Ancient Southbend 13" lathe need a little help !

Lk4z-slc · Apr 8, 2019

So ill start off by saying i know little about lathes, i wanted to teach myself how to run a lathe and bought a nice condition older sb locally. Ill be restoring the entire machine here shortly. Backlash is kinda excessive on the crossfeed which i can repair, but everything else is in awesome shape, bearings are tight, gears perfect etc.. im going to disassemble clean and repaint and possibly replace bearings etc. If avail. from what i gathered by the serial # its a 1922-23? It has powerfeed etc. One of my main questions: are parts available for this machine (bearings etc.) And where can i find a set of change gears for threading both metric and in.? It came with nothing. I got it for $900 and like i said it runs smooth and was well taken care of. Also im not sure exactly whay model it is, definitely similar to the 192x lathes i looked up prior to quick change gearing. Any help would really be appreciated!!

suntrust open near me

Lk4z-slc · Apr 8, 2019

The serial # is 28676. Cast into the center of the machine is what looks like 8. 17. 22

johnoder · Apr 8, 2019

Series 0 - last made over 80 years ago

Usually no parts - unless of course from identical donor machine

Gears are most usually not "found" - they are made as needed

Here is a 1923 catalog

http://www.wswells.com/data/catalog/79JR/cat_79jr.pdf

Rudd · Apr 8, 2019

You aren't going to find bearings. Please know what you are doing before you attempt to remove the spindle caps or you will bugger up the ones you have. Very common mistake.
If you will get a copy of How to Run A Lathe (HTRAL ) by Southbend it will walk you through how to see if the bearings need adjusting, and if they do, how to adjust them.

johnoder · Apr 8, 2019

Here is the HTRAL from 1927

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/1617/5795.pdf

All the Series O had hefty thick walled bronze spindle bearings

Lk4z-slc · Apr 8, 2019

Im not servicing anything until i have a good idea how to properly disassemble and reassemble. Thank you for the info, much appreciated. The spindle is nice and tight so ill prob leave it as is. The crossfeed needs a little love but thats easy. So im pretty much sol for threading with this machine without finding gears id assume. Maybe i can fab up a qc gearbox to work but i dont want to dump a ton of $ in it if its not worth doing. Most of its purpose will be for bushings etc. But id like capability to thread as well. Kinda went blind on this one but itll be a good machine to learn basics on

SBLatheman · Apr 8, 2019

Lk4z-slc said:
Im not servicing anything until i have a good idea how to properly disassemble and reassemble. Thank you for the info, much appreciated. The spindle is nice and tight so ill prob leave it as is. The crossfeed needs a little love but thats easy. So im pretty much sol for threading with this machine without finding gears id assume. Maybe i can fab up a qc gearbox to work but i dont want to dump a ton of $ in it if its not worth doing. Most of its purpose will be for bushings etc. But id like capability to thread as well. Kinda went blind on this one but itll be a good machine to learn basics on

Figure out the pitch and which gears you need, with the width and hole size, and make a list.
I have a lot of old change gears :scratchchin:

Ted
[email protected]

Lk4z-slc · Apr 8, 2019

Ill measure them up. Id like to do metric and inch really in all different sizes if possible.

kitno455 · Apr 8, 2019

Do not attempt to restore this lathe. It looks perfect now, and its only original once. All it needs is oil, electricity, and someone to run it. You'll do more harm than good when you tear into it.

allan

Lk4z-slc · Apr 8, 2019

Ill probably just degrease and paint it being that parts are a rarity. I own a body and fab shop, we do this stuff all the time, Like i said, not going to disassemble anything major unless i have proper specs and procedure, otherwise yes itll be a nightmare and i dont plan to render a good machine useless.

jim rozen · Apr 9, 2019

"All the Series O had hefty thick walled bronze spindle bearings"

These pre-date the shell bearing with expander design, correct? They will
be less fussy to diassemble and shim for clearance if this should ever be
needed.

Machine is in amazingly nice condition of the photos are accurate.

Where in NY state is it located?

Lk4z-slc · Apr 9, 2019

Photos are accurate took them last night. Located in hudson valley ny.

jim rozen · Apr 9, 2019

Lk4z-slc said:
Photos are accurate took them last night. Located in hudson valley ny.

That covers a lot of ground. I'm in peekskill.

k3vyl · Apr 11, 2019

Just do the spindle bearing test to see if the spindle is OK. That machine looks like a specimen.Appears to be original paint even.You said you are a body man,but this is something not to paint.As kitno said just run it.

k3vyl · Apr 14, 2019

The bearing test is in the SBL booklet "keeping your lathe in trim" that can be found in the stickeys of this forum.You will need a dial indicator.

moonlight machine · Apr 15, 2019

Lk4z-slc said:
So ill start off by saying i know little about lathes, i wanted to teach myself how to run a lathe and bought a nice condition older sb locally. Ill be restoring the entire machine here shortly. Backlash is kinda excessive on the crossfeed which i can repair, but everything else is in awesome shape, bearings are tight, gears perfect etc.. im going to disassemble clean and repaint and possibly replace bearings etc. If avail. from what i gathered by the serial # its a 1922-23? It has powerfeed etc. One of my main questions: are parts available for this machine (bearings etc.) And where can i find a set of change gears for threading both metric and in.? It came with nothing. I got it for $900 and like i said it runs smooth and was well taken care of. Also im not sure exactly whay model it is, definitely similar to the 192x lathes i looked up prior to quick change gearing. Any help would really be appreciated!!

suntrust open near me

Get that chuck key out of the chuck, it should only be in the chuck if it is also in your hand. What is the obsession with paint? It looks fine, leave it alone and make some chips. Paint does not make a lathe more accurate.

packrat2 · Apr 15, 2019

Is that metal work on the back some kind of home made motor mount? Can you post a photo of the back of the lathe.

k3vyl · Apr 16, 2019

What Moonlight said about the key is one of the first lessons in lathe work, or drill press operating for that matter. Anyone who uses these old machines and sees a key in a Chuck will react. In a modern machine shop everything is covered up with interlocked guards that won’t let you start the machine with the key in it.
What I really got on here for was to say I would also like to see the drive unit on the back of that machine. I built one for an old Reed lathe (pre 1900). It worked fine,but the one you have there appears to be box channel. A step above what I did.

Trevinos-Fowl · May 25, 2019

SBLatheman said:
Figure out the pitch and which gears you need, with the width and hole size, and make a list.
I have a lot of old change gears
Ted
[email protected]

Nice, Thanks for that SBLatheman i might post a certain change gear to see if you might have something in that box like a 14DP 14.5PA. Thanks again

n2zon · May 25, 2019

Lk4z-slc said:
Ill measure them up. Id like to do metric and inch really in all different sizes if possible.

Everything is possible (except, perhaps, skiing through a revolving door). But you will need a stack of change gears, and they all cost something. The 127t/50t set for metric threading is relatively rare and expensive, for example. It's possible that threading dies in the needed sizes and the small number of die holders needed for the tailstock will be less expensive than a full set of change gears. Just something to think about. Also, for different feed rates, you need different gears. Every time you change them you have to set the backlash. Hand feeding (or a gearbox!) will start to look very attractive after the third or fourth time unless you set up the machine to make a number of identical parts for something.

All that said, the SB13 is a capable basic machine. It's a *lot* more lathe than I started with. I had one for years, but just sold it (I'm upgrading). If it's reasonably tight and not too worn, you can make a lot of chips with it and get accurate parts. My suggestion is to use it as-is and get to know it before you decide what to add. That'll take a while, and you'll have a better basis for determining what you really want next.

Ancient Southbend 13" lathe need a little help !

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