition I'd say. Got it for $850. Is it recommended to change all the oil wicks? If so, how hard is it to do? Thanks IMG_5974.jpg
 
Is it recommended to change all the oil wicks? If so, how hard is it to do? Thanks

Some guys run what they have, some will tear it down to ensure its clean and right.

Nearly everything I buy is wrecked, so I usually tear down, :D

All the wicks is a project. You'll be tearing the machine down into a million pieces if you do. I'd recommend atleast lifting the spindle and making sure that's right. And dump and change oil in apron.

Other questions you can ask yourself. How clean is the machine. What does the oil look like in apron. Does everything roll and move nice by hand. etc. Depending on those answers I might go further or less.
 
Thankfully you didnt buy a wreck like an idiot. The machine looks good!
Often, automotive oil is mistakenly used, and it waxes up the wicks, It has been awhile, but there are wick kits, to restore proper oiling.
The machine is very easy to work on, wicks not hard to replace.
No, you dont have to talk to yourself, like idiots do, folks love these machines and are always there to help
 
I highly recommend Steve Brooks' "A Guide to Renovating the South Bend Lathe" book and his felt kit. Disassemble it and replace all the wicks. You won't be sorry you did.
 
If you don't know the history of the machine- the last time it was torn down- you should get the "kit" with the manual and wicks and do it "right".

In the process you'll learn how utterly simple and reliable they are- and whether any parts, gears, etc. need replacing.

South Bend recommended tear downs every 7-10 years. The wicks get hard, and stop doing their job which can result in major damage- esp the spindle. If you don't care about longevity, just oil and run it, get what you can out of it.
 
This is my 1946 9" Model A, and has been in the family since before I was born.
Has been completely rebuilt with new wicks, etc. I also just purchased a set of the
fwd/reverse idler gears that have roller bearings, though haven't installed them.
You won't be disappointed if you rebuild the machine.

PMc

View attachment 301820 View attachment 301817
 
I highly recommend Steve Brooks' "A Guide to Renovating the South Bend Lathe" book and his felt kit. Disassemble it and replace all the wicks. You won't be sorry you did.

I have a 9" Model B, I'm the second owner. I've had it about 45 or 50 years, can't remember exactly (showing my age:D.) Made during the WW2 period (has the "War Production Tag). Nothing has been done to it AT ALL over the years. Thinking about at least replacing the headstock wicks. Is it really as easy to do as the Ilion book indicates? Just loosen the headstock bolts, NO messing with the shims, remove spindle, replace wicks, replace spindle. Done. Easy/Peasy, right:D??

I KNOW I should probably tear the whole lathe down:o, and replace ALL the wicks. For now though, just nervous about the headstock wicks being SO old (75 yrs?). The lathe runs perfectly, NO problems at all. It's VERY low mileage on it, for sure. The leather belt just MAY be original. I certainly never changed it! Kept well-oiled, used VERY infrequently on small projects every now and then. Any advice/comments welcome...
 
Well, personally speaking, it would bother the HELL outta me that a critical piece was not getting wick oil
after 50 years of service just because I didn't want to go to the trouble of dismantling the machine.
You and your machine should be as one, and it deserves regular maintenance, otherwise why do you have it?
You have no idea what abuse the first owner put it through.
Rebuild it all. My 2 cents!

PMc

View attachment 301944
 
Just loosen the headstock bolts, NO messing with the shims, remove spindle, replace wicks, replace spindle. Done. Easy/Peasy, right:D??

You can check it prior to disassemble. All you need is a prybar, or a very large screw driver, and a dial indicator on a mag base.

Put pointer of indicator on chuck face. Use pry bar to move spindle back and forth. What's the number on indicator ?

Then stick mag base on the bearing cap closest to chuck. Pointer on top of chuck at 12 oclock. lift spindle up and down with prybar. What's the number ?

Take it apart, clean, change oil and felts for spindle. Put all the pieces back where they came from. Run the same checks.

It not hard, even if you want to change shims. If you are unsure the clearance or tolerances, ask here.
 
Well, personally speaking, it would bother the HELL outta me that a critical piece was not getting wick oil
after 50 years of service just because I didn't want to go to the trouble of dismantling the machine.

You and your machine should be as one, and it deserves regular maintenance, otherwise why do you have it?
You have no idea what abuse the first owner put it through.
Rebuild it all. My 2 cents!

PMc

Ouch, that's pretty harsh. I'm fairly sure the original owner (retired Goodyear engineer, I'm sure he's "gone" now, God rest his soul) took excellent care of the lathe, you could pretty much make this assessment by just LOOKING at it. "Frosting" was still on the ways ALL the way to the chuck at the time I purchased it. That's not always the case, I know, and first impressions can be deceiving, but this gentleman did not impress me as someone that would abuse ANY equipment. The lathe was just too clean and original. I can still remember, as a "20something" yr old "youngster" when I first saw it, my thoughts were I HAVE TO LEAVE HERE WITH THIS LATHE. I'll NEVER find a used one this nice. Accessories out the kazoo with it. Also, the price was VERY reasonable. I can remember asking the gentleman "are you SURE this is the price you want for the lathe"? I can say with certainty, even after all these years, those were my exact words.

After perhaps 50 years of me using it for a few projects off and on, the frosting is STILL there, but it is becoming faint in perhaps the first six inches of the ways near the chuck. It's still visible, though, so apparently I have not used it much in all those years. There's maybe .005" to .007" backlash on the compound/crossfeed dials right now, VERY little when I purchased it. The spindle oil cups DO lose oil, pretty sure the spindle is getting at least SOME oil/lubrication. Spindle rotation is VERY smooth, however, it does seem to offer some SLIGHT resistance in reverse when turning it by "hand". VERY slight, as compared to normal forward rotation. Not sure if that is normal or not?

OK--enough story telling, I just thought the "backstory" on the lathe would perhaps be of interest to some of the SB brethren. Bottom line--I do want to replace the headstock felts, as I know those are the most important and essential to the spindle lubrication. And yes, Mcload, it DOES bother me. That's why I'm asking about it. If I really thought the spindle was not receiving any oil AT ALL, I would have done this long ago. As I mentioned, the spindle oil cups ARE losing oil when the spindle is turning, so it's going SOMEWHERE, I assume into the spindle bearings? (I hope:D) I do plan to pull the spindle and changeout the wicks soon, I just need to order the wicks and set aside time to it. I work pretty slow, you see, and I have an elderly Mom (90's) that requires looking after every morning. She's still going, and still on her "own", but not doing so well... Taking care of her, whatever she needs, has been pretty much my "day" job (well, at least half of my day;)) in recent years.
 
QuickChange:

Perhaps I could have chosen my words more carefully, but it was not my intention to
sound harsh. I'm sorry if you took it that way. I was just stating an opinion as you requested.

PMc

PS: I actually thought I was replying to "VicFi" who started this thread, but I guess my
opinion applied to you as well. I'm not saying you need to start the project immediately,
just eventually. I don't have "a dog in this hunt" and it is your machine to do with as you see
fit. I really don't care one way or the other.
 
Wicks do become "clogged" which greatly reduces their ability to move the oil. South Bend used to recommend a total wick change every 10-15 years.

To gauge for yourself the difficulty of changing the wicks, get the manual that Yan Wo recommended above. It is offered by Ilion Industries on ebay. They offer the book alone, or the book plus a complete replacement wick set. This book should be considered the manual for your lathe.
 
quickchange:

Perhaps i could have chosen my words more carefully, but it was not my intention to
sound harsh. I'm sorry if you took it that way. I was just stating an opinion as you requested.

Pmc

ps: I actually thought i was replying to "vicfi" who started this thread, but i guess my
opinion applied to you as well. I'm not saying you need to start the project immediately,
just eventually. I don't have "a dog in this hunt" and it is your machine to do with as you see
fit. i really don't care one way or the other.



Geez Mcload, I thought I had mentioned something about being a bit harsh:D Perhaps maybe you could lighten up just a tad. You just HAD to put that last little caveat in there, didn't ya??:D It's all good, message received loud and clear: GET THOSE HEADSTOCK WICKS CHANGED, DADGUMMIT!! I will be workin' on it... Thanks to you and others that offered advice on this. I should have taken care of this LONG ago, I have NO excuses:o
 
update: I've slowly started getting it useable. Ordered a dorian qctp. I got lucky, my local metal shop has cheap naval brass. It's only cheap since they aren't 100% sure what it is so they can't sell it to any companies. I replaced the drum switch since it was partially broken and wiring. It's looking like I will be rebuilding it soon. Ordered the serial card from south bend. Lathe was built in 1946 for a ww2 vet. I can't seem to find what he did for a living after the war though.
 








 
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