My new toy

[Harry O]

Not as impressive as Mikey, but I just second-hand inherited this lathe. It was my fathers. Went to my Bro-in-law when my father died (I got my fathers guns). He was going to start a business. Never even hooked it up. I have since inherited it. It is a 1958 South Bend lathe with a 9" diameter by 24" length between the centers.

Currently learning how to use it without breaking anything. Luckily, it has a lot of attachments (no milling attachment or grinding attachment, but a lot of different tools, tool holders, live and dead centers, two three-jaw chucks and one four-jaw-chuck, etc). Had to replace the motor and replaced the reversing switch, just for the heck of it, but it is in pretty good shape otherwise. Tight without a lot of play (the worst place is the cross slide, but nothing that cannot be handled by taking up the slack before machining.

Have been thinning some brass case rims that were a little too thick for one of my guns. Great stuff, brass. I just wish steel was that easy.

[KCSO]

I have one of those that has been in gunsmith use since it was new in 1949. I still think it is the best threading lather I have ever owned and it will do 99% of anything you need it to do for gunsmithing. I have bored and relined and chambered a ton of barrels and have made everything from firing pins to rifle actions.

[454PB]

That's a nice machine. I learned on one very similar, but slightly older and larger.

You better cove up those drive belts......OSHA would have a fit!

[PatMarlin]

Beautiful.

[Jon K]

Harry,

Good machine, done a lot of work on them mostly 14"+.

Milling attachment & tool post grinder - Don't do it. Unless the lathe is old & wore out.

Milling attachment- Cross feed screw & nut will take a beating and wear like crazy- then where will you be?

Tool post grinder- Grinding dust on the ways- UGHHH!- You'll be calling it a Swayback lathe.

Take care of it & your grand kids will still be using it long after you're gone.

Just my $.02, it's your lathe,

Jon

[Harry O]

John K.

I wasn't planning to get a grinding attachment, but several people have asked. I did think of getting a milling attachment, but the cost has slowed me down. Not only the attachment, but the holders, the collets, etc. I will wait on that decision until after I learn to use what I have. That should take a few years -- or longer.

[Jon K]

Harry O,

Read Boomer's post on cheap machines. you will be better off getting a cheap machine than the attachement "Need a mill-Get a Mill"!!!!!
And yes, the tooling for any of the machines is expensive.

Jon

[Boomer Mikey]

Harry,

The South Bend is an American Icon of quality. My machines don't come close to the quality engineered into your machine. It's a lathe... use it as a lathe. If you want a grinder and a mill purchase a grinder and a mill and always keep the ways covered when not in use to protect them from dirt and grinder dust as well as during the use of abrasives on parts in the lathe.

I'm jealous,

Boomer :Fire:

[Blammer]

NICE! the only way I'm gonna wind up with a lathe that nice is if I inherit one too.....

[Blammer]

so are you advertising for gunsmithing stuff? Threading barrels etc... :)

[Buckshot]

.................Good looking machine. I see it has the GC box. Amazing how many 9" SB's were change gear machines. You can do a lot on one of those 9 inchers.

Get a gallon of way oil and a gallon of spindle oil and you'll be set for awile. It'd be a good idea to check the headstock wick oilers.

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

[Frank46]

o
Not as impressive as Mikey, but I just second-hand inherited this lathe. It was my fathers. Went to my Bro-in-law when my father died (I got my fathers guns). He was going to start a business. Never even hooked it up. I have since inherited it. It is a 1958 South Bend lathe with a 9" diameter by 24" length between the centers.

Currently learning how to use it without breaking anything. Luckily, it has a lot of attachments (no milling attachment or grinding attachment, but a lot of different tools, tool holders, live and dead centers, two three-jaw chucks and one four-jaw-chuck, etc). Had to replace the motor and replaced the reversing switch, just for the heck of it, but it is in pretty good shape otherwise. Tight without a lot of play (the worst place is the cross slide, but nothing that cannot be handled by taking up the slack before machining.

Have been thinning some brass case rims that were a little too thick for one of my guns. Great stuff, brass. I just wish steel was that easy.

Way to go Harry O, another one down the road to perdition. Now you gotta get catalogs from enco, grizzly, travers tools, manhattan supply corp, and I feel Buckshot will chime in on a few others. But when you want to make something its just a short trip. Have fun, Frank

[Buckshot]

"But when you want to make something its just a short trip. "

..........Two times come immediately to mind. Once was when I was lube-sizing some Lee Soup Cans. The top punch I was using just wasn't doing it. Turned around to the lathe. Got a 3" piece of 1/2" OD scrap. Faced it, then turned down the 'bidness end' to .305" for a distance of .340". Centerdrilled the end, then ran down an inch and plunged in taking 2x 0.100" deep cuts and a 0.036 cut to get the .264" end and parted it off.

That took maybe what, 5-6 minutes? Put some fast setting epoxy in the nose. Put it in the ram and lowered it on a slug partially in the size die. Maybe 15 minutes total and I was back sizing :-). The other time I was getting ready to leave for the range and was going to be shooting a 58 cal musket. It struck me that the 58 cal brass cleaning jag was a bit too small as it took 2 diaper flannel patches on it to do the job.

Put a piece of 9/16" brass rod in the chuck. Faced, centerdrilled, drilled and tapped it 8-32. Cut 3 grooves in it and parted it off. Screwed in a 8-32 sockethead screw with some loc-tite and cut it off with the Dremel. Maybe 10 minutes work and I'd tossed it in my range box and was on the way!

Ain't nothin like it, HA!

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