Info on this lathe

DavidR8 said:
My lathe has a .75” bore. However the chuck is not quite .75 so the effective bore is less than that.

The specs on this lathe indicate a .84” bore.


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That is much larger than the specs given at lathes.uk which says 5/8" (0.625"), but would be more in line with other similar size lathes.

$900 ($675 US) doesn't seem out of line to me based on prices I see around me. If it is a dealer then rather than whittling down the price see if you can get them to throw in some tooling, you may get a better deal that way and you will need the tooling anyway.

Don't under estimate the cost of tooling, another chuck, steady rest, follow rest and drill chuck could easily add up to more than what they are asking for the lathe.


From another of your posts I gather you are disappointed in the quality of the mini-lathe which is a common complaint for those 7x lathes. While an old US made lathe is theoretically better, they are all very old with the newest dating from the late 70s / early 1980s, and most earlier. Wear could be non-existent to extreme all depending on the life they led. Smaller lathes probably had an easier life doing light commercial work or as a hobby machine, but they probably are more prone to a lack of proper maintenance so still need a good examination. When I see a machine missing parts it suggests neglect to me, not the lathe only used by an old machinist on Sundays that we all hope to find.
 
Aaron_W said:
That is much larger than the specs given at lathes.uk which says 5/8" (0.625"), but would be more in line with other similar size lathes.

$900 ($675 US) doesn't seem out of line to me based on prices I see around me. If it is a dealer then rather than whittling down the price see if you can get them to throw in some tooling, you may get a better deal that way and you will need the tooling anyway.

Don't under estimate the cost of tooling, another chuck, steady rest, follow rest and drill chuck could easily add up to more than what they are asking for the lathe.


From another of your posts I gather you are disappointed in the quality of the mini-lathe which is a common complaint for those 7x lathes. While an old US made lathe is theoretically better, they are all very old with the newest dating from the late 70s / early 1980s, and most earlier. Wear could be non-existent to extreme all depending on the life they led. Smaller lathes probably had an easier life doing light commercial work or as a hobby machine, but they probably are more prone to a lack of proper maintenance so still need a good examination. When I see a machine missing parts it suggests neglect to me, not the lathe only used by an old machinist on Sundays that we all hope to find.
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I got that spec from the South Bend literature. It said 27/32" bore.
If I interpret the catalogue number correctly it's the last entry under the Model A section.
Screen Shot 2019-12-03 at 1.35.14 PM.png

So they've offered $900 plus $137 to get it to me. I own a truck so I could pick it up and save the shipping but I have no way to get it off my truck at my house.
Given that there is no tooling, it's 3 phase and has a broken compound dial I think going to make a silly low offer of $600 to my door and see what they say.
I doubt they'll go for that but nothing ventured nothing gained.
Thoughts?
 
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lathes.uk must have listed the 5/8" with a collet rather than the actual spindle bore. 27/32" gives it a slightly larger bore than a 10" Logan (25/32"). Very surprised that it is 3 phase with a 1/2hp motor, but adding a VFD isn't very expensive and can give you some variable speed control as well.
 
I was looking at the pics tonight and noticed this in the QC gearbox.
The levers are not engaged in the holes and it looks like right side of the notched plate with the detents is hanging down.
At first I thought that maybe the screw that hold the notched plate on was loose but I actually think the plate is broken because it looks like the very end is still attached.
Screen Shot 2019-12-03 at 10.06.15 PM.png


It looks solidly attached at the right side end so maybe the arm got smacked down and broke the plate.
Screen Shot 2019-12-03 at 10.34.38 PM.png
 
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I think you're absolutely right. If that lathe is anything like the Logan, that is a single casting (the whole gearbox). A replacement gearbox is 3-400, and I've never seen just the casting.
 
@ErichKeane I’m not sure it is one piece. I watched a YT video of a SB 10K restoration and when the removed the gearbox I could see a machine screw at each end of the front of the bottom.
I’ll find the video and get a screen shot.
Let me know if you see the same thing.


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Ah! You might be right. On my Logan it was part of the casting. You should be able to just replace that part then. I presume you're right about the cause of the damage (someone had the handle out of gear resting like that and hit it, so the pin bent it).

Looking at the 2nd picture you posted, I think it is actually pretty recent, the arm seems to be in the exact place that it hit :) I'd be a little concerned as to what the casting looks like. It shouldn't be able to bend like that without SOMETHING giving, whether it is the plate broken around the screw, the screw itself broken, or bent the casting.

I'd suspect that it is repairable in most cases, but the bent/broken casting is the worst case.
 
I offered them $600 delivered so will see what they say.
I doubt very much they will accept my offer.

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Fair enough. Good eye on the gear box -- once I've twigged on one little red flag I start to get worried and the only way after that to be anyways near comfortable is to see it in person. Or, get it for a price that you can live with either way which is what you did.

Good Luck!

-f
 
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