I have been trying to date my South Bend lathe based on it's serial number of 32675N. Based
up on the serial number I have determined it was made around 1926 but the people at South Bend have indicated it was made in 1953. This is their response to me:
The earliest records show that lathes were numbered sequentially, beginning with 700, in July, 1910 and ending with 186,514 in March 1947. After March, 1947 a new Serial Number system that included letters at the end of serial numbers was enacted. This allowed the user or parts technician to determine the order the machine was manufactured in relation to its size and some of the specs of the machine- without having to refer to the serial card. The serial number you provided has the letter “N” at the end which means the machine was manufactured after 1947. It is possible the lathe may not have the original bed ways
What is the consenus here?
Tom
up on the serial number I have determined it was made around 1926 but the people at South Bend have indicated it was made in 1953. This is their response to me:
The earliest records show that lathes were numbered sequentially, beginning with 700, in July, 1910 and ending with 186,514 in March 1947. After March, 1947 a new Serial Number system that included letters at the end of serial numbers was enacted. This allowed the user or parts technician to determine the order the machine was manufactured in relation to its size and some of the specs of the machine- without having to refer to the serial card. The serial number you provided has the letter “N” at the end which means the machine was manufactured after 1947. It is possible the lathe may not have the original bed ways
What is the consenus here?
Tom
