1940's South Bend 9A Lathe RESTORE

[@elrobo3568]

I have an older and larger South Bend lathe and have had it for more than 30 years. There was no internet so I had to forge ahead with the old owner's book. I found that it was more a labor of love than a chore. I had a local supplier here in Tucson, bearing belt and chain make me a new belt and it has worked smoothly for 30 or more years, I got shim stock and re-bedded the shaft. I now have a media blast cabinet that I use for cleaning parts. I find it very satisfying to work with my South Bend and I liked watching you do yours. Thanks!

[@kenzpenz]

A couple of years ago I bought a similar SB mdl A 1954 version off Craigslist. I was pretty rusty and crusty, but I ordered the books and rebuild kit off Ebay. I too took a brazillion photos, and that sure helped. The lathe has undergone numerous upgrades to include a QCTP Quick Change Tool Post like yours. I have spent a lot of money buying "stuff" for this lathe, but it's been fun. Not thrilled with your choice of white as a color, but hey it's your lathe. I re painted my lathe grey with the SB formula paint from the Basement Shop Guy. I bought a gallon when I only need a pint :-) . I have made a lot of chips with this lathe and some just widgets or what its, but that too was fun and educational. I am 79 and undergone a few medical issues, but it's this lathe and a wonderful caring loving understanding wife, did I mention caring and understanding, has kept me going. Great job on your restoration and will be looking for more....Ken.....US Army retired Vietnam vet.

[@JohnnyFaber]

Thank you for your service sir!

[@murdokgsanchez]

Que grato saber que una persona quiere tanto a un torno yo soy aprendiz soy de Colombia 🇨🇴 y ví un south bend y no se que referencia es lo ví por fotos pero lastima que no tengo el dinero para comprarlo y darle amor y restaurar sus piezas 😊 y tener una experiencia como la tuya y que ese torno sea mi compañero de vida 😊

[@dw.7655]

Hi Jeff, Great video. I, we my son and I have my dad’s 9 inch South Bend w/ 4 foot bed but no quick change. Instead, when he bought it back in 1963 and worked a second job to buy it new he opted to not include quick change to get 4 V step pulley on head stock, 2 step on motor pulley, collets and draw bar, 4 jaw chuck, steady rest, Fowler rest, tailstock Jacobs chuck, centers. I think the hole package new was around $663.00 dollars or so. Came with drum switch , too. He was a tool and die maker for years at Pass & Seymour. Made his own milling machine attachment which was better than South Bends. He also made a boring head and fly cutter that uses the collet drawbar to tighten. I’ve added an Aloris tool post and it is just a wonderful lathe. Our shop has a new/used Clausing 13 inch which I am cleaning up to get it ready for some serious turning. Guess all you need for your nice restore of your 9 inch is a nice drum switch. Thanks again for sharing. To all, check out my son’s Facebook page, Salt City Locomotive works. Good luck in your shop👍🚂 Dave

[@stratocaster1greg]

Great little machines I have a 1940A, 1950B, 1947C. All mine are flat belt. Great video.

[@IH1940HAY]

An excellent video on rebuilding a 1940’s south bend lathe. I went through the same process about eight years ago. And I moved three years ago and only a couple of weeks got around to putting it back together after having to take it apart for the move. I found everything but the back shaft, the back cone pulleys and the large motor driven pulley. I need to get it going again as I need to cut some internal threads in a two inch section of pipe to make a part for the CNC I built about eleven years ago. My questions involve adapting a 3.5HP tread mill motor and controller to it. I plan to mount the motor in the same location using a CNC made motor bracket, and because I misplaced the large motor driven pulley i need to find a pulley of approximate side and a shaft and a just put on a pulley on the back shaft of the diameter of the original middle one and use the tree mill controller to control the speed of the lathe. My questions are what is the diameter of the large motor driven pulley, what is the shaft diameter of the back shaft, and what is the diameter of the center back cone. With this information I’m pretty sure I can get it back on the road again, I really miss it I have been making do with an old six inch craftsman without any change gears which limits you to just simple turning. Thanks Hager

[@RobertLBarnard]

For paint, I've found farm tractor engine paint to be the best. I think its an old formulation because it goes on with a brush, gets tacky in an our or two, takes 2 or 3 days to really setup well. I'm guessing a week or more to really harden fully. Once its hard, its really hard and tough!

[@Pneumamechanical]

What brand of paint do you use?

[@RobertLBarnard]

@@Pneumamechanical The lathe is at my folks old place in Michigan, otherwise I'd walk out to the garage, pick up the can and tell you. So I looked at the map, got the name of the tractor supply then checked their line of paints. Looks like Rust-Oleum took over their paint line (i have an aversion to Rust-Oleum, to many time had to start a project over because of their goofy formulations, be it water or fish oil base, or whatever the formulation of the month is). Seems whenever I find a good paint source, Rust-Oleum comes in and screws with it, like they're the mob or something. I doubt I would have bought Rust-Oleum. When I get back there in the spring, I'll verify and try to get more. I recall it said "Ford Engine", and its what I would describe as "smoke gray". But this is what the store says they sell: Rust-Oleum® Professional Paint Smoke Gray 1 gal. Oil Based Enamel

[@eric802]

You've got a lot more patience and skill than I do, to be able to fully disassemble that and get it all back together. Probably would've gone with a nice South Bend gray, but you're right, that white will certainly show any oil drips. Look forward to seeing you make stuff on it!

[@RobertLBarnard]

The parts layout was beautiful. Love it!

[@austinjunkman2449]

great video and much thanks to letting us know about all the other great videos. I've been using a 9" A model, 1940 since 1988. It's a work horse. It's kinda sloppy but easily holds a .001" tolerance without paying too much attention to what your doing. i wouldn't worry about the paint. A week after using it it will be full of metal chips and cutting oil anyway. A clean lathe is an unhappy lathe.

[@dieselmakesmehappy]

Excellent job! I picked up a 1947 SB 13 and did the exact stuff you did earlier this year. My first lathe. Found your channel when I was trying to learn how to use it. Really appreciate your video style, and sharing your knowledge. I wouldnt have gotten very far with you. Thanks again. Really enjoy your lathe projects as I have a lot of the same things to build on my lathe. The only thing I didnt enjoy was the belt speed set up,So I hooked mine up to a VFD. Its the way to go, I have 3phase motor. Anyway, Looking forward to seeing more of your projects on the SB9

[@tymz-r-achangin]

1:12 WoW I havent seen an adjustable belt in decades. The last one I seen was on my grandpa's grinder and that was back in the 1970's which the grinder and belt was obviously made earlier than that. The 2 grinding wheels were on a shaft that were contained in their own casting which had a pulley on it. The motor was separate. The grinding wheels and motor then mounted to a base plate whereby the belt ran from the motor up to the pulley.

[@holyblood1]

Nice color on the lathe.

[@harlech2]

I am so happy to see you get a new (old) lathe. Nice job on restoring it. I am glad to see more and more interest in saving this kind of old iron. My hope for the future is to see videos like this inspire people to rescue more and more of these old machines.

[@donaldnaymon3270]

Nice work. Looks great. Great machine. Thank you for sharing.

[@yeboscrebo4451]

Great video thx for sharing! That paint job isn’t going to cut it though. Always use primer on bare metal

[@SculptyWorks]

Great job restoring the lathe! 👍

[@jameshisself9324]

Nice add to the shop. Those power feeds are great to have. I have a pretty strong preference for the SB gray so the white makes me cringe a bit but great if it works for you. Nice job on the clean up.

[@ypaulbrown]

all I can say is'Impressive' thanks for making this and sharing....cheers form Florida, Paul

[@JohnnyFaber]

Excellent work! Looks great. Way to go restoring such a work of art. It deserves an owner like you.

[@nheng6913]

Nice job. White looks good and is easy to clean BUT not easy to keep clean. I was always fond of Japanese equipment (medical and telecom) which was a very light gloss green finish. Also liked old European trains and machinery in green. I had a 9A from my father in law. He bought it in (I think) 1948 with every accessory in their catalog and 52" bed! I even have the invoice for it. I seem to recall it was just under $500 total. It may have been earlier because it did not have the standard South Bend paint. During WWII, lathes that did get sold went through a special department that slapped a quick coat of paint on them. Don't recall the color, seemed dark olive drab / gray and looked "quick". There was a name for this effort. I'll call it the "South Bend Quick and DIrty War Paint Department".

[@JackT9595]

Really love the look of the old southbends. I have a sheraton 9" based off of a southbend model A made in Australia. Very similar to yous actually, V-belt drive and all. This video should come in handy as I plan to do some restoration work on it

[@rowandunn2403]

I just got a clausing 4900 from the late 60s last week and I cleaned it up an now it works great have fun

[@johnstrange6799]

Great video. Thanks for sharing your adventure through the process.

[@raystevens687]

The thing I find with painterers tape is if it's old it doesn't stick well so if you can get new tape.

[@Cabmaker]

wow nice build. That looked really intimidating when you had all the parts on the table. A big sigh of relief I bet when it was back together.

[@PracticalRenaissance]

Tell me about it!! HUGE sigh of relief when there were no leftovers! :)

[@eddiekawecki2510]

Nice restoration! The time lapse video was really great. I did a complete restore on a 1939 SB 11"-4' umd which really turned out very nice and tight. For me it was best to remove and rebuild each sub assembly right from disassembly, bead blast, paint and assemble including polishing ever handle and bolt to look like chrome as I went along or else I would have run out of room and maybe have gotten overwhelmed. Labor time was over 160hrs. knowing that, I can really appreciate the job you did and many others doing the same type of repairs and restoration. I subscribed and am looking forward to all your videos. Thanks, Ed K. Cleve. Oh.

[@sergioalfaro6162]

Congratulations, great video and great work, can't wait to see the new projects. It's refreshing to see your videos. Keep going

[@exportedafrican]

Your videos have a great style. Congrats on the new tool

[@PracticalRenaissance]

Thanks!

[@robertoc.9099]

Que nostálgico es el poder ver un torno tan antiguo me trae muchos recuerdos cuando era mas joven y disfrutaba tanto ver aquellas revistas como mecánica popular, gracias a ello aprendí muchas cosas que me son tan útiles asta estos días... Thankyou Prac.Renais.

[@PracticalRenaissance]

Gracias por compartir, me alegra que hayas disfrutado!

[@hermanwulf771]

Very nice job. You put a lot of time in on it and it shows. I would suggest, as a point of safety, that you replace the switch with a magnetic switch. Not only would it look a lot better, but it would far safer, should the power go out, or you cut it to work on the lathe.

[@derekgee4223]

Compliments on your presentation , thank you

[@66blacksunshine]

Glad you did it right.. good for another 80 years. thanks for the vid.

[@jayjomofro]

I enjoy watching your videos. Thanks for sharing them. I hope you repaint the lathe though. The white just makes my eyes twitch.

[@DimaProk]

Today is Apr 24th a one year exactly after you posted video and I found it randomly. I started out with same Grizzly mini lathe like you did and yesterday I got my South Bend 10" he he and was cleaning up too but not as thorough as you did mostly surface.

[@phillipspain5650]

Fantastic video and great work. Amazing how fast you work 🤗

[@PracticalRenaissance]

only takes about 8 cups of coffee to get to 20x speed! :D

[@premierd8988]

White paint job is a mile out mate .......

[@GregsGarage]

Great looking rebuild Jeff. I love seeing all the parts knolled!!!

[@GregsGarage]

Oh, and the white... YES!

[@GregsGarage]

And the twisted sharpie for the win!

[@PracticalRenaissance]

The sharpie helped more than a couple times, it lives in my shop apron :D

[@charlesadams9968]

really nice job mate

[@ruppi42]

Hats off Jeff, your effort payed off! I hope the precision of this machine will meet your needs; Can´t wait for the review of your first turning test.Greetings from Frankfurt/M,Armin[just removed a typo; I should re-read may comments before posting]

[@PracticalRenaissance]

I have no doubt this lathe is more precise than I am!

[@raystevens687]

I'm wondering if you could of got the gray paint they use on floors.

[@captjamie9207]

GREAT job Jeff, it looks very good I like the white paint. A very big thank you for the shout out, already something like 8 new subscribers.

[@PracticalRenaissance]

Glad you like it! You deserve all the viewers you get! Thanks for the videos that helped when I had to come back inside, covered in dirt/oil and super frustrated, haha!

[@bruceang82]

Well done

[@precisionmachineshed]

Good Job! That's how my Heavy 10 Started. I was actually just going to have the bed re-ground. Then one thing lead to another....... It was worth it! +1 on adding a hardener, I've done lathes with and without and you notice with dry times and durability. Thought I saw Boyd Coddington when you were putting the bed back up on the legs!

[@PracticalRenaissance]

I'm definitely thankful I didn't need to get the bed reground! Other than one idiot-mark where it looks like someone dropped the chuck near the headstock, it's in pretty pristine condition. I really do wish I'd gone with the hardener, that paint takes FOREVER to cure!

[@johnwayne2103]

Nice lathe but you couldn't spring for a paint sprayer?

[@airgunningyup]

awesome score on the lathe, and a really nice restoration! Im exhausted just watching !

[@AmateurRedneckWorkshop]

Great video. You put in a lot of work and it shows. Well done rebuild and well done video.

[@PracticalRenaissance]

Thanks Harold!

[@dave_ecclectic]

You don't have it. I noticed my SB lathe base (no legs) has a leveling feature on the tail end base. It pivots with 2 locking/adjusting set screws. this allows you to plop the lathe down an any surface and then cock the tail end mount over to be untwisted while the part underneath is twisted to conform to whatever it is clamped to. You can identify this neat little gizmo as the base is made in two parts, not one. I imagine it was used only on bench top lathes that came without any type of legs.

[@BUILDNIGHT]

good job...not sure white was the best choice of color, but it looks good! i have a 1937 South Bend 9” also.

[@mikebroom1866]

If you have HVAC in your shop (MIN SPLIT FTW!!!!!) Don't even paint it. Just keep the important stuff oiled and keep using it. Like mrpete222 says, working clothes.

[@jimpritz4169]

Nice job and video thanks for it. Better add a belt guard to that to do list.

[@PracticalRenaissance]

yeah OSHA is gonna have a field day with my shop!

[@joecnc3341]

Great South Bend Lathe (I have two a 9" and a 10"). I've never seen one with a V-belt pulley in the headstock. Both of my lathes are flat belt

[@joeybobbie1]

Great Job rebuilding the Lathe. It looks great and seemed to run really smooth. I am buying on just like it on Monday. Is there any way I could purchase a Thread Chaser from you? I don’t have a 3D Printer. I’m also not quite at the level of Machining I need to be to make one. Thanks, Great Video

[@MrRain-hk4zi]

You did good! Just picked up one of these at an estate sale and is crying for attention.

[@daleb1225]

I knew when you started taking it apart you were going all the way, paint and all or that was my guess only knowing you threw your videos to me it is the kind of guy you are. Once you get started cleaning something up I would bet you usually end up wanting to make sure the job is done right and the next thing you know the whole thing is in parts. Great video

[@PracticalRenaissance]

It's like that children's book, "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" :) Thanks for watching!

[@robertkutz]

nice work.

[@swtorseneca]

Great job! Is that green Fenner belt a 1/2 or 3/4"?

[@PracticalRenaissance]

1/2"

[@swtorseneca]

thx!

[@eyuptony]

Great Video. Had to laugh about putting thing back together 2 or 3 or more times etc. I know what you mean. I like the white Lathe colour.

[@jasonburns1407]

Thanks for sharing

[@misobeno]

There's some incredible Action shots in here. Jesus I don't think I have the patience for that level of detail work. Was setting up the gear box a completely blind process or was there a way to index the pinion and key while you were assembling?

[@PracticalRenaissance]

Ended up using a silver sharpie to mark an index line on the outside of all the gears! Huffing markers saves the day once again!

[@davidrahn9903]

Thats a really nice looking lathe. Not a fan of southbend lathes myself cause all the ones I've encountered have been worn out old school metal shop machines, but your looks like it's been treated well. Also I'm pretty sure that in the 1940's the bearings would have been a babbit instead of just machined castings.

[@algirdpatrick5048]

I don't believe they had any babbitt. Some had split bronze.

[@throngcleaver]

South Bend lathes of that era had no babbitt bearings, except in the carrier bearing for the tail stock end of the lead screw. Older S.B. lathes, (1920s) had babbitt spindle bearings, and some of the 9" Junior lathes had split bronze bearings, but South Bend went with steel on cast iron, for better longevity in the late '30s or early '40s for their smaller lathes. The spindle bores in the headstock casting were bored and honed, and the tool room lathes (of that size) had oil grooves broached axially inside the bores. That reduced friction a bit and made for better lubrication, since the oil could easily flow out of the bearing and back down into the reservoir. That type of spindle bearing bore was only used on the high speed models, which in the case of the 9" A models, was a 12 speed lathe. I have a 1945 War Production model A with that bearing type. The spindles themselves were precision ground and the bearing surfaces polished, or in South Bend's words, "superfinished". Steel on cast iron, is going to last the longest, if properly lubed and the felt wicks changed regularly.

[@shawnmrfixitlee6478]

super sweet looking lathe , You did an AWESOME job man.. I bet your Father in law is proud to !

[@patrickbuildsalot5348]

I enjoyed the video 👍

[@davelee7572]

WAT a sheet paint job after all that work

[@facemire21]

Nice machine. I have a 1939 48" bed

[@TheSkipper1921]

The only criticism I have is I would have pre-oiled the felt strips when you put them in the groves. You already found out about the curse of white paint on your own. I believe this lathe may be a conversion from an overhead shaft system which maybe why you have the Frankenstein motor and electrical system. Other than that, nice video and good job.

[@yusdiy]

Good to see you back.Great restoration.I need a lathe,send me your mini lathe please.Thank you.

[@PracticalRenaissance]

haha thanks but i still need it for little stuff and metric stuff! :D

[@yusdiy]

Ok no worries,understood..When you don't need it anymore just remember my shop has a place for it. :)

[@MichaelLloyd]

Nice work!! Um... yeah.. white? Like you said, now you can see where all the oil and grease is :) Color me green with envy lol

[@cigarcaptain]

nice job

[@yota4004]

good luck keeping a white lathe looking good.

[@skyrim4713]

Could the model b9w tail stock.work on the model 9a

[@Joeak74]

SWEET! I just subscribed!

[@DavidHerscher]

Oh, bro, first off, good job. Secondly, and arguably more importantly, WHY with the white paint... groooooosssssss... lol good job man.

[@ryaldeveau207]

I wish i could come across one of these for that price.

[@Donnybrook10]

Loved the video until the paint job...it's like painting a Vintage John Deere Purple. Beautiful lathe though

[@nline2blast722]

Love the white

[@فنكالرمال]

It's all good except paint with a brush.The color is not perfect, blue or green, brown, red, grizzled because white doesn't fit with a lathe.

[@undercoverhustler37]

white is second only to pink for the worst industrial machine colour.

[@swandonovan]

you don't need a 3 jaw chuck

[@dizzolve]

1:00 yeah you gotta get all the crap out of there or you could be causing wear. at least after you clean it you wont worry about it

[@RWDenigres]

156/5000 I REFORMED AN EQUALITY THAT ONLY DOES NOT HAVE THE NORTON BOX, IF YOU HAVE INTEREST I CAN PASS THE PICTURES AND TO A VIDEO IT'S JUST PASSED MY ADDRESS. HUG. NOTE: UNTIL THE COLOR IS THE SAME, WHITE.

[@asherlito3801]

i liked the older machine color i would have not patted it

[@multiHappyHacker]

Just don't stop it real fast if you're running it in reverse with that thread-on spindle nose.

[@Retroweld]

👍👍

[@intjonmiller]

Too late for this project, but for future reference Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore, and others have enamels that are specifically designed for use on machinery. FAR more abrasion, impact, and chemical resistant than anything from the big box stores. Incidentally, what part of the world are you in? I thought I saw you the other day but felt too silly to say something in case I was wrong.

[@PracticalRenaissance]

That's good to note. In my research many folks had compared most oil based enamels to perform similarly, but I would readily believe that there are better paints than what I picked up! :) I'm in the Kansas City area, so if it wasn't me you saw, must have been some other very, very handsome person!

[@intjonmiller]

Definitely not you then. Curious. I think you have a doppelganger in Layton, Utah. :)

[@BubbleOnPlumb]

Rule of thumb - Never paint a thing white that you would not wear all white while using for its intended purpose. ;-)

[@glennmoreland6457]

You say this lathe has a reversing switch... And that Chuck just screws on clockwise...🤔 Nice restoration though...

[@billcodey1430]

7:00. OMG.

[@SalvadorGarciaG]

te lo has cargado con el blanco.

[@ChunkiieCustomz]

Ok I like your vids but holy commercials Batman. I’d rather just pay you lol

[@Cactusworkshopchannel]

man this is freaking awesome! fantastic job!! machinery porn :D

[@scottjohnson9912]

Ya ,throw the grizzly in the trash

[@mostafaomar5836]

Good work but the color not suitable for this machine thank you

[@professionaloverthinker-x]

paint work sucks ass :/