New lathe arrived

[Phil]

Hi Trev,

As of the end of March LeBlond sold the South Bend business to an outfit in Washington state that is now calling itself South Bend Lathe http://southbendlathe.com/ so I don't know whats happening there. I just found that out. This machine is sure not the Colchester 2500, this one is at least 1100 pounds heavier just for starters. It sure may be made in China for all I know at this point. I'm with you on the beer cans from the ditch budget. I wouldn't have this lathe if the insurance company hadn't bought it. I'm retired with Social Security plus working at my old job as a consultant two days a week. Get all my health care from the Veterans Administration. Don't have much to play with money-wise anymore. So if I want something I have to make it. At least that way I get it made the way I want it. Ha, ha.

Jim,

Sounds like you have the same machine I had. Mine was a 64, model 8015 series 8000. It did have the Gamet bearings. I hope you're right about this SB. Will keep you posted on how it does. It seems really nice according to the inspection report that came with it.

Cheers,

Phil

[JIMinPHX]

I'll tell you one thing about the Colechesters - The parts for them are not cheap. Mine had a broken double gear in the headstock when I got it. The quote from Clausing for a replacement gearset was about $1,000. I bought 2 standard gears from Browning or Martin or somebody like that for about $50, then mated them together with a proper pilot diameter to keep the two pitch diameters in line, then bored & bushed the assembly. For well under $100 & about an hour of my time, I whipped up a proper replacement for that "$1,000 part". You might not want to junk your old machine that was the victim of a fire. You may have a goldmine of spare parts there.

[Phil]

Hi Jim,

Fortunately I never needed any real expensive parts for the Colchester. I put new cams in the spindle, I think I put new brake shoes on it, new belts, some new plastic knobs on this and that, and the rest was just tightening and adjusting for wear. I changed the headstock and gearbox oil several times just to make sure I had all the crap flushed out of it. Kept changing it until it came out clean. Run, flush, repeat. Took a while but I got it.

The old Colchester went to the guy who was kind enough to haul the new lathe up here from Ohio and set it in the garage. Nice guy and I'm glad I could do something for him. He did give me a few bucks for it but I'm sure I could have sold the headstock, gearbox, tailstock, and some of the other parts for a princely sum but I had no place to keep it and was busy with cleaning up after the fire. I just wanted it out of there and he obliged.

I think the SB was made in Taiwan. I got all the preservative cleaned off yesterday, going to see if I need to adjust the pins on the backing plate for the chuck so I can mount that today, then its just wait for the electrician. Whoopie!

Cheers,

Phil






1

[DownunderHunter]

Hi Phil.
Nice new south bend. Can remember using 10 & 11 inch South Bend Lathes,from as far back as nearly 50 years,also later used Colchesters,which were good,but the American Monarch"s & Pacemaker"s were the best as they also had taper turning attachments,collets,multiple speeds & the best thing a large spindle bore & a good size swing.
Friends of mine in Australia have Tiawanese lathes,which suprisingly are good for the prices,and suprising,one friend is a local Gunsmith who does most of the work in our state for the importers,he also builds rifles.and makes replacement shotguun barrels.

[Phil]

Hi DownunderHunter,

You can get about any attachment you want for the South Bend for collets, taper attachments, and such. It has a 1 5/8" spindle bore. The old Colchester had a 1 13/16" hole but I can't say I ever needed one that big. So I don't think I'll be handicapped with the smaller hole, although I don't think I'd want to go any smaller. All in all I think that it will be a good lathe for what I do.

I think if you get a good Taiwanese lathe it can be a very good machine indeed. They are just a bit rougher than the old English built Colchesters though. Not as well finished at all. But good serviceable machines nevertheless.

Cheers,

Phil

[Marvin S]

Man that's sweet especially for a home machine. Makes my old Clausing 14x46 look a little tired. The tail stock looks almost identical to the 15x50 600 group colchester I have at work.You will LOVE the DRO.

[Phil]

I am Phils wife......and as you all probably know, Phil passed away June 18th. I am replying to this thread because I am the proud owner of his Lathe. I am looking to sell it and just wanted to put out the word. If any of you know of someone who would be interested in this Lathe, please send an e-mail (pakrause@comcast.net) and put in the subject that it is about the Lathe. This Lathe was purchased for $17,000.00 but I would take less. It is brand new and never been used.

Thank you,

Elaine

[Char-Gar]

Oh my goodnesss...I didn't know. I am so sorry. I would gladly buy the lathe, but I don't have anything close to what it is worth.

[Ernest]

wow so very sorry to hear that. My condolences

[Phil]

I hated to be the bearer of bad news, but I thought that maybe someone out there would be able to spread the word about the lathe.

Chargar....I wish you could buy it too, then I would have that behind me. But it is a lot of money for anyone right now with the economy the way it is. If you change your mind, make me an offer. You never know, I might just take it.

Elaine

[Clark]

I sold my 1967 12x36 Clausing 5914 in March to make room for my 2009 Precision Matthews 12x36 PM1236, but the new lathe did not arrive until July.

Expect the massive inflation from Obama spending to begin with shortages.

[theperfessor]

Elaine -

Please accept my condolences (and I'm sure the condolences of many other people here) for your loss.

The lathe looks like a fine piece of equipment. Maybe one of the members might assist you by posting information in the Buying and Selling area of site. More interested people would see it that way.

[Frank46]

Elaine, please accept the condolences from my family here and at home. I only breifly exchanged mail and words through different forums here. Found Phil a gentleman and a person who was easy to talk to. Again my heartfelt condolences. Frank

[Morrison Machine Shop]

That is an awesome lathe, any new machine makes me drool, I'd love to have one of those. I was trying to get 14X40, but the guy wanted a new price for it, I didn't want to spend that much. So I got a HF 9X20 and it turned out to be a good lathe, I have done several mods to it, beefed up the compound rest , tumbler reverse, DRO, tailstock , even bored the spindle to fit my r8 collets from the millport mill, that is very handy, I didn't have to fork out more money for more collets. Enjoy your new machine.
Mike

[waksupi]

That is an awesome lathe, any new machine makes me drool, I'd love to have one of those. I was trying to get 14X40, but the guy wanted a new price for it, I didn't want to spend that much. So I got a HF 9X20 and it turned out to be a good lathe, I have done several mods to it, beefed up the compound rest , tumbler reverse, DRO, tailstock , even bored the spindle to fit my r8 collets from the millport mill, that is very handy, I didn't have to fork out more money for more collets. Enjoy your new machine.
Mike

Mike, I have a feeling you are going to be a very useful addition to this board......

[Phil]

This is Phil's wife again..........I just wanted to let everyone know that I am selling the lathe to the guy who owns the company I work for. I'm not getting as much for it as I would like, but this is a sure thing and I am just afraid to sit on the lathe and end up not being able to sell it. The price he is paying me is what the insurance company gave us for the depreciation value of Phils old lathe. So I feel like I am at least breaking even.

I will eventually have some guns and loading supplies to sell. I will see about posting them with pictures. That will be a little while yet.

Thanks to everyone for the support!!

Elaine

[Buckshot]

.............I'm very glad you were able to sell it. It seems people wanting a good lathe, and the good lathes available never seem to coincide in location very often

.................Buckshot

[TAWILDCATT]

I am a little shook as I was just now reading this thread.
Sorry for your loss.
I had a 12" south bend with turret tail stock and 4 way tool holder also lever collet closer.Like a fol I sold it to a upcoming gunsmith who proptly shafted me.
That lathe was perfect as it had large spindle hole.and 4?tool turret.I sure wish I had it now as There re no shops in my county.and know one know of any one with a machine shop.This is a POOR state.where I came from many have there own shops.Oh well I LEARNED.