- Joined
- Aug 6, 2020
- Messages
- 3
Hello,
I'm brand new to the forum, my name is Matt. I am a mechanical design engineer by trade and have some experience operating both a mill and lathe, I live in Minneapolis, MN.
I recently acquired a 4' South Bend Model 9A lathe from a friend. He paid nothing for it and since he had no use for it he gave it to me. I knew nothing about the condition of the lathe when I agreed to take it off his hands but now that I have it in my basement I can see quite a few issues that need to be addressed to make it operable (worn bed, excessive backlash on cross slide & compound, plenty of end play in the spindle, the list goes on
Before I saw the lathe in detail in my basement my plans were to refresh it into working order, the condition of the bed however makes me wonder if restoring this lathe is worth the time and effort. I'm hoping someone here can help advise me. I do not yet have an indicator to make measurements, I have only my eyes.
If you look at the pictures of the ways you can see that the very peaks on the spindle side are completely worn down for like 4-6". Its almost as if someone came over with an angle grinder and buzzed the tops off. You can also see that the sides of the ways are quite worn with lots of scoring. Is this lathe a lost cause? Should I just chuck this thing?
Thanks,
Matthew LaBerge
I'm brand new to the forum, my name is Matt. I am a mechanical design engineer by trade and have some experience operating both a mill and lathe, I live in Minneapolis, MN.
I recently acquired a 4' South Bend Model 9A lathe from a friend. He paid nothing for it and since he had no use for it he gave it to me. I knew nothing about the condition of the lathe when I agreed to take it off his hands but now that I have it in my basement I can see quite a few issues that need to be addressed to make it operable (worn bed, excessive backlash on cross slide & compound, plenty of end play in the spindle, the list goes on
Before I saw the lathe in detail in my basement my plans were to refresh it into working order, the condition of the bed however makes me wonder if restoring this lathe is worth the time and effort. I'm hoping someone here can help advise me. I do not yet have an indicator to make measurements, I have only my eyes.
If you look at the pictures of the ways you can see that the very peaks on the spindle side are completely worn down for like 4-6". Its almost as if someone came over with an angle grinder and buzzed the tops off. You can also see that the sides of the ways are quite worn with lots of scoring. Is this lathe a lost cause? Should I just chuck this thing?
Thanks,
Matthew LaBerge