My new Old South Bend 13 - Looking for some advise, opinion, amusing stories

Hello,
About a week ago I picked up my first lathe, a 1978 or 79 South Bend 13.
This lathe has several interesting details that I will simply describe with pictures rather than waste your time with words.


Here is a shot from the sellers shop when I went for my first look. We talked for a while and I bought it.

It was a whole other adventure (and story) getting it back to my place eventually but I got it done.
About a 4 hour, maybe 35 or 40 mile round trip to rent the trailer, pick up the lathe, drive back home on surface streets.
About 5 hours to drag it 15 feet across the threshold. Once I could close and lock the door; I was done for the day.


The badge over the gearbox. Interesting that it is in several languages.


The taper attachment.
Seller is using a forklift to load the lathe onto my trailer in the background.


The lathe comes with a 2hp 3 phase motor.
My first question is what is your opinion on the various VFDs? Any preference between brands or features? I've never needed or worked on a VFD so I have no idea what to think or how to choose one.

Any opinions on favorites or what to look for?
I found some Allen-Bradleys on eBay for about $100. Does that make sense?

The other thing this lathe needs is a tool post.
This lathe did not come with any tool post or tool holders, etc. Just a few accessories and tools like chucks, a steady rest, etc.

So since this is a blank slate,
is there a preference or favorite or some story of what you would get if you could start all over again?

I appreciate any help and guidance.
Take care,
Cheers.

I've had good luck with ABB ACS150 drives. Small, but full-featured. Can program them to do anything you want as long as you've got the manual. Models with single phase rectifiers are available.

As for tool posts, I'm looking at getting a 'BXA' form-factor QCTP for mine. Not sure if I'm going to go with a name-brand Aloris or not, but I'm definitely not putting Asian parts on an American lathe.

Make sure you buy a rebuild kit and put new felts in it before you run it for long. The majority of the sliding surfaces in these machines are felt lubricated and the felts get nasty after a few decades. That, and old oil dries out and leaves wax deposits if not flushed out with new oil on a regular basis. Good idea to just clean everything out when you change the felts.

First time I've seen one with a metric gearbox. I've heard they exist but never seen one.

Welcome Shadow!

I have the same lathe with the taper attachment and a 2 hp 3 phase motor. I went around in circles for a while on the VFD question. People here on this site were super helpful with guiding me on what to buy. I ended up getting this Veco N3. Installing and setting it up was straightforward and without issues. It has performed perfectly for about 3 years now for me. I love to be able to tweak the speed as needed. Adjusting the speed a little will often eliminate chatter.

I am using a 1hp, 220v single phase input, FMX TD200 on both my Heavy 10 and my Bridgeport mill. They have been solid performers for a little over a year now. They do not come in an enclosure so they need some protection. My mill is in an 8x12x6 enclosure mounted to the back of the column. For my lathe I mounted it inside the cabinet to protect it from chips.

I have my lathe limits set from 30-75hz and routinely slow it down for parting and threading instead of using back gear. I have gone as low as 10hz in back gear when parting a very large diameter piece of cast iron to control chatter. I haven’t played with speeds much on my mill though.

As with most VFDs, there are lots of parameters that can be reprogrammed, without the book it would be next to impossible to program. If you are looking at drives from eBay, confirm the manual comes with it or find it electronically before buying.

Hope this helps

Ben

One thing to note: The Chinese VFDs seen on ebay are very much frowned upon by many on this forum. Obviously, they are very problematic and should be avoided.

I have a new Westinghouse TECO L510 that I bought to use on my lathe but decided to run an RPC instead. Let me know if you are interested and I'll let it go for a good deal.

ABB, Schneider, Westinghouse, Danfoss...

Any of the real industrial brands will work well.

Not "Dang-Ling-Wang ltd." or equivalent.

Thank you for mentioning a few brands that are working for you or that you know are good.
Sometimes people state negatives or dislikes without offering the solution which is not helpful since I still need positive answers that point forward.
If I ask you, I'm hungry, do you know any good places around here?
Your answer of, "That one is terrible, those three are over-priced, this place sucks!" is not useful even if true.
I'm still looking for a decent lunch.

In still thinking about which to get I found a brand called
Lenze SMV.
Do you have any thoughts on this one?
How do I find out where this is made?
Do you know of any that are made in USA?

Thanks for your help.

Kevin T said:

I have a new Westinghouse TECO L510 that I bought to use on my lathe but decided to run an RPC instead. Let me know if you are interested and I'll let it go for a good deal.

Click to expand...

^^^This looks like a good option^^^

ShadowBoxer said:

Thank you for mentioning a few brands that are working for you or that you know are good.
Sometimes people state negatives or dislikes without offering the solution which is not helpful since I still need positive answers that point forward.
If I ask you, I'm hungry, do you know any good places around here?
Your answer of, "That one is terrible, those three are over-priced, this place sucks!" is not useful even if true.
I'm still looking for a decent lunch.

In still thinking about which to get I found a brand called
Lenze SMV.
Do you have any thoughts on this one?
How do I find out where this is made?
Do you know of any that are made in USA?

Thanks for your help.

Click to expand...

Check out KB electronics. Simple on/off, speed control, and optional forward/reverse. Also runs on 110.

Sent from my SM-T713 using Tapatalk

I’m using a KB on my SB 9A. Easy to set up and works great.