Hi. The back gear stop screw on my South Bend 9 lathe seems like it's too short. The lever stop is non-functional unless the screw is all the way in, and then the lock nut won't screw on because too little of the set screw protrudes. The end of the set screw seems worn, with a flat on the side of the tip. The orientation is such that the screw end's cross section looks like a "D". This could be the problem, or the assembly may be missing a brass plug. Is anybody familiar with the arrangement?
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Back gear lever stop screw seems too short
- Thread starter ericc
- Start date
I figured out the solution. It seems that the end of the adjusting set screw is not supposed to have a flat in the side. Somehow, this binds with the slot on the shaft and allows the lever to be turned past the set point. The problem was fixed by soft soldering a small piece of steel to the flat and rounding off the end of the screw. The manual is not too helpful, since the pictures are scanned and grainy. It seems that in the old days, the drawings leave a lot of blanks to be filled in. At least it's better than today's manuals, which often don't contain any useful drawings. The repaired bolt works just fine. The bolt is hardened, and the little piece of steel was not, as was obvious when filing. It will probably only last 20 years. Shoddy, but sufficient repair. Attached is a picture of the worn screw. By the way, I figured out that the flat is not intentional by searching Ebay for South Bend parts. Best darn documentation by far. 
