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Bought a SouthBend 9” - Hints on things to look for at setup?

The cross slide comes from Metal Lathe Accessories as an unmachined casting. They can be made to fit a Logan lathe as well. You can by them for a taper attachment as well. Also available for some Atlas lathes. The company has recently changed hands and I think some inventories are low, but they are looking to restock last I heard. It's a site well worth looking at for all kinds of toys for our toys...... Errr tools for tools.
 
The cross slide comes from Metal Lathe Accessories as an unmachined casting. They can be made to fit a Logan lathe as well. You can by them for a taper attachment as well. Also available for some Atlas lathes. The company has recently changed hands and I think some inventories are low, but they are looking to restock last I heard. It's a site well worth looking at for all kinds of toys for our toys...... Errr tools for tools.
Great, thanks. Looks like the equipment required to produce is beyond my 'current' inventory, but who knows what the future might bring.

Cheers,

Dave
 
Great, thanks. Looks like the equipment required to produce is beyond my 'current' inventory, but who knows what the future might bring.

Cheers,

Dave
..... actually, if you start in the right order, everything can be done on the 9" lathe..... A lathe is an amazing tool that only your imagination holds you back on.....
Welcome to the "I am going to make this little tool" club. Come on in, the water is warm..... kool aid?o_O
 
It is a SB Model A from mid 1960s. It has the under drive. The carriage is a kit from Metal Lathe Accessories. Not sure about the link belts, they work very well, but I haven't tried using them in reverse.
 
Looks like a great lathe, check it over, give it a basic levelling, see how it cuts, tune it from there. Don't worry about not having "everything", see what you can do with what you have. "Money" takes care of the rest, learning how to make tools and making tools to learn can save some. Learning is like money. Get your hands on one of the South Bend books, some of the older ones seem to be better.
The lantern style tool post is not the worst, sometimes it will work where others won't, don't bin it. If it has the threaded on chuck, (I think it does), remember it can come loose/off cutting backwards. There have been various locking devises used/devised.
Try to get all the sawdust out/off it, some types are very corrosive with the slightest bit of moisture. Check gears for play and lube. Make sure the carrage clutch does not not stick/bind when used, in hand with that don't over tighten drive belts, slipping belts can help prevent a "bad" wreck.
Others will have more.
Have fun, look foreward to seeing some projects.
 
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I forgot to mention, practice turning the machine off, it may sound dummmmm, but when you can't find the power switch while in panic mode or remember how it works! Push, turn, a lever, and remember, RUN, when all else fails! Don't get "wrapped up in your work".
 
I forgot to mention, practice turning the machine off, it may sound dummmmm, but when you can't find the power switch while in panic mode or remember how it works! Push, turn, a lever, and remember, RUN, when all else fails! Don't get "wrapped up in your work".

I put a laughing reaction on that. It's funny but it's not funny. Just no other emoticon worked for me.

Your advice is rock solid.
 
Ya, sadly, that one applies to a lot of things, farming has been rated as one of the very/most dangerous jobs there is. PTO shafts, working on equipment while running, or working to close to equipment, tiredness plays into it big time, trying to get the crop in!
 
Ya, sadly, that one applies to a lot of things, farming has been rated as one of the very/most dangerous jobs there is. PTO shafts, working on equipment while running, or working to close to equipment, tiredness plays into it big time, trying to get the crop in!

At the local hospital which is in the medium sized city of Chatham, the ER staff will freely admit that farm accidents from the surrounding countryside outweigh everything else they see combined. One of the doctors asked me why I even consider farming. He thought military service in a war zone was prolly safer.
 
At the local hospital which is in the medium sized city of Chatham, the ER staff will freely admit that farm accidents from the surrounding countryside outweigh everything else they see combined. One of the doctors asked me why I even consider farming. He thought military service in a war zone was prolly safer.
I once went to an ultrasound appointment on my motorcycle. The radiologist felt it was her duty to tell me in no uncertain terms that I lacked sufficient intelligence to make better transportation choices.
I was seriously unimpressed and made a complaint to the professional college.
 
I would have asked her if the people wrapped in steel and strapped in place checking their phones or head banging to the music are driving safer than the guy on the bike watching out for the guys turning left.
 
The radiologist felt it was her duty to tell me in no uncertain terms that I lacked sufficient intelligence to make better transportation choices.
Ran into a GP somewhere on the road years ago, was in Montana, so I was sans helmet. He asked me if I knew what doctors called guys who didn't wear helmets? I replied in the negative. He noted, "Organ donors". I then asked him if he knew what helmetless motorcyclists called doctors w/ attitudes like that. He, too, replied in the negative. I told him, "A$$holes".

His face turned red, he started sputtering & I just turned away to finish my beer.
 
Ok, now with new pictures showing it installed alongside it's baby mill brother.
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1717692484679.webp

And, yes, I realize I put the Kreg table stretcher upside down. Not going to change it now!

For those with stiffness concerns, the tables are 1-1/2 thick glued up cabinet grade plywood and are screwed along the rear edges to either concrete or stud walls, and the stud wall is clad in 1/2 plywood, not drywall, for added stiffness.

Since the unit I bought was actually a freestanding model, I carried the mounting plates across to this setup, but left the legs and pan behind. The seller was wanting to use them for his wood lathe project and I've since bought some oversize baking pans to catch chips and drips. No plan for lubrication system (for now).

Despite it being in really good shape, I did discover the previous owner had packed the lead screw and worm with ordinary grease rather than the designated oil. Took quite a bit of time to clean that out without tearing down the entire unit. Will be returning to oil for lubrication, as per SB documentation.

Change gear cover is removed as the pin which carries it has worn loose in the casting (sags and drags on the spindle) and I will need to repair that, so it will run unguarded for a while.
 
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