Southbend metal lathe find

[woodtickgreg]

I have been painting the tailstock after work during the week and after I was done with the chuck it was time for some assembly.
All of the parts ready for assembly. New felt oil washer and rubber bump stop, new felt bed wipers. Everything all painted and wire wheeled to remove rust, sanded and buffed as needed. This tailstock was in bad shape when I started.
[attachment=14728]
All assembled except the bed clamp and bolt. Works very smooth now.
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I think I want to replace this set screw with a threaded knob.
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Reunited with the rest of the lathe, I will have to center it with a test rod and dial indicator yet.
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All bare metal parts have been coated with machine oil.

 

[woodtickgreg]

No tailstock wrench you say, it did not come with one when I got the lathe, long gone. I could buy one off ebay, but I had a better idea and cheaper too, and it will give more leverage.

I went to the el cheapo tool store, 2 near me harbour frieght and wholesale tool. I found a wrench at wt for .60 cents made in India, what not china? Good enough for what I am going to do to it and use it for. Drop forged too.

So take el cheapo wrench and cut the end off that I don't need, making sure to cut the right end off.
[attachment=14734]

Grind end smooth and install on tailstock, works great, easy on and off and gives greater leverage too! Problem solved.
[attachment=14735]

 

[Rorban1]

Greg we are leaving for South Bend on Saturday. If it wasn't another five hour drive on top of the ten we will be driving I probably make a detour to Clinton township mi USA just to see this lathe in person! It's so close to being done and looking awesome!

That vactra 2 oil is the same stuff we use in our haas cnc mill too - side note

Ryan

 

[NYWoodturner]

Greg - I'm thinking this is almost too pretty to use now. Its more in the art realm than tool... Man you have done a wonderful job. I highly doubt they looked this sexy coming off the line brand new.

 

[woodtickgreg]

Greg - I'm thinking this is almost too pretty ti use now. Its more in the art realm than tool... Man you have done a wonderful job. I highly doubt they looked this sexy coming off the line brand new.

Not done yet! And I am going to use it as it was intended to be used, I will take care of it though. They are only new once....well maybe twice. I am making a brand new 1949 south bend lathe, with pride.

 

[Kenbo]

I went back to the earlier posts and had a look. This is an incredible transformation. I'm blown away every time I look at it.

 

[Kenbo]

Just went through the thread and showed Mrs Kenbo. She too is thoroughly impressed with the transformation. "That's amazing. Must be a labour of love" she said. Definitely impressive buddy.

 

[woodtickgreg]

Just went through the thread and showed Mrs Kenbo. She too is thoroughly impressed with the transformation. "That's amazing. Must be a labour of love" she said. Definitely impressive buddy.

It deffinatly has been a labor of love, Thanks to you both. I too have gone back and looked at the pics on page 2 I think, of the day I picked it up. It's kinda hard to remember what it looked like when I got it, it looked like quite a heap sitting there on the pallet. But I saw a diamond in the rough, although I didn't know how rough it really was. I could never afford to buy a tool like this, I have seen lathes like this sell for between 3k and 5k, but I could put some elbow grease into it and fix it up. At first my plan was just to rewick it and use it, but I forgot that I cannot take something apart and not put it back together better than it was, I guess that's just the mechanic in me. I have touched every single part of this lathe and I now know everything about it and how it works, I know this tool better than any tool I own. It has been a very rewarding and fun project. I encourage others to do projects like this and restore some old iron or a broken tool purchased cheap. Mike has just purchased a couple of really cool old tools cheap, Kevin has some cool old iron, Brink owns and works on em too! New tools are not always better. I can't wait for the day I throw the switch for the first time and dial it in and get to use it.
Thanks to all that have followed me on my journey with this and encouraged me. Still more to come.

 

[Mike1950]

Greg- normally- I just buy and abuse- but this summer I plan to turn scroll saw into a new saw- why you inspired me with this rebuild thread. I think I got very lucky to get the variable speed unit that I did. My rebuild will be nothing compared to yours- that is one complicated transformation from almost scrap iron to much better then new. Good on you my friend. Beautiful job......................

 

[woodtickgreg]

Cam home from work today and found a christmas box from grizzly/south bend, parts that I ordered!

[attachment=14827]
I was waiting for the parts for the used micrometer carriage stop that I got on line from a used equipment and parts dealer in VT. I forgot to take pics before I stripped it and painted it. It was painted green and grungy but in good shape.
[attachment=14828]
I also got the replacement gits oil cap for the tailstock to replace the smashed one.
[attachment=14829]
A couple pics of the completed carriage stop ready to be installed.
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And here it is mounted on the lathe, this is the correct original stop and it lines up with the machined pad on the carriage.
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Only thing is I did not use this spacer as it prevented the clamp from tightening on the bed ways.
[attachment=14834]
This is a shot from below and it shows the gap is even without the spacer. South bend used this stop on many lathes. I may just put a bolt and lock nut in place of the spacer to keep the clamp centered.
[attachment=14835]

I'll be restoring the work light next, man it's gonna take some work. As like with the rest of the lathe the previous owner spray painted everything and didn't mask anything. The reflector and bulb was even covered with paint, gray primer, bleech

 

[woodtickgreg]

Greg- normally- I just buy and abuse- but this summer I plan to turn scroll saw into a new saw- why you inspired me with this rebuild thread. I think I got very lucky to get the variable speed unit that I did. My rebuild will be nothing compared to yours

Mike I am sure you will do a great job , don't sell yourself short. I have seen the work you do and you are very skilled with your hands . Best advice I can give is take pics as you take it apart for reference. Take your time and don't cut corners, do it right, you will only do this once. Nothing will give you more joy than using a tool that you restored . you will learn all about the machine as you go, and then anything that you might have to do to it in the future will be easy. You'll find it is a fun process.

 

[NYWoodturner]

Greg - You need to re-title this post. Instead of "Southbend Metal Lathe Find" it needs to be "Southbend Metal Lathe Rebirth"
Scott

 

[Mike1950]

Greg - You need to re-title this post. Instead of "Southbend Metal Lathe Find" it needs to be "Southbend Metal Lathe Rebirth"
Scott

I think South bend needs to come to Greg's house and see what their lathe should have looked like.
Greg, Thanks for the compliments but my rebuild will NEVER be like yours. That is one HELLUVA beautiful machine my friend...................

 

[Rorban1]

Greg - You need to re-title this post. Instead of "Southbend Metal Lathe Find" it needs to be "Southbend Metal Lathe Rebirth"
Scott

I think South bend needs to come to Greg's house and see what their lathe should have looked like.
Greg, Thanks for the compliments but my rebuild will NEVER be like yours. That is one HELLUVA beautiful machine my friend...................

I completely agree with you Mike that South Bend needs to come to Greg's house. I am not sure how the current owners of that company would react to this "rebirth". However, if my great grandfather were still alive I am completely 110 % positive it would bring a tear to his eye and bring back old memories.

Awesome job again Greg. Can't wait for the first chips to fly.

 

[NeilYeag]

I completely agree with you Mike that South Bend needs to come to Greg's house. I am not sure how the current owners of that company would react to this "rebirth". However, if my great grandfather were still alive I am completely 110 % positive it would bring a tear to his eye and bring back old memories.

Awesome job again Greg. Can't wait for the first chips to fly.
[/quote]

Interesting comment. I was thinking a similiar thing myself. My Grandfather had an automotive machine shop from the early 40's until the mid 70's. He had a tremendous amount of big metal working equipment, lathes, crank grinding machines, ect. In reading this thread I sat and wondered if any of his equipment survived. Or did it all end up in the big scrap heap and recycled into probably useless junk.

 

[woodtickgreg]

I completely agree with you Mike that South Bend needs to come to Greg's house. I am not sure how the current owners of that company would react to this "rebirth". However, if my great grandfather were still alive I am completely 110 % positive it would bring a tear to his eye and bring back old memories.

Awesome job again Greg. Can't wait for the first chips to fly.

Interesting comment. I was thinking a similiar thing myself. My Grandfather had an automotive machine shop from the early 40's until the mid 70's. He had a tremendous amount of big metal working equipment, lathes, crank grinding machines, ect. In reading this thread I sat and wondered if any of his equipment survived. Or did it all end up in the big scrap heap and recycled into probably useless junk.
[/quote]

I often wonder what the original owner of this machine would think of what I am doing to it. I wonder if he is looking down on me and is pleased with what he see's and happy that his lathe has gone to the right person. I wonder what will happen to all my tools when I am gone. Will they go to the right person?

 

[woodtickgreg]

I've been working on the work light, Christmas day and nothing to do so I spent some time in the shop.
This is how the light looked before reworking it.
[attachment=15202]
Even the reflector was spray painted with the same dull primer as everything else, the reflector became an absorber.
[attachment=15203]
The light disassembled and ready for stripping and painting.
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All the parts painted and cleaned up, new light socket and cord. Reflector all polished up too. Ready for reassembly.
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When I stripped the paint off the wing nuts I found out they where brass, so I polished them up for a little jewelry sparkle.
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Light all done.
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And mounted on the lathe, it bolts to the switch pedestal. You can also see the live center in the tail stock that I traded for.
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Another of the light mounted.
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I see a few of these lathes up for sale for really high dollar and most of them don't have the original light with them. So I carefully restored it like the rest of the lathe. I am currently working on the switch. I have scored a couple more tools for it and I'm still looking for others. The tooling can be costly and will take some time to obtain. Almost there.

 

[woodtickgreg]

So since I had to buy a new computer and didn't have any money left for the vfd I thought I would work on the belt. The lathe origanally had a leather belt on it but they are prone to stretching and slipping. The machinist forums that I am on advised to do a serpentine belt conversion, zero slippage. The problem with a south bend lathe is you can't just slip a belt on, it has to pass through holes in the bed and head stock casting, you have to cut it. 2 trips to the auto parts store and I had the right width. I found a glue that sounded great in the description so I tried it, I followed the instructions exactly, and it didn't stick. So other members have used ca glues with some success so off to the hardware store to get the recommended glue, cleaned the belt with acetone and scuff sanded it for some tooth. didn't stick. So I tried a ca that I use for wood, a thin ca, seemed to work.
The belt.

The glue

The recommended ca glue

The glue joint.

The pully covered with plastic to keep it clean. If I can get this joint to stick it will get another layer added to the top about 8" long to strengthen the joint. It failed, I pulled it apart.

I tried some of this ca, it stuck.

I turned the belt over to clean the excess glue off, looks good.
When I rolled it back over it pulled apart, fail!
But wait there's more, I have a solution, I think.
This belt seems to have a high silicone content, the ca just peeled right off in a sheet.

 

[woodtickgreg]

The original south bend lathe belts where clipped together with metal clips. So I thought why not improve on this and stitch it together with wire. The bad thing about the clips is the made a click click click noise as the rolled across the pullys, but they did hold up. Tractor implements where run of the same type of large leather belts clipped together.
So off to the hardware store again to find some wire, I found some 30lb braided picture hanging wire that fit in the grooves of the belt nice.

I tinned the end of the wire with some solder to see if it would stick and to make it easy to fish through the holes without unraveling the wire.

I drilled 1/16" holes in the center of the ribs 3/8" up from the ends and stitched it together.

You can see the wire lays in the grooves nicely.

This is what it looks like from the top.

A little solder to connect the wires together and I think all is well.

The belt tensioned up nicely and when I roll the spindle by hand it tracks in the center of the pully. Why did I even mess with all that glue? This was quick and easy and should work well, time will tell when I get it powered up.

 

[drycreek]

Army surplus stores if you have one close sometimes carry a aircraft stainless wire in small rolls that's used to thread through nuts that have holes in them to prevent them from vibrating loose, and I have found it to be invaluable for such projects. Oh by the way this build has been outstanding, you have me thinking of doing an old delta wood lathe rebuild, notice at this point I'm only thinking and that usually gets me in trouble.