Restoration of my 10k

Dear All,

I am restoring a South Bend 10k lathe that my father received from somebody about 35 years ago. Dad used it only for wood and I wound up with it 25 years ago when we had to "clean out" the house I grew up in.

I have used it for wood and metal over the years, mainly for repairing things, cleaning round things, making bushings, etc. After receiving a 1967 Index Model 756 knee mill this past spring and restoring it, I felt the need to restore the "old South Bend". I love to do this type of work and find it very satisfying when finished with every step in the process. The restoration includes 100% dissassembly, thorough cleaning, inspection, replacement of worn or damaged parts and paint. Even a few upgrades like the serpintene belt and large dials.

Here are some "before" pictures. I will continue to add additional pictures to this thread as I go along but wanted to get this post started while I had some extra time over the holidays.

Please let me say "Thank you" to those members of this wonderful forum who have already helped me out. I am sure I will have additional questions as I go and I hope I can begin to answer questions asked by others.

Sincerely, John.

It looks like a great candidate for a restoration! Pretty neat to have it in the family for all those years, so you know you're not dealing with junk. I'll be looking forward to the pictures of your progress.

Blob

I have a 10K as well, mine just recently restored.

I notice you have a different drive assembly than I do. Mine has the forward/reverse switch on the "platform" on the drive assembly, and it has two thick rods with handballs on them. Can anyone shed some light onto these different versions? Mine was shipped May 4, 1956 for reference.

I have a 10K also and i guess my kids are going to restore it when i am gone because i am using it too much to get it dirty again...Bob

berga said:

I have a 10K as well, mine just recently restored.

I notice you have a different drive assembly than I do. Mine has the forward/reverse switch on the "platform" on the drive assembly, and it has two thick rods with handballs on them. Can anyone shed some light onto these different versions? Mine was shipped May 4, 1956 for reference.

Click to expand...

I have seen the switch with the balled handle and the motor tension release with a handle like yours...Bob

That is just normal wear and tear. Don`t understand why you would want to do any thing but use it . It will just get scratched up again. I looks like mine I bought new in 1980.

Great candidate for restoration, bed looks in really good shape, I have the same machine and it's very busy. Peter

10k Restoration, Continued...

Hi Everybody,

I have some more pictures to share.

The Serial Number of this machine is 1550KAR7. It was built in 1952. Catalog Number: CL670Z with a 3 1/2' bed.

Actually, there is some heavy wear on the front vee way up near the headstock and the worm/wormwheel in the Apron are very worn out and will need to be replaced. But, after reading many posts by folks here on the forum, I do not plan to investigate having the bed ground. I don't use it for production and want to see how close I can work with it as it is. It might be just fine. Whoever owned it before my father must have worked it hard without proper lubricant. Oh well, it happens. I'd rather have this lathe than not have a lathe at all.

Regarding the question about the forward/reverse switch, I know my mounting arrangement is not original as I did it myself years ago. Unfortunately, I never had the original switch, mounting means or the original levers for either the switch or for the belt tensioning mechanism. Heaven only knows why someone would have removed them during the first 20 years of this machine's life. Here is a picture of the cross-shaft assembly that shows what I believe are the original mounting holes for the factory switch:



I believe that I will mount the switch here in the original location upon re-assembly.

I could really use a couple of pictures of the original mounting means for the switch and even more importantly, of the original belt tensioning mechanism that uses the "keyhole" in the center of the headstock casting. As mentioned, I never had these parts and have never seen them. Perhaps I can replace them as part of this job.

I know it seems rediculous to spend all the time, effort and money to restore such a machine only to get it dirty again, but I love to do this type of work. I find it very relaxing and medicinal. And when done, I can be proud of it. As I mentioned in the first post, I was compelled to restore the 10k after restoring my Index milling machine (which REALLY needed it!). They will look very nice together.

Following are some pictures of the spindle removal and the fixture used to avoid having to hammer on the spindle. It worked like a charm; very controlled. Note the wear ridge of the front vee way in the last picture of the original oilers.

Next will be pictures of some piece parts, before and post cleaning and painted.

Sincerely, John.

Very nice machine. It will respond nicely to some TLC and frankly is in pretty
good shape as is!

I apologize if this has already been mentioned (could not see it up in the posts)
but you will get better service from the machine if you remove the flat leather
belt that transmitts power from the motor, to the large countershaft pulley.

I know it is strange but this is southbend's original intent: there is supposed to
be a V-belt in that location. Somebody had put a flat pulley on the motor to
accomodate the leather belt, but it should be a V-belt pulley on the motor.
Typically a two-step one. That combined with the two diameter large
pulley gives a choice of two countershaft speeds.

Yes the V-belt drives power to the large countershaft pulley via its BOTTOM
not via the sides. STrange but that's how they designed those machines.

With the correct two step v-belt pulley, that gives a total of 12 different
spindle speeds: three via the cone pulley steps, times two via the back gears
or not, times two via the countershaft belt position, high or low.

Jim

Hi Jim,

Thank you very much for your recommendation. I have found the double vee motor pully on Ebay and look forward to installing it. It certainly seems to be a strange setup but I have all the confidence that it will be a big improvement over the slapping and slipping of that awful leather flat belt. I also will be installing a poly-vee belt per Paula's thread prior to re-assembling the spindle. Can't wait to see/hear the machine run with these new belts.

By the way, all the threads here that I have found that refer to using a wire to hold down the capillary oilers when inserting the spindle are aimed at a 9" lathe without brass bearing shells. This method is not possible on the 10k with the bearing shells as the small holes above the Gits oil cups go up at a very steep angle and end in the threaded bolt hole for the bearing caps. These holes do not go into the capillary oiler holes. It seems impossible to hold the oilers down by using a wire in the Gits oil cup holes.

So, how do we "hold down the oilers" when inserting the spindle on a 10k?

Sincerely, John.

JOHN,
Remove the oilers and put your stiff wire through there. If you can't compress the wick down enough to get the wire above it, stick the wire through the wick(use a small diameter wire)
TED

jeagan said:

So, how do we "hold down the oilers" when inserting the spindle on a 10k?

Sincerely, John.

Click to expand...

John-

On my 10K, I found small holes at the bottom of each spindle bearing boss, on a downward slant in the axial direction, that connect with the oiler holes in such a way that it's possible to insert a thin wire into them from the outboard end of each bearing boss. I wasn't able to compress the oiler felt springs enough to get the inserted wire on top of the felt, so I ended up sharpening the ends of the wires and stabbing them through the felts when I had depressed them as far as I was able, which was just far enough to get the spindle back in. I pulled the wires out as soon as the felts were held in place by the spindle; the chuck end first, and then the gear end, as I recall.

It seems pretty likely that your lathe would also have these holes - it's not elegant, but it worked for me.

Blob

I pulled the oiler cops and used a straight scriber to hold the felts down. A thin wire did nothing, the felt springs easily bending the wire.

Joe

More Pictures - Headstock

Hello All,

Thank you all for the recommendations on how to hold the capillary oilers down during spindle insertion. I will advise what worked best for me. Not quite ready for final assembly yet.

Here are pictures of the Headstock. Before cleaning, pre-bead blast, post-bead blast, painted and partially assembled. Isn't it beautiful?

Pictures of the bed, QCGB, saddle and apron will follow soon.

Sincerely, John.

Wow, I wish I had a blaster. I have to do everything by hand, and it doesn't turn out so well. Some day...

Don't forget to put that bull gear back on!

Ryan

Hi There,

Very nice looking work! I am curious. What method are you using
to remove the abrasive residue?

Good Luck!
-Blue Chips-
Webb

Bead Blasting

Hi Guys,

I use glass bead blasting, not sand blasting. The beads are nearly perfectly round without sharp edges. Thus, they do not remove paint very well. I use Aircraft Remover and stainless or brass brushes to remove paint first; just quick and dirty. Flush with CRC Brakleen and wipe with clean shop towels.

Then go into the glass bead blasting cabinet. This produces an amazing, paint-ready finish on cast iron and steel. It leaves an awesome finish on aluminum and magnesium as well. I don't use it on steel parts on which I ultimately want a high luster because it does dull the surface. But as a paint prep, it can't be beat. On aluminum, I usually leave the blasted surface unpainted and it just develops a lovely patina over time. Blasted magnesium castings (like chainsaw bodies) take paint beautifully. Just for fun, can anybody identify the brand and vintage of this chainsaw?



Cleanup after bead blasting is very easy. Just a blowdown with compressed air followed by a flush with Brakleen. I use a ton of Brakleen and although it is not cheap, it is the best for degreasing and cleaning immediately prior to paint.

You can buy an inexpensive but very effective blast cabinet for relatively small money from Tractor Supply (TSC) or Northern Tools. Also, a siphon blast gun is cheap. The beads are not cheap but the cabinet catches them. Worthy investments if you are going to do more than one small restoration.


Sincerely, John.

Hi Grey Rider,

Good catch on the bull gear! I also need to remember to install the new serpentine belt before final assembly. I bet I forget it...

The restoration required the replacement of the back gear due to broken teeth (not by me I don't think). The new back gear and its shaft and eccentric bushings are not identical to the original so I did this test fit to be sure all would be well. It turns out that the back gear "assembly" fits just like the original and everything lines up fine but the detailed dimensions of the parts that make up the assembly are a bit (noticably) different. It would not be possible to use my original back gear shaft with the new back gear without making modifications. Fortunately, my new back gear was the complete assembly but this pint could mess up somebody because people sell back gears without the shaft on Ebay all the time. Beware of back gears only or be prepared to make mods.




Sincerely, John.

Some More Pictures - QCGB

Hi Everybody,

Here are some pictures of the QCGB on my 10k. I hope these pictures are enjoyable for everybody.

John.

John -

I'm enjoying the pics of your restoration - keep 'em coming! That lathe is going to be too pretty to use! :-) Not really - I think it should be relatively easy to keep it in pristine condition with just a little care after each use, and how nice it will be to have such a beautiful old lathe to work with.

Blob