ID this 9x24 lathe and should I buy it?

S

slow-poke

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I have been looking for a slightly larger (heavier) lathe to replace my Emco compact 8, and I just found this South Bend 9x24 close by.
the guy inherited it and has never used it. The belt was cut before it was moved. the price seems quite reasonable.

Obviously with the belt cut I won’t be able to test it. can anyone venture a guess as to what year/model this is and what I should look for when inspecting beyond broken teeth.

Known limitations of this model?

Any and all advice is welcome.
thanks0F2BA3F3-6F5C-44B1-A33B-64D879A432D1.jpeg
 
There should be a serial number at the right hand side of the bed between the ways closest to the front, this you can look up on line, it appears to be a 9" Model A. Hopefully all the change gears are there, you can look on the threading chart to see what there is supposed to be. If you do buy it, find a copy of South Bend's book "how to run a lathe", there is lots of info in it pertaining to all models of their belt drive lathes.
 
The fellow tells me that I will need 25.5” depth of bench space. I can accommodate that, however my bench is bolted to the wall and so I’m limited to that depth. When I look at images the big pulley at the back on the SB lathes seems to require a lot of depth. Does 25.5” seem accurate? If I need more depth I will need to find a shallower lathe.

thanks again
 
My mistake! I was thinking in the wrong order C is the simplest cheapest model, A is the opposite,(all the bells and whistles), and B must be somewhere in between. I have owned several SB lathes, from a 9C to a 16", but not recently. I suppose you could space the bench out from the wall if need be.
 
Loking at the Horizontal drive diagram it looks like I would need a minimum of about 33-34" depth. The bench is fixed to the wall, so unless I can move that big pulley forward or use a smaller pulley and perhaps a VFD controlled 3-phase motor to reduce the speed, it does not look like it will fit in the space I have.
 
I think I would look first at reducing the big pulley diameter, I don't think it is original, the original was a flat faced cast iron affair with a vee belt running on it, the motor having a vee pulley. Using a smaller pulley that would make things work on your bench, combined with a freq. drive would give you some higher speeds also.
 
My SB9C would easily fit in 25.5” from wall. When I made the table I moved the horizontal drive as close to the lathe as I could without fouling pulleys or change gears & bracketry.
The large pulley was 11”, I changed it to a 10” to speed it up a bit.
Plus you always have the back gears to thread etc.
EDIT. Make that 26.5-27.5 to end of handwheel knobs
 
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If I was shopping for a Southie I would hold out for an A model- think "A" for apron with all the goodies
-Mark
 
I have a horizontal drive 10K (which is basically the same dimensions as a 9).
I’ll measure it’s depth and let you know.

As others have said, I’d hold out for a model with a quick change gear box.


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