USNmechanic
Aluminum
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2016
I finished most of the work on this lathe that I'm sharing earlier this year, and I planned on waiting to post anything until I built a bench for it and had it installed outside in my shop. Like most things I've got going on right now, there is a long line of projects that build upon one another before I'm ready to do that, so I figured I would go ahead an share it now.
I was looking for a lathe for a while on the usual sites, and honestly didn't know much about specific brands. A posting for a 1940's South Bend Model A for $350 popped up one day, so after doing some research and finding out that they're good hobby machines and well supported, I set up a time to see it. It was a project for the previous owner, and it was already disassembled prior to me buying it. It seemed to me to be in good shape despite its looks, and many of the replacement parts were already purchased and included in the sale. I couldn't say no, and hauled everything back to my place.
This is a picture of all of the parts laid out later that evening.
Another after mocking up a couple of the parts.
At this point, it sat in my shop for about six months until that winter when I thought it would be a good project to complete down in the basement. My son was just born, and a project like this is easy to work on for 20 to 30 minutes at a time with no necessity to rush through it.
I started by stripping everything using Citristrip, then cleaning with wire brushes and steel wool until everything was removed. I decided to strip every part first before starting to paint. All painting was done using a 3/4" paint brush I "borrowed" from my wife's art supplies, and Sherwin Williams Industrial Enamel. I had planned on priming everything using the Sherwin Silliams Kem Kromik primer, but the fumes were too much for the basement, and it dried to quickly to get an even coat. I had read up on several of the rebuilds before, and many said they were successful skipping the primer. I can say that so far the finish seems extremely durable, and I'm very happy with the paint. Every part got two coats. I also purchased some more parts like the drum switch and mount, as well as the 10 in 1 tool holder.
I don't know if this will every be quite finished as I would like to eventually rescrape everything, but this is how it currently sits in the basement waiting for that workbench and its rightful place in my shop.
Here's the first cuts taken on the lathe once the rebuild was done.
I've made a couple of smaller parts for one of my Case 224's, as well as a bearing retainer for a Boice Crane 2400 band saw that I restored this summer. Overall, I'm very happy with how it turned out, and am very excited to continue learning on it. The next project I want to tackle is making a drawbar and collet set for it. This was a great experience, and already have plans to do the same thing to a Logan 1955 that was given to me last year by a machinist friend who was ready to send it to the scrap yard.
Thanks for looking, and feel free to ask any questions about the process!
I was looking for a lathe for a while on the usual sites, and honestly didn't know much about specific brands. A posting for a 1940's South Bend Model A for $350 popped up one day, so after doing some research and finding out that they're good hobby machines and well supported, I set up a time to see it. It was a project for the previous owner, and it was already disassembled prior to me buying it. It seemed to me to be in good shape despite its looks, and many of the replacement parts were already purchased and included in the sale. I couldn't say no, and hauled everything back to my place.
This is a picture of all of the parts laid out later that evening.
Another after mocking up a couple of the parts.
At this point, it sat in my shop for about six months until that winter when I thought it would be a good project to complete down in the basement. My son was just born, and a project like this is easy to work on for 20 to 30 minutes at a time with no necessity to rush through it.
I started by stripping everything using Citristrip, then cleaning with wire brushes and steel wool until everything was removed. I decided to strip every part first before starting to paint. All painting was done using a 3/4" paint brush I "borrowed" from my wife's art supplies, and Sherwin Williams Industrial Enamel. I had planned on priming everything using the Sherwin Silliams Kem Kromik primer, but the fumes were too much for the basement, and it dried to quickly to get an even coat. I had read up on several of the rebuilds before, and many said they were successful skipping the primer. I can say that so far the finish seems extremely durable, and I'm very happy with the paint. Every part got two coats. I also purchased some more parts like the drum switch and mount, as well as the 10 in 1 tool holder.
I don't know if this will every be quite finished as I would like to eventually rescrape everything, but this is how it currently sits in the basement waiting for that workbench and its rightful place in my shop.
Here's the first cuts taken on the lathe once the rebuild was done.
I've made a couple of smaller parts for one of my Case 224's, as well as a bearing retainer for a Boice Crane 2400 band saw that I restored this summer. Overall, I'm very happy with how it turned out, and am very excited to continue learning on it. The next project I want to tackle is making a drawbar and collet set for it. This was a great experience, and already have plans to do the same thing to a Logan 1955 that was given to me last year by a machinist friend who was ready to send it to the scrap yard.
Thanks for looking, and feel free to ask any questions about the process!
