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Mid to late '30s South Bend 13" (series s?)

ASP1227

Plastic
Joined
Nov 15, 2020
I've got this lathe that's been sitting in our barn for years. Been trying to get it going but am a little lost. This is my first lathe, I've run some lathes before in school and stuff but nothing this old. I dont really know what model it is, I'm guessing it's a series S, just based on pics I have seen online. I have some tooling for it and some tools, but no extra gears. I dont know if its worth getting it running or if its too far gone. I would like to save it, it looks pretty clean, everything spins and can turn by hand. Working on trying to get some pictures uploaded, any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
 
Here is a link to some old photos. Couldn't upload from my phone for some reason so had to look through my computer for these. Since these where taken I've cleaned and oiled the lathe as per a lube diagram I found online.Lathe stuff - Google Photos
 
I was using my phone initially but have switched to my computer. For some reason my computer doesn't save in a supported file format so I just uploaded a link to a folder with all the pictures I have of the lathe
 
Boy she is an oldie. That dust accumulation supports your statement about it sitting for some time! At a glance she looks good. What do you need help with, A parts diagram?

How’s the ways look, Any ridges On them?
 
That is not a series S machine. They do not have top oilers, or T slots in the saddle wings. Its an oldie, as someone already said. More like 20s than 30s.
 
Boy she is an oldie. That dust accumulation supports your statement about it sitting for some time! At a glance she looks good. What do you need help with, A parts diagram?

How’s the ways look, Any ridges On them?

Yep shes an old one. Well its a lot of small things that Im not too sure about. For starts, the backgear mechanism seems to be a little touchy. Initially the knob that engages/disengages the spindle for the backgears to work was actually not moving. I put some oil in where ever I could and finally got it to move and engage/disengage the spindle. It worked great when moving everything by hand but after a few minutes the knob started popping out and engaging the spindle and freezing up the lathe when the backgears where engaged. It still spins fine when the backgears arent engaged but id like that to work as Im guessing I'll need that should I want to cut some sort of threads for a bolt or something.

The next thing, and probably the bigger question, is what exaclty do I have here? I know its a South Bend and that its a 13", but other than that its a mystery. I tried to locate the serial on the inside of the bed but theres this red clay/wax/plaster caked on the inside and I dont really know what it is or why its there. I found an old sales brochure online from the mid '30s and saw that it looked a lot like a Series S Precision Lathe but I'm not too sure because Ive also seen Model A lathes that look like it too.

Also, it seems that most of the indicators that tell you how many thousandths you are moving both axises are either missing or worn, so I cant really see how much Im machining. Is there a way to replace those and is there some sort of procedure to make sure they're accurate?

The last thing for now is some of the tooling that came with the lathe, specifically the boring bar, or at least what I think is the boring bar. It resembles what I've seen online that could be a boring bar and seems to be all there except that it doesn't have the actual tips installed that you use to actually cut the metal. I don't really recall seeing any sort of way to hold a tip in there and was wondering how exactly that worked?

I know it seems like a lot questions and some of them are probably dumb but Id really appreciate the help. I'd love to get this thing back up and running again. I've been around it since I was a little kid and its always been something I've wanted to learn and use. Now its gotten to the point where a lot of my work, specifically the custom side of fabrication, needs me to get some sort of lathe as I cant afford to keep sending work out. Thank you.
 
its an O series.

is there a catalog number on the end gear cover?

suspect its a model 65...OR a model 35 (335 with the overhead drive)...assuming it is in fact a 13"
 
I'd say that your pretty darn lucky to get a machine of that age that still has both set's of jaws for the chuck . Did South Bend make a attachment for the T-slots on the saddle ? I've noticed them on some of the older lathes
animal
 
Indeed - apron shouts that at us

"Larnin" from '28

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

Have fun

See if the serial is legible - will be simply five digits in this location

View attachment 304821

Thank you for the link to that manual, that was extremely helpful. I found a serial number, its only 4 digits and reads 8238. Im guessing this is before the new numbering system with the letter and stuff? My next step with the lathe is getting the motor/gearbox assembly hung and having a belt made. I saw in the manual that it is hung from the ceiling of your shop. Anyone seen anything like a stand or something for this assembly or does it absolutely have to hang from the ceiling? Thank you.
 








 
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