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New Member, New Lathe

KBenoit1

Aluminum
Joined
Oct 13, 2019
Hi All, First Post!

I was given this 9C this weekend by a friend who is moving and cannot take it with him. He bought it "restored" from craigslist 4-5 years ago and it has been sitting in his unheated garage in new england ever since. He never got power to it or did anything with it. The motor is a old westinghouse and along with the bracket has not been touched.

So far I have done some research and have noted the following.
*It has no switch
*missing oiler cups in several places
*the tail stock looks homemade
*there is a bunch of surface rust i started cleaning with PB blaster and scoth brite

All I got is what you see. There was no tooling or accessories with it

What can you guys tell me about this thing? Age ? Model (besides 9C)? Best place to get parts other than ebay ?
 

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That Tailstock is definitely home made, looks functional enough. If it lines up on center and is parallel to the ways then good on ‘em.

I’m on mobile otherwise I’d look up the serial for you, you can do that on Steve Welles site. You can find that in the second post titled “serial numbers wanted”. You should get your catalog number of the gear cover on the headstock, that’s the closest thing to a “ model number” there is.

And as for parts, “some” things can still be gotten from Grizzly as they own the south bend brand now. Be warned their parts come at a premium if they even have it. Expect to pay $$$$. Ted Pflunger is a active user that has a large quantity of used and new parts, always a good idea to check with him if you need something. There’s several members that make replacement parts. I make feed screws and other various parts, several people make feed nuts, there’s a guy that rebuilds half nuts, etc...

But welcome to the forum, and good luck with your lathe! Seems in decent enough condition, take care of it and keep it oiled! Also, if you use scotch brite keep it away from the ways and any bearing surfaces. It will leave an abrasive residue behind that will cause wear. Personally I wouldn’t use it on or around the machine if I can avoid it.
 
Thanks for the response.

Noted on the scotchbrite. I was just what was immediately within reach when i got it home. I am planning on getting some steel wool to finish the rest. Anything i can use other than pb blaster to help clean the rust up ?

Also I am planning on wiring the motor for 110v as i do not have 220 in the garage. What is the correct drum switch to get for this to have forward/reverse ? I dont care about authenticity, more of what works. And where can i find a switch mount for the ways under the headstock ? There does not appear to be anything on ebay currently.

Thanks
 
Try Kroil Penetrating Oil on the rust spots, I may have some oil cups for the head stock if you tell me the thread size..
 
That thing sure looks bare for tools and features, but you've got the jack-shaft assembly! You're ahead of some other first timers I've seen.

Depending on what you are wanting to do, once it's wired you might only need a tool post and some sharp HSS bits to get started. After you've had some fun with it, if you want to single point thread you'll need to invest in some change gears. I'm not a fan of retrofitting quick-change gear boxes onto the old change gear lathes. You could get a slightly bigger and better machine with the feature for less cash than the trouble of finding and fitting a QC to that little South Bend. If you don't do a lot of threading though, it's not necessary IMO.

Oil cups are available at McMaster-Carr. I'd keep an eye on Ebay for other good used parts/tooling. Stuff turns up on here sometimes too.
 
Is there a diagram as to where there should be oil cups ? The two big ones on top of the head stock do not have threads in them.

There is a million holes on this thing, not sure where to put oil cups and where not to.

I have never actually had to cut threads on a lathe, but i would like to learn at some point. I would mostly be using it for projects around the garage. Spacers, widgets, parts for the motorcycle/snowmobile etc.

First plan of attack is to get a switch and get the thing powered up and spinning and then starting to address some of the issues/ missing parts. Looking at mcmaster part 7065K21 for the switch.
 

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Where can i find some good info on this motor ? Tried googling it and did not come up with much.

Were these original or is a replacement ?

I need to switch it over to 110v from 220v. There is two jumpers in the same spot now, they look thin. Do i need them doubled up to switch to 110V aka i need to find 2 more or can i run it with 1 jumper in each position ?

It needs a good cleaning and new wiring at a minimum.
 

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Is there a diagram as to where there should be oil cups ? The two big ones on top of the head stock do not have threads in them.

There is a million holes on this thing, not sure where to put oil cups and where not to.

I have never actually had to cut threads on a lathe, but i would like to learn at some point. I would mostly be using it for projects around the garage. Spacers, widgets, parts for the motorcycle/snowmobile etc.

First plan of attack is to get a switch and get the thing powered up and spinning and then starting to address some of the issues/ missing parts. Looking at mcmaster part 7065K21 for the switch.

SBL_9inch_oil_chart_quick_change-small.jpg
South Bend Lathe Works - Publication Reprints - How To Run A Lathe 55th Edition | VintageMachinery.org
Not all of the oiling points would have or need oil cups. Some were just holes. I'd think anything that chips could fall into vertically will need some kind of protection, the more horizontal holes wouldn't need to be covered as much.
 
I don't think that it is a 9C lathe, but an earlier 9" Workshop lathe. I think that the only place to have the oilers was the headstock.

I have this oil chart from 1934 that went with my Grandfather's 1934 Workshop. It is in pretty bad shape, but Photoshop cleaned it up a little.

OIL CHART1.jpg
 
{I think that the only place to have the oilers was the headstock.} I think the oil cups were just pressed in on your lathe as there is no threads, you could tap the holes 1/4" pipe thread or 1/8" pipe thread or turn brass cups to press fit existing hole...

As for the motor jump wire, you can use a short 12 ga. copper wire for a jumper..
 
If there isn't a press in solution for the headstock oilers, I'd make a pair of ball-toppers for them (easy first project). They're just little drop in plugs to keep the chips out that a lot of machine tools came from the factory with when new.

20160831_195719.jpg
(circled examples on my 16" Hendey headstock)
 
Ok guys some good news. I got the motor switched over to 110v and power to the motor and it spins freely and quietly. Need to figure out how to wire a reversing switch to it. Any help on that ? Cant find much info on the web on the motor.

Looks like i got a good first project to get some oil cup caps made.

Also how do i look up the serial number to get the model number and year made ?
 
Need to figure out how to wire a reversing switch to it. Any help on that ?

I would start with getting the reversing switch. Since different switches are wired differently, it would be hard to provide advice without knowing what you’re going to use. It should be pretty straightforward once you have the switch.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
It don't look like that motor is reversible. As least looking at the motor nameplate. It may have to do something with the arrangement of the jumpers, reversing them, maybe, I don't know. Also, it would require four wires to run from the motor to the drum switch. As for a drum switch, search for them on eBay and Amazon. I've picked a couple of them up over the years, Chinese crap, but seem to be of decent quality for what I needed them for. OEM replacements are very expensive, I see no need for them unless it is originality your looking for.

The old motor on my 9" SBL crapped out many years ago and got replaced with a 1/2 HP DC PM motor. This was a motor I had on hand. Still use the drum switch for reverse once in a while.

Ken
 
Really? It clearly says "TO REVERSE INTERCHANGE RED AND YELLOW LEADS" on the nameplate.

I got the motor apart, which i kind of regret since it ran so quiet. The inside is nasty and some of the insulation is cracked and deteriorated.

I cant tell which wires are supposed to be yellow or red. Where do i start with identifying them and replacing the leads ? I cant find any info on it online.

I got this switch in today https://www.zoro.com/static/cms/product/prev/Z_ur-xqcpIx_.JPG So i am ready to wire it up, just cant identify which wire is what.
 

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The red and the yellow wires will be wires that are attached with screws, not rivets. Take a brush and use mineral spirits to slowly clean sections of the wire to try to identify the colors. Or, look at the end of the cord and see if the colors are still intact.

We need better pictures of the wiring plate that shows the connections of ALL the wires.
 








 
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