Grandpa's Heavy 10 Lathe

C

CalRon

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Hey Guys,

I am new to the forum and hoping for some advice. Next month my wife and I are taking a road trip to pick up my grandpa's old Heavy 10 lathe. I enjoy gunsmithing as a hobby and this lathe was recently passed down to me. I am completely new to this type of equipment. My family doesnt know much about it either. From the research I've done, I've found that it is a 4 1/2" soft bed Heavy 10 SB lathe. My aunt hasn't given me the serial number yet, so I dont know exactly when it was made.

The lathe has been collecting dust in the basement the last 8-10 years. It may be difficult to remove from the basement because I have a feeling there is a lot of furniture and other heavy equipment around it. I'm think the best way to get it out of there will be to disassemble it and reassemble when I get it home. How difficult will this be? Any suggestions as to where I can find a manual or instructions on how to dissassemble? I only have 1 day to get it out of there and loaded into a U-Hual. I'd like to keep the thing assembled, but it appears to be pretty heavy and I think we have some tight corners and obstacles to get it out of there in one piece.

Any specific equipmnt I should look for that might go with this lathe? I literally know nothing about lathes at the moment and trying to research as much as possible before I head to WA to pick it up.

Also, any idea what this is worth? I'm going to get it either way because it has sentimental value to me, but it's going to cost us about $1,500-$1,700 to make the trip.

Thanks,
Aaron



Lathe.jpg 20170101_172543.jpg
 
First of all congrats! That's a great lathe. You can get a rebuild manual for it on ebay, it's kinda like an owners manual on steroids and tells you everything you will ever need to know about this lathe. It was invaluable to me when I restored mine and I still refer to it. 1,700 is not ad to retrieve it, especially for the sentimental value. Only thing I see that I don't like is that it appears to be covered in saw dust. If it was used for wood working then it will need to be disassembled and given a good cleaning. It should probably be reworked anyways because of its age. That is a desire able lathe and worth fixing up, I would restore it in a heartbeat, it looks pretty good from the pics but juts needs to be shown some love.
Welcome to the southbend club!
 
P.S. it's not that hard to break down into the basic components for moving. Heaviest piece will be the cast iron pedestal, it's very heavy even if you remove the motor, I have moved mine twice now that's how I know. Break it down like this, remove the belt. Remove the gear banjo on the left side, 2 bolts to remove the headstock then. Remove the gearbox and slide the long threaded Rod out of the apron, remove the screws and them remove the apron. Remove the bolts from the bottom of the saddle and lift it off. Then remove the 4 bolts that Mont the bed to the legs and the ones that attach the bed to the pedestal base. Lift the bed off, with some help of course. Then just unbolt the pan and you will have it broken down into its basic components. I would remove the electric motor from the pedestal to lighten it some. Bring some zip lock bags and a sharpie to label all the fasteners so it makes them easy to find and reassemble.
Any questions just ask. :)
 
Welcome to the forum,there is a whole lot of info here on the forum and guys such as woodtickgreg along with others has done a fantastic job on their SB's so check out their restoration.
Unless you have several guys and the right equipment for removing it from the basement I would say for the sake of the lathe to break it down into workable sections.As heavy as what cast iron is,it can sometimes break easy(don't drop),so care needs to be taken and don't let the time frame cause you to make a removable mistake.It can be costly,so take a camera and take lots of pics so that putting it back together will be alittle easier.And for posting here so that us guys can get into your business:) Keep in mind that,that lathe is not just another lathe,it has history and its a family member.Nothing better than that,congratulations----kroll
 
Thank you both for your help.

The instructions you provided for dissassembly are much appreciated. I believe this will be our best option for removing it from the basement. Hopefully the bolts wont be too difficult to remove. May have to spray some penetrating oil and let it sit for a little while to help them break loose. Good idea to package all the bolts in ziplock bags and label them accordingly. I will definitely take lots of pictures otherwise I wont have a clue as to how to put this beast back together.

I didn't realize until yesterday that there is a big old motor sitting inside the pedestal. I thought that piece was hollow and was an area for storage inside. lol.

My grandpa and uncle definitely used this lathe for wood. My grandpa used to make custom stocks for his rifles with it. He was a machinist and worked for Boeing back in the day, so I'm sure he used it for plenty of other cool stuff.

As of now, the only thing I bought for the lathe is a rebuild book/kit from ebay I was told from a member on AKFiles that the wicks used to lubricate the lathe should be replaced every 7-10 years and he recommened that I buy this kit. I havent looked at the manual that came with it yet, but maybe it will provide instructions on how to dissassemble the lathe even further. I'd really like to make sure this thing is in good condition before reassembly.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/160588106078?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I'll be sure to post an update when I finally get it home.
 
woodtickgreg said:
Only thing I see that I don't like is that it appears to be covered in saw dust. If it was used for wood working then it will need to be disassembled and given a good cleaning. It should probably be reworked anyways because of its age!
Click to expand...

Note, on my 9" wide junior, the sawdust from the previous owners actually collected and kept oil on surfaces, and prevented a lot more corrosion. Yes, it will need a solid cleaning, but that sawdust probably means it is in great shape underneath it all.

Look for any collets, chucks, or cutting bits or tool holders. You don't need to look for change gears since it has a quick change gear box for thread cutting.
 
silverhawk said:
Note, on my 9" wide junior, the sawdust from the previous owners actually collected and kept oil on surfaces, and prevented a lot more corrosion. Yes, it will need a solid cleaning, but that sawdust probably means it is in great shape underneath it all.

Look for any collets, chucks, or cutting bits or tool holders. You don't need to look for change gears since it has a quick change gear box for thread cutting.
Click to expand...

That's great to hear. The lathe looks like it's in pretty good shape from the pictures. Im surprised it doesnt have more rust considering it's been sitting in a basement in Washington. Hopefully I will find the tools you mentioned. Im really hoping to find a steady rest because those appear to be expensive and I know it will come in handy.
 
Hi Calron,

Congratulations on the "new" lathe. I prefer machines with "experience".

I will try to dig up the original catalog based on that model number.

Welcome to the group and the hobby!
The folks here will be invaluable with their experience and free advice.....and here "free" is priceless.

-brino
 
That is the rebuild manual and felt kit that I used on my restore. I also purchased both of the lube kits you have posted, it's plenty to get you started and actually use the lathe for quite some time. The rebuild manual will actually cover disassembly better than the original manual.
Of all the machines I own, both for wood and metal, the southbend is my favorite machine hands down, it just gets in your soul. Like Kroll said, they have a history, a part of americana, they are to be revered and cared for. It was a machine that was owned by a family member and he would be happy to see you continue caring for it. I am only my lathes steward for now, when I die someone else will have that responsibility. I brought mine back from the grave, yours is not that bad. It will teach you things, like what a taper pin is and the importance of a good set of punches and learning which end of the pin to wack really hard to break them loose. That's a great machine, take good care of it.
 
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