Friend of mine at work has a cobbled together Frankenstein lathe that he wants to sell and has me wiggling on the hook for it. I do need one, but I have some apprehensions. It's a cool looking vintage piece9" x ??? I'd like to get a decent sized lathe on a slightly restrictive budget so I can learn and make parts for the hot rod projects....so I'm nibbling at the bait. Yeah, well, then I saw the pictures this morning. He's asking $500 without the chuck... hinting that if he can find one, he'd want even more. I'm thinking he's nuts because I can get a brand new 7x10 mini-lathe with all kinds of included gear in the $500 to $650 range (HF and Enco). So the questions are (and forgive me if this isn't the right spot to post it in).... what would y'all offer for something like this? And what would y'all do to finish it out so it keeps a good vintage look to it? Some of the stuff I've seen y'all do to even Harbor Freight gear is inspiring. I can easily make a table for it, but if I could find or make one that's "period correct" that'd be a double bonus. Here's the parts... I'm viewing it as a big old greasy kit.
First off, that thing is AWESOME! Second, I would buy an old lathe before I would buy a new Chinese lathe. Doesn't seem that bad of price to me if the ways are good on it. Certainly looks to be in great shape. Sorta' sucks he's not offering it with the chuck though. Any other tooling come with it?
Worth the money in my opinion... that's a pretty decent set of backgears that come with it. It's hard to judge a tool from pictures, although it looks like it has been taken care of. For $500 you should be able to turn it for that much if you don't like it.
It's a South Bend,,,nothing special, but nice , but it's way small for auto work unless you are into polishing bolt heads and making carb linkage. about $300 max with no chuck or collets IMO.
Parts of it really look like a Hardinge lathe in miniature. Any old American lathe is going to be better than Harbor Freight or Enco. Even without a chuck you should be able to get some collets for it to turn round stock. Also, I'd check to make cure the saddle and cross-slides don't have any slop in them.
I dunno. Looks pretty cool, but the price seems a little high with no chuck or tooling. If you really like it, buy it. Otherwise, hold off, check Craigslist. I still watch all the time. You can usually find deals on old Southbend lathes. I've only got a little more in mine than what your friend is asking for his. Mine is a vintage Southbend Model A (1928 if I'm remembering correctly). I got it complete with the chuck, a set of original legs, a bunch of tooling and a box full of micrometers and calipers. At any rate, get an old one. You won't regret it.
A true friend would throw in the chuck if you pay full price. Good chucks are expensive so one should come with the lathe. Also, does it come with any tooling? Plus, the lathe should be at least a 9 x36 or 9 x 48 to be really useful. I would not pay $500 for that lathe.
I think your "friend" is trying to sting you for decent profit. I'd say $300 but only if the carriage, cross and compound are relatively slop free. If it's sloppy, it's a boat anchor.
Try Mermac.com and go to in praise of klunkers for all the info you need on that old south bend. If it had a chuck 500 wouldn't be bad, without one it would depend on the condition of ways etc. Regardless of the size you can do a ton of things with it.
I think $500 is pretty steep for it. Its deffo an old South Bend or maybe an Atlas. Being that it should be bolted to a cabinet and its missing collets, the chuck and tool post, I'd give someone $150 for it. And the question is how accurate will it be once set up and running. I couldn't have a lathe around without a turret or an Aloris tool post, then again, I'm spoiled. As for a table for it, to do any repeatable work, I'd have to bolt it down to a piece of aluminum jig plate or a piece of ground steel. Both can run into some $$ unless you luck out. Bob
Go to practical machinest.com. Scroll down to south bend site. Everything you need to knowis there.Price seems high.
The biggest limitation to this lathe, other than size is it is not a quick change gear. South Bend tools are easy to find. Look for obvious wear of the ways under the head stock as you can spend a few hundred dollars to have it reground, but even with some wear you can still do good work with this lathe. Some Helpful Tips on Evaluating a Lathe http://www.mermac.com/advicenew.html
The trend right now is that small lathes are kinda pricey. Ya need to know what the size and thread is on the spindle nose. Then you can see what mounting plates for chucks are gonna run you. If it's not an obsolete size. You should have a 3 jaw and a 4 jaw really, so plan on spending for that. You need to weld a handle on the back gear shift lever, it looks like. I bought a 16" Hendey last year for 500. 4000 lbs of cool. But I spent 900 on my 10" SB 20 years ago. I'll sell you a 26" paternmakers lathe with a 10 ft long bed for 300.
I believe that $500 is too much for that lathe especially in this economy. Your avatar indicates that you live in Indy (Indiana) you should be able to do much better. The tooling that you need to do anything is going to cost you at least $400 more and that's from Enco/Grizzly. A good Southbend 3 jaw chuck is gonna really set you back. Been there. My advice, pass, keep looking. Matt
Im generally in agreement with the above posts, the machine is pricey and with no tooling..... these wee lathes are nice for some applications but for your first one (and your not building models, save your bread and find an old Southbend or Logan 10"
That is way out of line as far as I'm concerened. If you are serious about making stuff for rods etc. I think this lathe would be too small to be really useful. How big is the "through hole" in the spindle? If it isn't very big, you are limited on only having the length between centers to work with...and that sucks. I'm hunting arounf for a lathe now myself..although I'm looking for something with 15"-16" of swing for doing wheel work too. For 500-750 bucks you can get a much better lathe with bigger capacities making it much more usefull...and it would come with at least one chuck. Here in Michigan, there is at least 1 machine shop type auction sale going on every week to two weeks. Watch for auctions and search craigslist....there are way too many out there to jump onto this one. But...it is a cool, vintage looking lathe. Just my thoughts/opinion.
I gave $400 for my Southbend model 9C 9x32 a couple years ago. It came with plenty of tooling and a pair of chucks. Best upgrade I did was an Aloris quick change toolpost. Shawn
$500 isn't unreasonable but you could do better for your money. I wouldn't ever buy a chinese lathe, you can get so much better old iron for the money. I have a 12X36 Craftsman (Atlas), If I knew what I know now I would waited for a larger old lathe that wasn't an Atlas such as Hendey, Sydney, LeBlond, Monarch, Southbend, or etc. You can usually find mid to large sized lathes with tooling cheaper or the same price as smaller ones because few people want to take the effort to move them. Buy as big as a lathe as you have room for, that lathe will be great fun and very helpful but you will soon realize you want a bigger one. Just my $0.02 Ryland
I have the same lathe. paid $300NZD, ($200US approx) I would buy an old american or english lathe over a new asian one any day. Spindle bore is always the limiting factor, with bench lathes. you want 3/4" minimum
it is a 9" southbend.too much money for what you are getting. or rather what you are not getting. no chucks no change gears no tooling.
And a shorter than normal Southbend at that. At least that's how the pictures show it up as. It looks like a 3C collet, meaning it takes 3/4" stock through the spindle. The 5C collet took up to 1.062". I would hang out and wait until something bigger and complete came up. I got a Clausing 2 years back, free and delivered on a pallet to my garage just by being in the right place at the right time. I've turned down 2 free and complete Logans too. There were TOO much lathe for my shop, real big monsters. Bob
As the lathe is presented, you cannot use it to make squat. Just not enough "stuff" with the lathe. After you accumulate everything needed, you will probably have another thousand in it and have a decent lathe that has some very real restrictions. As is, it is an attractive old lathe with little to recommend it. Unless you have your heart set on a vintage lathe, ass on over to Wholesale Tools and see what you can get for your money in the way of Chinese tools. Then compare that to what would be spent on old iron. Old Iron is great if it is in good shape, but it usually isn't, especially in the larger, more popular (12-14"sizes). The smaller sizes tend to be in better shape simply because they are not as practical for most users. As to Chinese tools, I know nothing about the smaller sizes, but I have had a 12 X 36 Enco for 15 years and it is like a sore peter, you just can't beat it. Very well sorted out, good size, is capable of the accuracy you will need and comes with some much needed accessories. Bill
Put a dial indicator into the spindle, where the chuck should be. Use it to measure the height of the tailstock bore, by comparing top and bottom of the bore. Don't worry about side to side, its adjustable. But if the height is out more than a few thou forget it. This sorta shit does happen with machines built up outa leftovers. I used to have to use a Hercus version of that lathe at a job I had. They are relly pretty gutless if you are serious about making stuff from scratch. Best suited to light cuts on small parts. Stay well clear of new Chinese stuff, you need to know about machines and hand pick the one you want to buy Chinese. If you have the space to keep it, a bigger lathe will be much better value in the long term.
Thanks for all the guidance! I killed the deal this morning much to his chagrin... It helped a bundle having the links and comments here! I agree with the comments about wanting more capacity, too. I did some quick looking around online last night and in less than an hour, found a surprising number of better candidates in the area for the same money, so I'm going to chase those around and see what I get. I would love a vintage lathe, but function's gotta come first. The links are much appreciated, too.... I learned a lot in a hurry thanks to those. I'll let ya know what I come home with if any of the ones I scared up are not clapped out.
Tell him if he gives you a case of your favorite beer, he can drop it off at your house. In the long run, you'll be putting some $$ into that lathe and still not be able to do anything sizeable on it or take a monster cut with it. Bob
[cracks knuckles] Okay, it's a plain-bearing Southbend 9". That puts it at somewhere around WW2 or before. It looks in relatively decent condition, but a lo-res digital photo can't show things like leadscrew wear or bad spindle bearings. If you decide to buy, run it first. As in actually make a cut. Have the seller reinstall the chuck (if he has one) and loan you a toolholder, and try to make some chips- a short chunk of aluminum round bar is fine. As already noted, $500 is a bit steep. It's not an absurd price, but it's at least 30% high, probably closer to 50%. A toolpost and toolholder, and a decent 3-jaw chuck would be a minimum to include to get it anything close to the full $500. On the other hand, while a 'real' Southbend chuck can get spendy- lots of collectors and other SB owners out there- that's a pretty common 1-1/2"-8 threaded spindle, same as a large number of similarly-sized Logans, Craftsmans, Atlases and a dozen other more obscure makers. Chucks and backing plates crop up on eBay with some frequency, and at worst, you'd have to buy a new import 5" chuck and a blank backing plate. That's a couple hundred bucks, but the point is, parts are available. The change gears are, in my opinion, kind of a deal-killer. Swapping gears gets to be pretty tedious if the part you're making is even slightly complex (like needing to turn, thread and part, all on the same piece.) That alone takes a chunk of the value off- you can find quick-change boxed to retrofit, but they don't crop up very often, and they go for a premium when they do. Bottom line? No more than $250 to $300 as is, maybe $350 to $400 with a chuck and toolpost. Tops. Now, as others have said, I too would prefer an old American machine as opposed to a new import, but that assumes the old American is in decent shape. If the bed's worn, the cross-slide screw is knackered, and the spindle bearings need to be replaced, then the new import is the better buy- that is, unless you want a "project" to rebuild. And personally, I enjoy the heck out of rebuilding machines. But most users simply want a machine they can unload, set up, and start making chips. In that case, a small import might be better for you- it'll cost more, but it'll be ready to go more or less right out of the box. And if you go that route, I strongly recommend absolutely nothing smaller than a 9" x 20", and one of the "name brands" like Grizzly or Jet. Doc.
i have an old atlas i paid $125 and it was complerte with some tooling , this one is better quality but is minus a few things id say its worth $375 , if he was a friend he would deal a bit with you ,
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