South Bend Heavy 10 project

This past weekend I picked up a South Bend Heavy 10 for what I thought was a good deal. It's in what I would call average shape, not mint, but not terrible. It's about what you would expect from something sitting out in a shed. There are only a few spots of surface rust as the thing is covered in grime which protected it from the condensation.

It came with a 3 jaw, 4 jaw, dog plate, and face plate. I'll be looking for some parts as the restoration proceeds, most especially a thread dial, and steady rest.

The treading dial you will need if you plan to do much threading. The steady rest....not so much. I have one for my Heavy 10 and I've used it maybe 4 times in the 7+ years I've had it.

I think that lathe will clean up nice. I do not use my steady rest much either on my 10 inch, but nice to have one..

i will mail you a check for .02 if you just clean,oil, and use it.

ps- I would rather do without a thread dial than a steady.

Lack of a thread soak will not prevent you from threading, but when you need a steady rest Then you need a steady rest. I wouldn't stress out about either.

I've been happy with my heavy ten. I think you'll like yours. (I'm in the "clean it and run it" school too, but that's a different discussion.)

All ya gotta do is know who to talk nice to when you need that steady rest....

Nice that the drawer knobs are still attached.

They are hard to come by if missing.

Mine has five drawers and the Original knobs were long gone when I bought my lathe, 5-years ago.

Bought mine for $400, total. It’s a 1943, 10L, 4 1/2 foot bed and original Metric transposing Gears, set of draw in 5C collets, etc.

Sent away for the factory Serial Card that listed the original customer and options, accessories, etc.

I decided to clean and run mine, removing parts for restoration along the way. Still have a ways to go, particularly the cabinet and chip tray. Good luck on your restoration.

I just bought the thread dial three weeks or so ago, and the steady rest a few weeks before the TD. I think the steady rest will be useful when I need to face stock that won’t fit through the headstock. Mine also came with a follower rest. Haven’t tried it yet.

Mine has the original motor, 208 Volt, 3-Phase, so I bought a VFD to replace the old burned-out Phase Converter and run on 110 single-phase current.

Looks much like mine did when I got it from a barn 25 years ago. Did a full strip down and cosmetic resto. and it has worked great ever since. Unless you don't plan on cutting anything other than "divide by 8" threads you will need a thread dial. A steady rest is very handy so is a follower rest. Have some fun and make your own if you can't find used.