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Southbend Lathe Resto ???

3K views 17 replies 4 participants last post by  Viper Dude 
#1 ·
For the builder needing a lathe very badly... here is a toasty vintage Southbend lathe of perhaps 15 to 16 inch swing available in Hamburg, PA per the Lancaster, PA craigslist. It is available as is for $125.oo with no motor.

Sounds like a resto project machine to me.

VD in AZ
 

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#3 ·
I like old iron. But that there looks to me like a factory lathe made for a single purpose. You'd need a different tailstock & carriage to do much. The ways don't look like you could find parts to fit. I see these factory South Bends on Ebay alot & they seldom sell .

Of course I'd still buy it if local to me. These things deserve better than sitting outside rusting away. That lathe has probably made millions of some specific part all day long for many years.
 
#4 ·
I'm not sure what the thing hanging off of the tailstock is either, but is shouldn't be too hard to convert it back to a standard handwheel tailstock even if you had to hacksaw off the back part. My sheldon just has a section of acme thread brazed to a rod section that has a flanged end with a bolt so that it can be bolted to a spacer and pinned inside the tailstock. The barrel just has a acme nut(round) pinned inside of it. That type of setup is very "do"able by anyone. For $125 if I was nearby I'd buy it and I already have two lathes.
 
#5 ·
To me ; The old machines have a soul ,just like I feel history in the Garand I love so much. I also would give it a good caring home. Just aint right letting it waste away.

Maybe the Amish Mafia could help with transport? I'm not sure how to contact Lancaster Levi though.
 
#6 ·
I wonder how far off scrap prices that is, it'd be a shame to melt it down. I know what you mean Bradrock, my oldest machine was built in the 1890's and it still works. It's apart right now for a good cleaning and replacings the felts and 1 bushing before a new coat of paint.
 
#8 ·
There was a HUGE South Bend on Ebay not long ago for scrap prices & it was indoors being used still. Over at Ypsi .. I tried & lost. Thought I could do drive shafts on it.
 
#9 ·
The nice ones always tend to pop up when I don't check for a few days or can't go get them. Occasionally I get lucky. I've got a 1953 Sheldon 12x36 (it's actually a 13") enco 9x20, HF green mill drill and a 1890 E.E. Garvin horizontal mill. The two imports came first, and will be replaced with old iron as time and funds allows.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Someone snagged that toasty SB lathe already !!! Had that been a local AZ listing it would be sitting on my covered apartment patio. The CL listing is down.
I like machinetools also. I own 5 lathes and two mills. They are a lot like cool guns. One can never have enough !!!

By the way that thing on the tailstock was a lever feed for drilling, tapping, etc. It is an accessory item and is removeable if so desired.

VD in AZ
 
#12 ·
Brad,
Only three lathes and a small HF 12-speed bench mill are here at the apartment. They are small lathes at that ( a Harbor Freight 7x10, an Atlas 618, and an Atlas 12x36). Both Atlas's have the Timken bearing headstock. My 12x36 Clausing model 5918, 14 inch SouthBend, 2H K&T Universal mill w/added B'port head, and J-Head B'port are kept elsewhere due to lack of room and electricity here at the apartment. I forgot to include the J-Head in my count earlier Being single I can do this sort of stuff.

My furniture is mostly roll-away cabinets of tooling, closets are packed with parts kits, and welding equipment is stashed under benches and in the livingroom. The Atlas 12x36 lathe is out on the semi-enclosed patio under a camo tarp. I really need a large mill out there too but can't get a B'port through the hallway into the apartment... yet. Oh, I'm on the ground floor with no basement which helps a lot. See ??? It can be done.

Still I'm looking for a larger live-in shop in a secure area at a lower operating cost as I live on a tiny disability income (military - service connected ie combat connected).

VD in AZ
 
#15 ·
Brad,
Only three lathes and a small HF 12-speed bench mill are here at the apartment. They are small lathes at that ( a Harbor Freight 7x10, an Atlas 618, and an Atlas 12x36). Both Atlas's have the Timken bearing headstock. My 12x36 Clausing model 5918, 14 inch SouthBend, 2H K&T Universal mill w/added B'port head, and J-Head B'port are kept elsewhere due to lack of room and electricity here at the apartment. I forgot to include the J-Head in my count earlier Being single I can do this sort of stuff.

My furniture is mostly roll-away cabinets of tooling, closets are packed with parts kits, and welding equipment is stashed under benches and in the livingroom. The Atlas 12x36 lathe is out on the semi-enclosed patio under a camo tarp. I really need a large mill out there too but can't get a B'port through the hallway into the apartment... yet. Oh, I'm on the ground floor with no basement which helps a lot. See ??? It can be done.3

Still I'm looking for a larger live-in shop in a secure area at a lower operating cost as I live on a tiny disability income (military - service connected ie combat connected).

VD in AZ
Sounds like my kind of digs Viperdude!
When I got married 30 years ago, my wife asked me to stop dragging my snowmobiles into the living room to work on. But dang it was COLD in michigan!!
So we moved to Florida where my best hang out coffee clutch buddy had two roll aways & and an engine on a stand in his dining room.
Dang it's HOT in Florida!!:nanabang::nanabang:
 
#14 ·
Hello Jay Byrd,
Welcome to gunco !!!!
For those members of the more bux club there are a number of nice lathes to be had. Grizzly sells gunsmith lathes from $3095 to $4395, some with tooling. However for a large number of fellows here quality metal lathes of gunsmithing size are out of reach.

What was shown in the original post was essentially a "kit lathe" requiring "sweat equity" to complete as well as skill. Yes, it also requires machinery to build, repair, or rebuild these machines. Keep in mind that gunsmithing is not a NASA project.

My suggestion to would-be lathe buyers/operators is to take the machinery courses at your local votech school first to gain some skill and appreciation for such machine tools. Then they may be better prepared to make a decision on such stuff.

VD in AZ
 
#16 ·
Brad,
Michigan ???? Jeeze, I lived there too, just after Vietnam. My small apartment in Walled Lake, MI had a 10 x 10 ft storgae cage in the basement where I set up a tiny shop with an Atlas 10x36 oldie lathe, Atlas horizontal bench mill, a drill press, and a work bench. I strung a beefy extension cord through the overhead rafters from a light to power it all. Being Michigan that custom extension cord got stolen. The replacement cord was tied securely in my locked storage cage.

Then after an ugly divorce I moved back to "Arizona, land of the free - home of the well-armed" !! It gets hot here too, really HOT ie 115º+ at times in the Summer. You could almost heat treat steel out doors in the Summer !!!! haha.

VD in AZ
 
#18 · (Edited)
Brad,
Your Atlas mill is newer and nicer shape than my oldie which was sold years ago to a gunsmith buddy here in AZ. He still has it and won't part with it (I tried to buy it back) !!! He however sold me his nice Cincinatti bench mill which is several times larger than the Atlas machine. Here is a pic of that Cincinatti bench mill that I then traded to my nephew. It is in his shop.

VD in AZ
 

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