new lathe

[bronson]

Hi i got a 1953 south bend model b 9" 3.5ft bed about 2 months ago and i am just about finished cleaning it up and painting it. The lathe it self was in pretty good shape the bed has sum wear in the sweet spot and half nuts and lead screw have alittle wear but will still last my life time. Here are some before and after shots.

 

[Quickj]

Wow, It looks really good.
A couple of years newer than my 1947 Model "A".
Do you have the change gears etc?
I like your Micrometer steady and follow rests.

Should be plenty accurate for any thing you care to do with it.

 

[bronson]

IT came with 3and 4 jaw chucks collets, five backing backs, metric change gears and almost three complete sets of change gears expect the 80 tooth i only have two. Spare half nuts in the south bend box. Three tool holders. The other thing that i found that doesn't work is reverse on the motor. But the gears and shafts are good and the all the felts have been replaced and i installed a ribbed automotive belt just putting the pulley drive back together just finished painting that.

 

[Deanofid]

Bronson, you sure made a difference for that SB. Nice ol' model B.
The older South Bends sure have a lot of appeal. I've though about one for many years.
Good work sparking it up.
Have you made anything with it yet?

Dean

 

[bronson]

It's 11:00 sat night and i just finished hooking up the pulley system and motor. I took two cuts thats it. Everthing still has to be adjusted. One thing i found when ingauging the lead screw i found the gears pretty loud just wondering if this was normal. Thanks for the kind words about the clean up.

 

[Deanofid]

If you mean the leadscrew gear train, the ones under the cover on left of the headstock, yes, they can be somewhat noisy. They will certainly make more noise than if the Forward/Reverse lever is in neutral.

If it seems overly loud to you, check the back lash on the banjo gears. Too tight, and they will growl a bit. Too loose, and the gears may seem to make a kind of ringing or clanging. Use a piece of printer paper or index card to set the lash, and it may help. Run it between the teeth on the gear train when you set the lash.

If you are running the gears dry, coating them with a little way oil helps, too. Set the lash, a little oil, and as long as the gears are not damaged, whatever noise you hear is just what you are going to get. They do make some noise.

Dean

 

[bronson]

Thanks for the repley i will set the lash and some way oil and see how it sounds thanks.

 

[barney_leadhead]

It is always good to see another old machine tool in sympathetic hands.
The old gal looks fit for a further 50-odd years of work.
Great restoration

 

[bronson]

It seems to work really well, i can't believe how smooth everything is. It just needs a really nice bench build for it. A friend of mind is going to build me a nice bench from an old bowling alley it is 2.25 thick maple from the sixties it looks really nice. If anyone has this stuff i need a few things carriage lock bolt and shoe, the part that goes in the other hole in the tail stock for applying oil to dead centre.

 

[Deanofid]

The thing that goes in the tail stock is a lead dip. They didn't see much use after white lead was abandoned, and it seems they go missing. It's not much more than a button with a tapered shaft on one end. A pretty easy turning project. Look for pics on the web to see what the profile of the button looks like for your lathe and you should be able to make a short job of it.

The lock shoe and hardware can probably be had from ebay sellers. There are quite a few parts yet to be had for these models.

Maybe put a note in the "Buy, Sell, Trade" section here explaining what you're looking for.

Dean