FILENAMES: SB9_lathe.jpg SB9_apron.jpg SB9_headstock.jpg DESCRIPTION: Pictures of a rescued Southbend 9 inch lathe. Posted by GTO(John) . The following description was provided: ================================================================ From: GTO69RA4 (gto69ra4@aol.com) Subject: Bought my first lathe! Little tool gloat Date: 2002-10-24 10:23:35 PST That's right, I finally did it. My first "real" (non-Unimat) lathe. A couple weeks ago I posted a link to an auction of an old South Bend 9" "Model C", hoping that someone might save it. Well, my condition improved to the point where I felt like climbing out from under the covers, a friend suddenly got a new truck (not need as it turned out), and no one else bid. A couple emails and one lowball offer later and I ended up with the thing, minus a chuck that someone else bought. The road trip was made interesting by a lumber truck rollover. Other than that, it went as fast as a few hundred miles can. The truck proved a little excessive when I found out that the previous owner was hauling the lathe around in a Ford Fiesta. So, what do I have? It's a South Bend 9" Model B (change gears but power crossfeed) underdrive type with a 3' bed. I haven't called SB for the serial card yet, but I'm guessing it's from around 1940 by the serial number. It came with a 6.75" cast iron faceplate, a 6" South Bend by Skinner four-jaw, a well worn 6" Cushman three-jaw, and the basic set of change gears that are mounted on the lathe. No counter shaft, other drive hardware, or tooling. And the price? A princely $90 for the lot. I'll have to get some photos of me standing in front of it with a silly grin on my face... The ways don't have wear visible to the naked eye (or fingertip) though I suppose only some test cuts will give the real story. More disused and dirty than damaged or clapped-out overall. Liberal applications of things with words like "Eater" and "Blaster" in the name seem to have gotten almost everything moving in a lathe-like manner. The spindle is nearly impossible to turn. I'd think it's more from congealed oil than anything nasty at the moment. Only two broken parts have popped up so far: The gear cover pivot arm is missing one of the V teeth, and the headstock cover has had one hinge broken off then brazed on. Not sure what I'll do about that. The whole thing had been repainted fire engine red at some point. That's actually good for me, because who ever did it blasted or stripped all the original paint off before putting this stuff on. Should be pretty easy to removed the red and start from bare metal. If I can find a drive countershaft (missed a bench drive for under $40 on eBay by one day) this thing should be restored and making chips some time around next spring. I have a few photos of the thing in the dropbox starting under "SB9". GTO(John)