My new OLD South Bend 9" model A lathe

That's factory. It's a "silent chain", built about the same as a timing chain.
 
jumps4 said:
what a nice machine no signs of ever rusting, and seems to be well cared for
I have never seen one like that... but it sure looks factory
I would save all the parts it may be a rare find
steve
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Yes i tend to agree with you Jumps4 , I also feel what we are looking at is a rare bird with a somewhat unique drive from a past era, Is the old electric motor a DC current machine, I think it is really cool also
 
songbird said:
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.
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Just a note concerning my new lathe, I'm the one that purchashed the "new refurbished motor & pulley set up" that just sold on e-bay. The seller said it was in the process of being installed on a 9" for a school, but the shop closed before being completed. Anyhow, I plan to take off the existing motor set up as shown and replacing it with what you all probably have. Here is another question concerning this old lathe. The dial on the cross feed is extremely small and hard to read (for my tired eyes). Has anyone tried replacing it with a newer/larger one. Can it be done, or does it need to be done by replacing the leadscrew as well? Thanks in advance, Jim.
 
Jim, there's a thread here some place where a member replaced his dials with larger ones. It's buried somewhere. I'll try to find it.
 
42 said:
Jim, there's a thread here some place where a member replaced his dials with larger ones. It's buried somewhere. I'll try to find it.
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Thanks, that would be great! The diameter of the dial that's on the cross feed is just at 3/4", plus being old, (the machine), sure makes it hard to read.
 
42 said:
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/showthread.php/5772-big-dials?highlight=larger+dials

That's a start in the right direction.
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that tutorial looked great. What a super job! When I began reading it, (backwards, finish product to start), it did not look too hard. When you see how far he went, maybe a little too advanced for me at this point. I may be forced to take a short cut (for now) and (don't laugh) make a sleeve that will slide over the existing dial. That may proove to be too hokey, but anything I can do on the lathe is good practice for me. Thanks for finding this thread, Jim.
 
FWIW, make sure you're hitting the smaller end of the pin.

That's a nice old beauty! Good luck with her. :)
 
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