New To The Forum, Interested In Southbend Heavy 10

H

hrolen

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Oct 21, 2015
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Hello,

I guess I kind of put the cart before the horse as I have commented on another thread before starting this one. I joined this forum after sitting in the shadows and learning a bunch from everybody's questions and the answers they received. I purchased an early single tumbler heavy 10 last year from the WWII era. I had no idea what I was purchasing at the time, only that a -machinist friend of mine was storing it and he said it was good. He had never steered me wrong in the past so down the road I went with my new/old lathe. It turned out to be a heavy 10 from around 1941. It was wearing a brass tag indicating it was used in service for the war under the defense plant corp. It was in fair shape, but filthy. Using this and other forums and documents from the web, I have been able to learn a lot. When it comes to machining I have a lot to learn (everything). I have however been able to gather a few bits of info regarding machines like mine. I think the history behind these great machines, and the fact that there are so many still in service, tells a lot about our country at the time they were built. Things were made to last, then be rebuilt and last again. I realize that there are things I could do faster with a newer machine. I don't think that is always the point ,but any how. I am posting a few pics of the clean and paint/ refurbish. I still have some work to do, but that will come as time and finances permit. I am proud of the machine though it is not near the quality of build I have seen from some of you here. Thanks you for being here!
IMG_20150106_170912111.jpg IMG_20150107_091331202.jpg IMG_20150429_130502657.jpg
 
Thank you both for the kind words. As far as the taper attachment goes, I will have to make a new attaching rod as mine is bent. I had heard that Southbend used lead Babbitt material to set the end rod into the boss at the end of the bed. Does anyone here know if that is correct? My collet rack mount appears to be where the rod is attached to use the taper attachment. Perhaps I will have to post this on a separate thread. The good news is I do know the attachment belongs with the lathe as all of the parts are stamped with the defense plant number assigned to it during WWII. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
 
On my 9" the right end has a cast iron fitting that attaches the taper attachment to the bed.
 
That's a great looking lathe, you should be proud. Use her and enjoy her.
 
I am finishing up the gear box on mine than the ony thing left to do is the bed and the cabinet. How much bead wear did you have?
 
To be honest I couldn't tell you an exact measurement. The scraping is gone in the middle. When testing with the carriage lock it doesn't seem to get very tight on the ends. My best guess is less than .010". My gear box is functional but will need work and I am looking to replace the tumbler handle and idler gear as soon as possible because it was broken when I got it. I actually had to tig weld the handle back together at the bore. I also had to replace a tooth on the idler gear as well. These are both temporary solutions that I am currently fixing. I beleive when I crank the gear box again I will bore the case for bushings and turn the shafts down where the gear shafts ride in the gear box in the plain casting. That's definitely a weak point in the design! Some day when I get better at this I will measure the actual bed wear. The oddest thing for wear I noticed was the tailstock. It took almost .020 to shim it to center of the headstock. the wear was quite visible on the bottom of it. My ways are obviously not hardened, but they seem to be much harder than the tailstock base.
 
David VanNorman said:
On my 9" the right end has a cast iron fitting that attaches the taper attachment to the bed.
Click to expand...
Dave, is there any way you could post a picture of your taper attachment where it mounts to the end of the bed. Mine has the cast iron boss. There are four holes in it and one set screw. It appears there should be a bushing in there that accepts the rod from the taper attachment. I'm just not sure.
 
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