- Joined
- Oct 7, 2013
- Messages
- 305
It's going to need some work.
I am up to my ears in a rebuild of a Delta Rockwell 11 (you can find my thread on that forum) and needed the use of a lathe to make several shafts and odd-sized bushings. I learned that a friend of mine had a lathe that belonged to her late husband, whom I knew only slightly before his passing. She said I could use the lathe if it would work. I went to take a look and found this SB 9A looking pretty sad and lonely, not to mention covered in rust, grime, and bird poop. Nevertheless, I fired it up and did a couple test cuts and found it actually functions. I found several live and dead centers, a 3-jaw and a 4-jaw chuck, a collet closer and a set of Hardinge 3-C collets, but no adapter or spindle thread protector. The lathe has a taper attachment as well. All were covered in a layer of surface rust. The motor, the 1/4hp original, works, but has to be hand-started.
I went to her and threw out a couple options to her. First, I told her I'd like to buy it. If she didn't want to sell it, the second option was to take it to my shop for a couple months, where I would clean it up and adjust it, then use it to make my parts, then return it. I told her I thought it was worth, in its present state, about $3-500, but that if I took it and cleaned it up, she should be able to sell it in the $1,000 range. I felt like this was an honest assessment, after having watched the market around here for several months. She took that information to a close friend of hers who is a machinist and owns a welding and fabrication shop. He confirmed my assessment and she returned to me with a price of $500, to include all appertaining tooling and accessories. I accepted the offer. When I went to pick it up yesterday, I told her there were several parts that I was sure her husband had, but I didn't see with the lathe. She allowed me to go through his workshop looking for parts (that was a chore, since her hired hand has literally stuffed the workshop with junk since her husband's passing). After some serious digging, I came upon a small tool box. I was happy to find the box contained the collet adapter and thread protector, a set of Rivett collets, several items of Starrett, Brown and Sharpe, and Mitutoyo mics and other measuring tools, as well as several dead centers, bits, and other small items. The one thing I did not find was a faceplate or dog driver. Anyhow, she threw the whole tool box into the deal.
One thing I got was this tiny little milling attachment-looking thing. Cutest thing you ever saw. Pics below. The graduated collar and handle look like South Bend items. If anybody has any information on it, I'd like to know. There are no manufacturer markings on it.
I spent all day yesterday disassembling and cleaning. It's not in as bad of condition as it appears. Most of the "rust" on it turned out to be just gunk and is cleaning off, but I have never in my life seen so many mud-dauber wasp nests! I also found that every oil hole on the machine was plugged with cut-bee and mud-dauber nests. Everything feels tight and smooth, though. The chucks, centers, and other tooling is cleaning up nicely in the rust remover fluid (I found that heating it in an old crock pot on low enhances the rust-removing action). As I clean, I am finding that the 2-3 coats of paint are essentially dissolving and chipping off in large chips. I won't be able to paint it immediately, but will get to it as soon as I get the DR lathe reassembled. I will clean the headstock, end gears, and QCGB this week and hopefully put her into service making shafts and bushings for the DR.
I'll post more as I progress. The parts on the work bench are from the DR. The SB parts are in the crock pot being de-rusted.
I am up to my ears in a rebuild of a Delta Rockwell 11 (you can find my thread on that forum) and needed the use of a lathe to make several shafts and odd-sized bushings. I learned that a friend of mine had a lathe that belonged to her late husband, whom I knew only slightly before his passing. She said I could use the lathe if it would work. I went to take a look and found this SB 9A looking pretty sad and lonely, not to mention covered in rust, grime, and bird poop. Nevertheless, I fired it up and did a couple test cuts and found it actually functions. I found several live and dead centers, a 3-jaw and a 4-jaw chuck, a collet closer and a set of Hardinge 3-C collets, but no adapter or spindle thread protector. The lathe has a taper attachment as well. All were covered in a layer of surface rust. The motor, the 1/4hp original, works, but has to be hand-started.
I went to her and threw out a couple options to her. First, I told her I'd like to buy it. If she didn't want to sell it, the second option was to take it to my shop for a couple months, where I would clean it up and adjust it, then use it to make my parts, then return it. I told her I thought it was worth, in its present state, about $3-500, but that if I took it and cleaned it up, she should be able to sell it in the $1,000 range. I felt like this was an honest assessment, after having watched the market around here for several months. She took that information to a close friend of hers who is a machinist and owns a welding and fabrication shop. He confirmed my assessment and she returned to me with a price of $500, to include all appertaining tooling and accessories. I accepted the offer. When I went to pick it up yesterday, I told her there were several parts that I was sure her husband had, but I didn't see with the lathe. She allowed me to go through his workshop looking for parts (that was a chore, since her hired hand has literally stuffed the workshop with junk since her husband's passing). After some serious digging, I came upon a small tool box. I was happy to find the box contained the collet adapter and thread protector, a set of Rivett collets, several items of Starrett, Brown and Sharpe, and Mitutoyo mics and other measuring tools, as well as several dead centers, bits, and other small items. The one thing I did not find was a faceplate or dog driver. Anyhow, she threw the whole tool box into the deal.
One thing I got was this tiny little milling attachment-looking thing. Cutest thing you ever saw. Pics below. The graduated collar and handle look like South Bend items. If anybody has any information on it, I'd like to know. There are no manufacturer markings on it.
I spent all day yesterday disassembling and cleaning. It's not in as bad of condition as it appears. Most of the "rust" on it turned out to be just gunk and is cleaning off, but I have never in my life seen so many mud-dauber wasp nests! I also found that every oil hole on the machine was plugged with cut-bee and mud-dauber nests. Everything feels tight and smooth, though. The chucks, centers, and other tooling is cleaning up nicely in the rust remover fluid (I found that heating it in an old crock pot on low enhances the rust-removing action). As I clean, I am finding that the 2-3 coats of paint are essentially dissolving and chipping off in large chips. I won't be able to paint it immediately, but will get to it as soon as I get the DR lathe reassembled. I will clean the headstock, end gears, and QCGB this week and hopefully put her into service making shafts and bushings for the DR.
I'll post more as I progress. The parts on the work bench are from the DR. The SB parts are in the crock pot being de-rusted.
