South Bend Lathe 480-YN

nymfan87 · Feb 28, 2020

Hi All,

This lathe was left in the garage of the house I bought last year. South Bend Lathe 9" x 36" 480-YN.

What do you guys think based off the pictures as far as the quality it is in?

Thanks

johnoder · Feb 28, 2020

Series N - rare as hen's teeth - 2 TPI on QC gear box says early to mid thirties

Mr. Wells has my pair of brochures/catalogs for Series N on his web page

The SBL Workshop

ph

SLK001 · Feb 28, 2020

nymfan87 said:
What do you guys think based off the pictures as far as the quality it is in?

Pictures from across the room give us nothing to make a determination of the state the machine is in.

iwananew10K · Feb 28, 2020

that thing looks great.
make sure you keep those accesories with it....they are specific to the model.

N series 9"s are very scarce....3rd one ive seen and never in person...seen larger N series but not the 9"

please dont paint it.

SLK001 · Feb 28, 2020

iwananew10K said:
...please dont paint it.

What's the matter with a new coat of paint? Are you in to the "rusty rust belt" look?

iwananew10K · Feb 28, 2020

absolutely.

Dobermann · Feb 29, 2020

Assuming that the thing is functional, you really fell into a bargain there!!

And it's not the "rusty rust belt" look, it's the look of vintage machinery that was meant to do something useful. Un-painted vintage machinery is honest. I can find any number of machines with new and shiny paint that are functional wrecks, not capable of doing much beside make a nice humming noise. Besides, cutting fluids and hot chips will ruin a new paint job in short order.

Clean it up and use it!

mcload · Feb 29, 2020

Well then I guess I should stop painting mine:-)

For a newbie like me, what's special about an "N" series?

Actually, I think it looks good in its raw surroundings.
I'd lube it up and spray it down tho...then cover it.
Maybe hang a good floodlight over it too.

PMc

SLK001 · Feb 29, 2020

Dobermann said:
Un-painted vintage machinery is honest.

If so, then almost all "vintage machinery" was dishonest. They were factory painted to keep rust at bay from cast iron and steel parts. By your definition, even this gem was dishonest from the beginning.

Sure, usage and time will degrade a paint job. When it does, just take the time to touch up the areas that have degraded.

iwananew10K · Feb 29, 2020

the N series is the first of the double wall apron designs for SB

instead of the 3 postition selector apron it utilizes a push/pull knob to switch between long and cross feeds.

IMO it is a better design concept...not only is it easier to sslect feeds the apron gearing maintains approx the same feed rate for both long and cross.

what that means is turn a part to size...switch and face or part off at a much more suitable SFM than the major reduction of the later apron going from long to cross feeds.

for most work you dont have to adjust the feed rate at the gearbox to part/face after turning....of course on larger diameter stuff its a null point...but these thing are mostly for smaller work anyway.

also note the cross slide is in the middle of the saddle...good for stability.
although can make reaching work up close to the spindle a bit of a challenge sometimes...but again...not an issue with the typical Armstrong type tool holders of the day.

BTW- 99% sure that is an original SB bench too...as i was saying it looks great...fine example of a N series 9"

mcload · Feb 29, 2020

Interesting....Thanks for the explanation.

PMc

k3vyl · Feb 29, 2020

Very nice machine.That has a heavier bed than the later 9" machines.Im also a fan of the single tumbler gearbox.It has separate oilers for every bearing on the older version.Give it a bath in kerosene with a stiff brush and you will see whats left of the paint clean up.Smear 30 wt oil on it with a rag and it wont accumulate rust.Paint is just polymerized oil.

mcload · Feb 29, 2020

The engineers that designed the aprons, GB's, and switchable power selections back then were brilliant!
And without computer modeling I might add.

PMc

SLK001 · Feb 29, 2020

iwananew10K said:
BTW- 99% sure that is an original SB bench too...as i was saying it looks great...fine example of a N series 9"

Weren't those just plans for building a sturdy bench provided to a lathe purchaser? Or, was it provided as a kit? My first lathe was one my grandfather bought in 1934 (a 9" Workshop) and it had a bench a lot like this one. I thought that he built it from plans provided by SB. I believe that I have even seen the plans for it.

iwananew10K · Mar 1, 2020

IIRC you could either purchase a pre made kit or just the plans.

QuickChange · Mar 1, 2020

SLK001 said:
If so, then almost all "vintage machinery" was dishonest. They were factory painted to keep rust at bay from cast iron and steel parts. By your definition, even this gem was dishonest from the beginning.

Sure, usage and time will degrade a paint job. When it does, just take the time to touch up the areas that have degraded.

SLK---Dayum, that's some pretty harsh words in your post, and also in #3 and #5. Lighten UP a bit!

Iwanna and others are just saying it's nice to keep that period "patina" intact. That's all... Geez...

nymfan87 · Mar 5, 2020

Thanks for all the input guys! What do you think the value of this machine is?

TDegenhart · Mar 5, 2020

The whole idea of not painting is that you can see where the wear is, how well it has been taken care off and damage that gets hidden by paint. Another reason is that unless taken apart and carefully cleaned, masked and sprayed, the typical repaint just looks bad. Paint where it should not be and lack of paint where it should be. The type of paint and how applied is also important. Most repaints just do not hold up as well as the original and after a while wear off, peel off or attacked by coolants and oils. If colors are changed they just look bad when that happens.

Tom

iwananew10K · Mar 5, 2020

value is very dependent.
if it were mine in my area, and it was mechanically in good shape with its original accessories intact i would ask maybe 1500 and see where i landed from there.

pavt · Mar 5, 2020

In my area (Buffalo NY) I could see a solid 1500 for it as-is, with everything shown. Too bad I don't have 1500 .

South Bend Lathe 480-YN

Plastic

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Diamond

Hot Rolled

Hot Rolled

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Diamond

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Hot Rolled

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