Just Bought A South Bend 9c

[a917ndy]

This is my first real lathe, i have a harbor freight one but its just too small for me. It came with a 3 and 4 jaw chuck, some brass 3c collets with the closer, a kdk style tool post, and a bunch of other stuff

Before I start using it I'd like to take it apart and clean it up and make sure everything is working nicely. This is my first time working on an old machine like this so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-Andrew

 

[aametalmaster]

Nice find. I would just wipe it down and give it a test run...Bob

 

[brino]

Hi Andrew,

Congratulations, nice lathe!
I like to see people as excited as I am about the older equipment.
You will find lots of like-minded people here that have decades of knowledge and are willing it share it.

Welcome aboard!
-brino

 

[Strtspdlx]

I would consider giving it a good wipe down and cleaning build up off without disassembly and oil it up. After that run it for a bit. Try turning facing and parting. See if there are any issues at all and if so when you take it apart for a thorough cleaning you can identify and fix known issues. Looks like a great but good luck with it!!


Regards-Carlo

 

[pineyfolks]

Looks like a good deal. I have a larger lathe but my 9" sb is used for 80% of my work. You'll be amazed at how much you can do with that size machine.

 

[Surprman]

Andrew,

Congrats on the lathe. That size is great and they are fun to refurbish. One item, I think you have South Bend 9 inch junior lathe (not a model C). - the apron and headstock look different from a model C. That is an important distinction when you are going out to eBay to start getting parts. Also, the feet look like they are reversed on the lathe. (The foot with the hole should be under the headstock- at least that is how most of the ones I've seen have been arranged).

Have fun!
Rick

 

[Splat]

I would at the least remove the apron and see how dirty it is, along with the lead screw gear box, if it has one. Good luck with her!

 

[brino]

The foot with the hole should be under the headstock- at least that is how most of the ones I've seen have been arranged

Hey Surprman, is that hole used for anything?

thanks,
-brino

 

[a917ndy]

Thanks everyone, the lathe seems to run fine, i've taken a couple things off to clean and it was pretty filthy. Also I think you are right surprman i did notice a few very slight differences between my lathe and the one in the rebuild manual. Also the bolt used to lock the cross feed was steel instead of brass so I'd like to replace that with the correct one but i cant find a brass one with those threads so I'll have to try to find one online or make a brass tip so it doesnt damage the threads it pushes against.

Other than that its cleaning up real nicely

 

[Surprman]

I'm sure you will get some good use out of the machine regardless of the model (although the jr model might not have as many parts up for sale compared to the production run size of the "workshop" models (A,B and C). Regardless, they made good, quality stuff back then. To answer a question another poster asked in this thread, the hole is sometimes used as a place to run the wire back to the motor (not sure if that was the original purpose, but that's what I used it for: