Hello all, I just purchashed a very old South Bend Model A 9" lathe. Still being new to machining, I felt I had to have it. The best I could tell, it is a 1935 series, belt driven, tool room, with a 3 1/2' bed. It has the old style quick chage gear box, with one gear selector in front, a 3 position lever on top & and a push/pull knob on the side. The motor is an old 1/4 hp, Westinghouse motor, which is chain driven to a single sprocket, which is at the end of the 3 step pulleys on the jack shaft, then to the headstock. This will only give me 3 speeds in high range, and three in back gear. For someone starting out, is this sufficiant speeds for general work (alum and mild steel), or should I be looking for a different motor set up with a 2 speed step pulley? Any other info on this lathe would be appreciated. Thanks, Jim.