SB 10L CL187RB - advice please

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agshooter

Plastic

Joined

Sep 24, 2019

• Feb 5, 2020

• #1

Hey guys, I am looking for my first lathe. Goal is to be able to do some general home shop machining as well as some gunsmithing (chamber my own rifle barrels).
I came across this SB 10. They seem to be recommended by a lot of folks for my intended purpose. I would appreciate any thoughts on this machine, asking price is $2500.

Tooling included

 

johnoder

Diamond

Joined

Jul 16, 2004

Location

Houston, TX USA

• Feb 5, 2020

• #2

Handy pub for beginners

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/1617/17726.pdf

 

packrat2

Hot Rolled

Joined

Mar 10, 2010

Location

Utah

• Feb 5, 2020

• #3

Read this post about heavy 10 inch South Bend Lathes Why the high prices for a Heavy 10?

 

hsracer201

Hot Rolled

Joined

Oct 24, 2015

• Feb 6, 2020

• #4

If you are not interested please put me in touch with the seller.

 

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MrWhoopee

Hot Rolled

Joined

Nov 8, 2017

• Feb 6, 2020

• #5

This looks very much like my '63, though judging by the nameplate it's newer. I didn't expect much when it was given to me, but as I use it I continue to be impressed with its accuracy. This one looks decently tooled, has the much more desirable D1-4 spindle and is the long bed. It appears to lack the taper attachment, does it have steady rest, follower rest, 4-jaw or collet setup? The price looks about what I would expect, maybe on the high side depending on tooling and condition of spindle bearings and ways. The gear train looks odd, but the rubber inserts indicate they are original. Pricing is quite variable depending on availability in your area.

 

jim rozen

Diamond

Joined

Feb 26, 2004

Location

peekskill, NY

• Feb 6, 2020

• #6

Price seems a tad on the high side if there is no other tooling included except what is seen in the photos.

Another issue is the gear cover door is missing apparently, and there seems to be some issue with the
motor wiring, as in lots of random wires hanging out of the peckerhead.

 

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tobnpr

Hot Rolled

Joined

Sep 27, 2015

• Feb 6, 2020

• #7

As a riflesmith that owns two older American iron lathes- one a SB, the other a Sheldon, I'd say it's way overpriced- though there's likely someone that'll pay that price or close to it.

You can get a good quality, brandy-new Taiwanese machine from Precision Matthews for not much more.

Yes,it's a hard bed machine which is a plus, but you still need the ability to evaluate the condition of a 40-50 year old machine. I got tired of fighting the inevitably worn screws on old machines and outfitted them with DRO's.

This makes holding the one-thou tolerances that are generally needed for barrel work much easier. The 10L's are overpriced by any rational metric, if you want a SB suggest you look for a 13. Bigger, heavier machine- but if you don't need to take it apart to get it down into a basement it would be a better choice IMO.

 

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agshooter

Plastic

Joined

Sep 24, 2019

• Feb 8, 2020

• #8

Thanks everyone, I decided to pass. I have found other SB10s much less that I may pursue.
Then again, for my first lathe, I may just get an SB9 as they can be found much cheaper. I need to learn a lot before I can really pursue my own gunsmithing activities I think.

 

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Erich

Hot Rolled

Joined

Apr 4, 2017

Location

Poway, CA (from Location field)

• Feb 8, 2020

• #9

Compared to the heavy 10 the SB9 is a toy. No barrel will fit inside the spindle of a 9 inch. The 10 has a 13/8 hole so a barrel will fit back in there.

 

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agshooter

Plastic

Joined

Sep 24, 2019

• Feb 8, 2020

• #10

Erich said:

Compared to the heavy 10 the SB9 is a toy. No barrel will fit inside the spindle of a 9 inch. The 10 has a 13/8 hole so a barrel will fit back in there.

Click to expand...

Yes, but if I find one with a long bed, I can do barrels on a stead between centers. Many were done that way and still are.

 

hsracer201

Hot Rolled

Joined

Oct 24, 2015

• Feb 8, 2020

• #11

agshooter said:

Yes, but if I find one with a long bed, I can do barrels on a stead between centers. Many were done that way and still are.

Click to expand...

Having owned all mentioned below, I can second what Erich said. Compared to a 10L a 9" is a toy.

Compared to a 13" the 10L is a toy. The 13" compared to a LeBlond 15" is a toy. ETC, ETC, ETC. It's all relative. But you will enjoy your lathe a lot more if you have a spindle that will hold a barrel. Trust us.