Help ID and advise on SB 9" 61-A

Gaffer i would be glad to send a pic from my 1934 catalog showing your lathe if you PM me. Appears it cost $238.75 then. It was probably in it’s last couple yrs production before SB switched over to toolmaker style for all their 9” models.
At a quick glance you’ll notice yours (junior) has 4 spoke carriage handwheel & the newer toolmaker (1934 model designation name) has a 3 spoke carriage handwheel.
Back in 1980 or so I called the SB factory to order their book “How to run a Lathe” (pre internet days) and inquire about some change gears. They wanted my ser# 84029 and when they took my address to ship the book, told me my lathe left the factory Apr 8 1938.
I’m using it today to start on a PM #3 engine casting kit, it appears as I am a geezer i’ll be stuck at home for awhile until this virus is contained.
Cheers, Mac
 
I'm happy to fork over the $25 fee if the information is useful.

The info on the card is just for informational purposes now. You can't order parts for your lathe from South Bend now regardless of the info you provide them.

I don't see the utility of paying $25 for useless info. Save it for tooling.
 
cool looking lathe. I'd suggest putting new felts in (if they have them) and making sure all the various gears/ surfaces have oil and then just using it. Fix problems as they come up, if they do at all. Then, once you have a couple of years use on it you'll either a) realise that you don't mind the tatty paint and like using it too much to tear it down or b) you'll know what you're doing better and won't break anything when you do tear it down.

Seriously, my first (and current) proper lathe has new painted tail stock, carriage and countershaft bracket and tatty everything else. I keep meaning to finish repainting it but I have too many projects to do already and it works just fine the way it is :)
 
+1 what Mmuppet said. Likely you will be much better off just wiping down, oiling the machine surfaces and explore how it runs, and makes parts. The machine will tell you if any thing needs repair. Big mistake to tear it down the sake of tearing it down. An old time master machinist once asked me if i disassembled and rebuilt my first car - just so I could learn how to drive? Same thing with machine tools. These are very specialized and sophisticated instruments. The people who designed them are far more knowageable that most of us will ever be. Better off to leave it in one piece, learn how to operate it, first...

PS. Whatever you do, DO NOT take the headstock off the bed. Not even to clean or paint. The factory torqued the headstock to the bed with very precise settings - to ensure .0001 or less alignment. If you loosen the bolts, you will loose any pretense of alignment between ways, spindle and headstock. Very, very difficult to put it back together again, unless all you are looking for is a pretty paint Job, and nice front office display.

One other tip. I’ve actually got a 1929 SB 9. The finish on my machine is not paint, rather, it is Gilsonite- trade name for Asphaltum. A mineral substance everyone used for autoundercoating and machine tool coatings back in the ‘20s. Gilsonite was a mixture of lamp back (carbon), linseed oil and asphaltum, melted and mixed, then baked on in layers. Pretty cool stuff. Impervious to water penetration as the crystalline structure interlocked on the surface and sealed against outside humidity. So if you see a black sort of basecoat, that’s probably what you are looking at. You can actually buy this stuff in small quantities from the mine in the Western US, where it is still produced.

Good luck.

Tlenn
 
Thanks Glenn,

I'll run her and see how things go. I wiped it down and inspected it more closely, and from what I can see, the original coating is likely Gilsonite. The exposed areas not repainted are black, and it does not seem like paint. It is for sure tougher than the light gray paint that is peeling in beneath the motor. I appreciate the warning about removing the headstock. I liked the first car analogy. Thanks
 
Gilsonite?

That's what I love about this place, always something new to learn....

 
This lathe is not in quite as good of shape as I thought. I knew I had to replace the leather belt because it was stretched. The previous owner kept adding shims to the take-up lever to take up the slack. After diving into it, I found the small, front gear on the spindle to be brazed onto it. How bad off am I? All else appears fine, but I'm inclined to separate it and look for the necessary replacement parts to fix it correctly. If you think otherwise, I'm all ears. I attached an overall of the spindle and a closeup of the brazed/welded gear.
 

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