New-to-Me Metal Lathe - FINISHED

[randallc]

And I thank you Ricky. 9A Southbend.

[Stanton]

Thought getting this lathe restored might help in the AV restoration down the road, so am hitting the pause button on the AV.

Bought a book on restoring a South Bend 9" lathe and a kit containing all the felt wicks, gaskets, etc. This lathe looked cleaner at the auction than it does now. Very neglected and in dire need of cleaning. Good thing I like that kind of work.

Tailstock was first. Got it disassembled and cleaned.

Usual dirt and grime.

Disassembled tailstock.

Compound cross feed was next. Same treatment.

Cross feed next.

Someone must have dropped a heavy object on this handle to bend it like that.

Bent handle.

Partially cleaned handle.

The book's author also sells tools; imagine that. Instead of buying an over priced spanner nut bit, I took that old AV gear shifter shaft and ground down a "U" shaped blade on it to fit the nut. Worked like a charm.

Removing the spanner nut.

The book mentioned a 1/8" pin spanner wrench to remove the collar that backs up the handle. I searched the internet and found most with good reviews, but one on Amazon was less than stellar, something like, "Pin broke first time I used it." A foreshadowing. Did some more searching (really wanted to buy one locally) and found one. Went in to buy it and asked the guy, "So, if this pin breaks while I'm cranking on it, what kind of warranty does it have? Is it: 'It's yours!' kind of warranty?" The salesman said, "Uh, yeah." Told him I wouldn't crank down on it too much, besides it was make in America, ought to be a quality item.

Got home and the first time I brought some pressure to bear ->POP<- and off the pin fell. After looking it over and looking at the hole in the collar, which was really closer to a 3/16" diameter, I found an old screwdriver, cut off a piece about 3/8" long, ground the spanner wrench flat where the pin broke and drilled it out to take the 3/16 steel screwdriver piece. With a couple pipes to assist me, the collar released its grip.

New spanner wrench.

Finally got it off!

Compound crossfeed is was really grimy. Got it cleaned.

Cross feed was filthy.

Cross feed ready to reassemble.

Also got the quick release tool holder disassembled, cleaned and reassembled. Not sure how many washers this piece is supposed to have, but this one has 4. Seems like a shorter bolt may by in order...

Before.

After.

More to come...

[Slim140]

That lathe will be like new when you get done with it. Looks great so far!

[Stanton]

Got the apron apart and cleaned:

Then worked on getting the Skinner 4-jaw chuck cleaned up. It had some very tight hex socket machine screws, but they finally let go. The PO may have had a chuck key, but it didn't make it home with me from the auction. Don't think I ever saw it. I made up new one that works well enough.

One of the threads is missing from a jaw. Upon closer inspection, there's a hairline crack that runs from the threaded area to the front. Found another jaw that had the same cracked location, but all the teeth were fine. Appears something suddenly hit the work in the chuck when in use, causing the stress cracks and broken thread. Just a guess. This is the first sign of something broken on this lathe. Still have the 3-jaw chuck mounted.

[randallc]

You have been busy. When I got mine it had been turned over. I did clean mine, but never have done the wicks.
If you watch Youtube: Mr.Pete 333. He also goes by tublicane. He was a high school machinest instructor.
See you tomorrow with money in hand for the rear lift part.

[Stanton]

You have been busy. When I got mine it had been turned over. I did clean mine, but never have done the wicks.
If you watch Youtube: Mr.Pete 333. He also goes by tublicane. He was a high school machinest instructor.
See you tomorrow with money in hand for the rear lift part.

I've been watching mrpete222 for a few videos now; does a very thorough job explaining. Looking forward to seeing you.

[Stanton]

Did some more work to the lathe this past week.

Faceplate before.

The two bolts were copper. Anyone know why? I don't.

Faceplate afterwards.

Steady rest disassembled.

Started taping off non-painted portions.

Shot some primer.

Saw some YouTube vids and other internet sources on paint. Apparently South Bend had 2 or 3 shades through the years. I went another direction and just used Valspar Tractor Series paint from the local farm and home store. It's readily available, tough and I don't have to concern myself with special order paint. This is Ford medium gray. Has a slightly greenish tint to it. I tried brushing it on, but couldn't seem to apply it without brush strokes, so shot it on with the HVLP spray gun from Harbor Freight. I think it will look fine when finished.

Shot some paint today.

Disassembled Regular Follower Rest.

All cleaned up.

Tool holder cleaned up. Need (4) new socket bolts.

Am ready to tackle the motor and back pulleys.

More to come...

[Ike]

[randallc]

Steady rest and follower rest, two nice items. Looking great.

[Stanton]

Haven't posted any progress pictures for about a month. Had a couple CubFests to attend and pesky things like mowing the yard keeps getting in the way.

Have most of the parts painted, but rain keeps getting in my way to finish up. Tried reassembling as much as I could and here's where I am:

So far so good. Seems to be going back together well enough. Will get the last remaining parts painted and attach the back motor mount, then wire it back up. Hoping nothing goes ->POP<- when power is applied.

[Ike]

It's too pretty to use!
Ike

[randallc]

AWESOME!

[Stanton]

Just wanted to finish up on this restore project.

The metal chart plates were showing their age. After a good washing with soap and water, the gear chart was readable, but the lubrication chart was not. Decided to use some red spray paint and a sanding block to see if I could get an improvement.

Completely paint the plate.

Upper half lightly sanded.

Continued sanding.

Finished plate. Now readable.

Got the metal plates reinstalled, touched up the base paint and highlighted the raised lettering with a Sharpie marker. Here ya go:

Everything seems to work. Anxious to try it out.

[tst]

you may want a sturdier stand to use it on and make sure the lathe is level, makes a big difference in how it cuts

[ricky racer]

Wow!! That looks great!!