SB 10" catalog number 999-R, information needed

MontanaLon

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Bought a lathe yesterday, seems to be in pretty good shape considering the s/n dates it to a 1940ish manufacture date. Trouble I am having is it is marked as a 10" catalog number 999R and I can't find any information about it online.

Of particular interest to me is a rebuild kit with wicks etc so as I reassemble I can replace all the old consumable parts to keep this machine going for another 80 years.

From what I can see so far, it has some of the features of the 9" lathes and some of the features of the larger lathes like a double wall apron. But it has the lever clutch instead of a star clutch like most of the larger lathes in the catalogs. I'm just not sure what to make of it, it appears from the catalogs I have seen to have been a mid model year introduction as there was an addendum to the 1939 catalog which spoke of several of the 9" models being discontinued and replaced with the 10" models.

I will post up some photos later as I clean it up while checking it out with a finer tooth comb.

I was able to go over it in detail yesterday and found no broken gears, no visible bed wear and just barely can feel the bed wear. Half nuts are worn but nowhere near worn out as they still have considerable flats on top of threads. Lead screw is worn similarly.Also found a metric ton of sawdust in nooks and crannies so it was either being used to turn wood or was stored uncovered in a wood shop where sawdust could settle on it. There is no rust to speak of, and it looks to be the original paint, that presents me with a conundrum, do I just clean it up and take off the years of oxidized oil, or do I strip it down and give it a fresh coat of paint. Hmmm, don't know if repainting would affect the value negatively or positively.
 
It seems to me like these lathes bring more money or value after they are restored. I too would like to see some pics of it. Painting it is a pretty big job to do correctly. If the paint is in good shape you might just want to clean and re wick it and tune it up to use it. It kind of depends on what your needs are. I completely rebuilt my 1949 heavy 10 with a proper paint job and I have no regrets. It is now a beautiful user.
 
Now that I have cleaned off some of the grease, it isn't the original paint. Can see the over runs on the plates which I didn't play super close attention too as I was trying to make out what was stamped on them more than anything. So now I need to decide on a color. Machine gray is so boring.

Getting into the guts of it is fun. And greasy. You would think after 100 years and more of using petroleum products to lubricate moving parts someone would have invented one that had no odor or better yet, smelled pleasant, like Hoppe's #9 or Chanel #5. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an essential oil sniffing millennial but it makes sense now why my Grandfather used Old Spice before he came home after working in the factory all day.

And while they are at it they can work it out to reduce or at least make the staining of it a more pleasant skin tone. :D
 
Unless you plan on selling the lathe, or have to have a show piece, clean, repair and use. You could do a lot of turning in the time you would spend stripping and painting. Just my humble opinion.
 
Unless you plan on selling the lathe, or have to have a show piece, clean, repair and use. You could do a lot of turning in the time you would spend stripping and painting. Just my humble opinion.
I heard that. I think I will just clean it up for now and start using it. There is nothing wrong with the paint already on it and it won't change the chips it can make. I don't plan on selling it any time soon. My guess is it will be passed down to the kids. Unless of course I buy another one. But I am focused on finding a mill before then.
 
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