A silk purse from a Sow's ear?

BrianPowley · Aug 28, 2009

Just had to share this with the Forum.
I've been looking for a small lathe to incorporate into the business. Mostly for cutting cylinder/barrel grooves for inlay and polishing round stock.
A good friend of mine(Larry) said he had a lathe and would gladly give it to me. It was given to him and he really had no use for it.
Larry didn't know what kind it was, only that it was old and heavy and he would deliver it.
I said----OK! (a good deal just got better.)

Larry shows up with the lathe completely disassembled and I just had to ask why he took it apart.
Larry said, "It was too heavy for me to lift, so I took it apart to get it in the van."
You know what the expression on my face was,don't you?
Since Larry is my good friend, I thanked him for the "gift" and decided to figure out what I had laying on the floor of my garage and if there's anything I can do with it.
A little research yielded a welcome surprise:
The lathe is a vintage South Bend 9" Model C....probably manufactured around 1945.
The "Practical Machinist's" forum and Ebay has been gleaning advice, an actual owners manual and some missing(?) parts.
After a few months of electrolysis cleaning, bead blasting and Rustoleum Spray Paint, she's just about ready for service.
Hey,Hey,Hey-----A free metal lathe!!!! (some assembly required.)

Tira · Aug 28, 2009

Some assembly required? It looks like complete assembly required! Looks like you did a great job - I hope it serves you well for many years. Rob wants to take a look at it on the way by....

See you soon.

pilkguns · Aug 28, 2009

looks like a great acquisitian Brian and a lot of effort on your behalf. I would question the viability of plywood and 2x4tabletop though.

Steve223 · Aug 28, 2009

Wow Brian you did a nice job on it !! I would sure like to find one like that.
Steve

BrianPowley · Aug 28, 2009

Scott, I agree that this workbench may not be the best place to leave it.
The nice thing is that now I know how to take it apart, move it and reassemble it.

BrianPowley · Aug 28, 2009

Tira, I hope to have it operational by the time he gets here.
Maybe he can show me how to use it.
I guessing I can figure out how much trouble I can get into all by myself. :shock:

It would be great to have someone show me how to avoid that.:thumbs up:

eastslope · Aug 28, 2009

Very impressive and quite an undertaking. Thanks for sharing, Seth

fegarex · Aug 28, 2009

Cool Brian,
I did about the same thing with the same vintage Altas lathe. My father got it with his WWII bonus. I sure learned a lot by restoring it too.
Rex

BrianPowley · Aug 28, 2009

I was surprised to find out the antique lathe "aficionados" out there.
Getting this lathe to the point it's at right now was fairly easy with the Internet.

Tim Wells · Aug 28, 2009

Practical machinist is another forum I hang out on; even got two engraving jobs off there. If you have a machine and you post a question in the right section, someone there will have an answer.

You did a good job there, I'm about to do an old Craftsman lathe about that size that someone gave me. What's those other two black lathes in the first photo? Looks like part of a cataract lathe of some kind.

Welcome to the hobby machinist club, now you'll never get any engraving done from playing on that thing.

I just got a call yesterday from a friend who's out on tour playing with Elvis Costello of all people and he shot an idea across my bow about machining a string bender for a banjo for him. Looks like that knife I had in the vise will have to wait... again. Making stuff is addictive!

BrianPowley · Aug 28, 2009

The other two lathes in the background are a pair of antique Goodell-Pratt lathes.
One is a wood lathe, the other is a metal lathe.
They were included in the "Free South Bend Lathe" giveaway.
Haven't decided what to do with them yet.
Ebay maybe???

Peter E · Aug 28, 2009

Congratulations Brian! It is looking good and will probably last forever.

Steve Lindsay has a couple of restored Hardinge lathes (amongst other machinery) on his site.

There are MANY tool lovers out there...myself included:big grin:

richard hall · Aug 28, 2009

Brian, you sure go to extremes to make chips

Andrew Biggs · Aug 28, 2009

One of the funniest things I have seen was walking around the annual "Buy, Sell, Swap & Exhange" fair.

It truley defines the saying.......one mans junk is another mans treasure.

In one of the areas was a big pile of truck parts with boxes and boxes filled with nuts, bolts and screws.. Body, chassis and everything you could think of and all of it had that wonderful brown patina. It was quite a pile.

In the middle of the pile was a sign saying...........

Home handymans dream.
Kitset ??? Bedford truck
COMPLETE
Everything is here and all you have to do is put it back together!!!

Cheers
Andrew

Steve223 · Aug 28, 2009

Brian How much would you want for the Metal Lathe? It would prolly cost a fortune to ship it out here tho.

metalchipper · Aug 28, 2009

Hello Brian,

That is great, I am trying not to be jealous.
:yes

Some day I will have a lath. I get to do a little on a manual lath at work in maintance.
In the past ran CNC laths for production parts.

But my home shop needs one, the new cheap ones just do not turn me the right way. LOL

Barry Lee Hands · Aug 28, 2009

Brian, it wasn't a sow's ear, just a very tired silk purse. . .

Hot Knobs · Aug 28, 2009

Lathe

Brian, great deal those are good old lathes, looks like the change gears are there, Lindsay publiations reprinted the 1942 edition of How to Run A Lathe put out by South Bend, it is a very good little book. I don't know if lindsay is still in business, look on the net, or a used one on E-bay. Deane

richard hall · Aug 29, 2009

Brian, pm me your address, ill send you my copy

BrianPowley · Aug 29, 2009

Wow...I'm surprised at the number of "gearheads" here. I guess "great minds think alike".

Steve223, I won't be selling the SB Metal lathe. I've been needing one for my business. This is an answered prayer.

Deane..not sure if those are change gears or the gears to the Quick Change Gear Box you see in the "before" picture...only because I'm not all that familiar with metal lathes yet.
The QCGB is a LA (Logan Actuator) and it appears that someone attempted an upgrade and fit it on the lathe. The bed is drilled and tapped for the QCGB housing, but the lead screw that came with the lathe almost makes it. The LS just doesn't connect up.
I decided to return this to the original Model C configuration. I just bought a "like new" lead screw and will attempt to finish the puzzle.
I'll probably just sell the QCGB. It's in good shape. lotsa gears. no broken teeth.

Barry....you're right---a very tired silk purse.

A silk purse from a Sow's ear?

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