My first lathe- South Bend 9. Need a quickchange gear lever and a few minor things...

Hello everyone!
Just got my first lathe, and I'm very excited. Its a South Bend 9. I assume. Center of headstock to bed of lathe measures out at about 4.75", and the only thing I can really find is the SN and its all numeric.

I don't know much about lathes, but I know everything moves freely and I think I got a wicked deal on it. It came with a 3 jaw chuck, a micrometer carriage stop, a taper attachment, tailstock, chuck, and the little lantern type tool holder. It seems to have automatic cross feed and cross slide, but I don't know how they work.

Right now I'm looking for a replacement to the left quick change gearbox lever / handle that keeps the gears in place. The top part of mine has gone missing. I'm also looking for a gear cover for the side - the mount is there, but not the cover.

Can anyone provide me a part number or direction I might go to find the missing gearbox piece? (4th pic) Or tell me more about my lathe?
Thank you all!

(last image is trying to get some of the old grease off the paint. Looking good underneath.)

I also need to find a new little handle for the cross slide, if that is something anyone can direct me to or has a part number for.
Thank you

Mac53 said:

I also need to find a new little handle for the cross slide,

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That is your first lathe project

dalmatiangirl61 said:

That is your first lathe project

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I've never made a thing before- having my first thing on the lathe for me to always look at is a great idea! If I can pull it off.

You can probably make the knob for the cross-slide before you get your new gear selector. It is the same one as is on your compound handle, so take your exterior dimensions from that. Without a duplicator, your best technique would probably be stair-stepping using your micro carriage stop as your guide. It is pressed in, so the first thing I would do is to remove the stub that's left. Drill a hole and tap it for a bolt to act as a puller - don't know what size bolt you'll be able to use.

So I don't need to worry about those gears being locked in place while its running?

They are locked when the gear shifting handle is UP. Also, you could disengage the entire gear train by putting the reverse lever in neutral (I think that the 9's have a neutral). It is that lever near the back of the spindle where the gears are.

I have a feeling that someone will list a handle on ebay at approximately 9:30pm tonight. I'd keep an eye out.

Mac53 said:

I've never made a thing before- having my first thing on the lathe for me to always look at is a great idea! If I can pull it off.

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Well you gotta start somewhere! No need to make an exact copy, just make it work. Somewhere between 6 month to 2 years from now you will look at it one day and say "I can do better", or you will sell the machine for lack of interest