Any metal lathe operators about? Southbend A9

[Heatingman 971]

Looking at adding a lathe to my workshop.

 

hope to be able to make bushings and other hard to get odds and ends.

 

Would a Southbend 9” with 36” bed (or maybe total) be a good one to have for a hobbyist?

 

From my digging  based on the pictures I believe its a model A9 which has a quick change gear box, and a auto feed mechanism for threading and other operations.

 

Not sure the year, but the price seems fair for the amount of tooling it comes with. 
 

There are a few extra chucks, a tail chuck, quick change tool post, and a couple drawers of various cutting bits and so forth. 
 

Waiting for a response from the seller, but Im hoping to have a look at it this weekend. 

[Heatingman 971]

Heres a picture from the listing

 

[JPWH 6,033]

I have a Logan 400. It does not have the quick change gears but it works well for my needs. 

Jay

[ri702bill 8,318]

That looks to be a Model 9A, with the quick change gear box as mentioned - that is a plus - more convenient than having to use change gears for single point threading.

IF it comes with the collet closer and a set of collets - that in itself is huge. Those collets are specific to the Model 9 and only go up to 3/4" - they are NOT standard 5C lathe collets.

Voltage?? Maybe 110 - maybe 220 single phase?? 220 3 phase requires a converter - not cheap.

The "pass thru" diameter of a Model 9 headstock allows use of 3/4" round stock - no larger. (the Model 10 series allows 1-1/8). That may be a showstoper there??

It appears to also have the leadscrew reversing mechanism - 3 position - RH, off, and LH - allows you to cut left hand threads.

Is it operational as shown?? Show up with a piece of 5/8 or 3/4 aluminum round stock about a foot long. Take a skim cut along its length - this allows you to measure the finished part to see if the lathe cuts evenly. Also allows you to hear any unnatural machine noise. MOST lathe parts are short in length - the bed wears from use and the first 8 or so inches of travel gets a LOT of use - to a point where there is a noticeable dip when measured with an indicator. You are looking to buy a machine that is used, not used up.

Yup, demand to see it run - you don't buy a used car without a test drive, right?? 

 

[ri702bill 8,318]

The other thing I am NOT seeing is any form of positional indicator, such as a Trava-Dial (old school) or Digital readout (can be pircey and somewhat of a PIA to add).Should not be a showstoper either, but that should be reflected in the sale price....

I recently added a digital readout for the carriage travel on the bed of our lathe - worth every dime ( you have to fabricate all your own mounts for your application).

Sure beats using a dial indicator.....

Bill

Edited October 26, 2022 by ri702bill

[lynnmor 7,305]

11 hours ago, Heatingman said:

Heres a picture from the listing

 

 

Probably the first machine tool that I trained on, and the first lesson was to never leave the chuck key in. 

 

It is a very useful lathe for a hobbyist, of course bigger is always better, you can make small parts on a big lathe but not vice versa.

[oliver2-44 9,743]

40 minutes ago, lynnmor said:

 

Probably the first machine tool that I trained on, and the first lesson was to never leave the chuck key in. 

Same Here!

 

The 3/4” pass thru cab ability is certainly a limiting factor. You just need to decide if that will limit what you want to make with it. 

[ri702bill 8,318]

48 minutes ago, lynnmor said:

and the first lesson was to never leave the chuck key in. 

And unfortunately, it usually requires some folks to make that mistake - once - to grasp just why that is so important.....

[Heatingman 971]

Thanks guys. 
 

The seller got back to me. Should be having a look this Saturday. Its powered, so I will be sure to bring a test piece and run it through a simple load test. 
 

Not sure what the voltage or phase is, but as long as its not 460 only, I can make whatever work. 
 

Im a Pipefitter / HVAC guy by trade, and do tons of electric work as part of that. 
 

I have a variety of motors Ive kept just in case, and also have a few VFD’s sitting around incase its 3 phase. I can power with single phase and output 3 without issue.

 

My biggest hurdle is what needs to move out to make room. I have a feeling my edge jointer may need to go. Have not used it some time. 

[ri702bill 8,318]

Murphy's Law - Nuke it, then need it. Always seems to go that way.... 

[Heatingman 971]

2 hours ago, ri702bill said:

Murphy's Law - Nuke it, then need it. Always seems to go that way.... 

Looking at the space now, trying to figure out a new layout so I can keep it. Cause your right, eventually I’ll want to use it, then be upset its gone. 
 

Pretty much everything in the shop is on wheels, but I still prefer a semi-permanent layout. 

Edited October 26, 2022 by Heatingman

[Heatingman 971]

Figured out a new layout without having to move anything out. 
 

May reshuffle some items if and when I get the lathe once I see where I want it to be for sure, but there is space.

 

Chomping at the bit. Feel like a kid on Christmas. Probably too excited to really be impartial checking the thing out.

 

But I will do my best to pass on it if its not up to standard.

 

Even started watching videos on installing a DRO set up. Definitely getting ahead of myself there. 

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

I've got no input on the Southbend other than what a few metalworking-Youtubers have taught me over the years. The Southbend brand seems to be known as a high quality machine.

That being said, can't hurt to check up on the above mentioned points and see if you can run the lathe for a bit to check for (excessive) wear.

 

My personal lathe is a Chinese import model with about 30cm/12" of swing, 100cm/40" between centers and 40mm/1.6" pass through in the headstock. Eventhough chinese it is a very precise machine and fundamentally well built. It has all the bells and whistles for single point threading and two way DRO. Personally I would not buy a lathe without DRO. Once you're used to that there's no going back.

 

I've had the lathe for roughly 10 years now and did'nt have any real problems with it. Could'nt live without it 

 

You will not regret owning a lathe 

[Heatingman 971]

@sjoemie himself What brand lathe do you have? 

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

It's a 'HBM' or Herman Buitelaar Machines.

Basically just a sticker-brand. Private label of a Chinese import lathe. Someting like this except mine's an older model.

 

[Heatingman 971]

Well, I passed on this lathe. Just too rough for the money he wanted. Even if it was 75 percent less I think I would have passed.

 

There was a gear that was missing a tooth, the bed was rusted in spots past just surface, and he said he used WD-40 as lube when he ran it. It was hard to travel the carriage manually like its not seen oil in 10 plus years. Would need a complete overhaul, and precision stone grinding on the bed. 

 

Hard pass.

 

But, I did find another, better one for less money. Just have to drive a couple hours to get it.

 

Southbend 13” x 36  with quick change gears, and an 8” chuck, 1” pass through bore on the head stock, an extra motor, and 2 more smaller chucks, the cast feet, and the dead man (I think its called for center or end support.)

 

Be looking at that one tomorrow.
 

 

Edited October 30, 2022 by Heatingman

[Heatingman 971]

Bit of a chore to unload and mount the feet solo, but with the right gear, not too bad.

 

Heavy little sucker. Id guess about 1000 lbs fully assembled.

But it sure looks good in my shop!

 

 

 

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

Congratulations on the purchase and happy turning!

Do you have experience in running a lathe?

[Heatingman 971]

5 hours ago, sjoemie himself said:

Congratulations on the purchase and happy turning!

Do you have experience in running a lathe?

Not since highschool shop class. About 20 years, but Im exited to learn. 
 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2022 by Heatingman
Should have said 20 years - fat finger syndrome

[sjoemie himself 3,068]

That's probably gonna be a 'like riding a bike' kind of experience.. you never really un-learn something like that

[oliver2-44 9,743]

On 10/29/2022 at 7:43 PM, Heatingman said:

But, I did find another, better one for less money. Just have to drive a couple hours to get it.

 

Southbend 13” x 36  with quick change gears, and an 8” chuck, 1” pass through bore on the head stock, an extra motor, and 2 more smaller chucks, the cast feet, and the dead man (I think its called for center or end support.)

 

Your going to find the 13" and the 1"" bore opens up a lot of things the lathe can do

[Heatingman 971]

Well. Since I have the “must be pretty and functional disease” I ended up wanting to repaint the machine, which became a total teardown and overhaul.

 

almost finished now. Not quite a 1 year project, but pretty close with on/off working on it. 

And I found the missing gear cover too. 
 

Just need to wire in the VFD, and mount the saddle and she’ll be back to work. 

 

[c-series don 8,705]

That looks awesome! Now you’re reminding me of high school! 👍🏻

[squonk 41,100]

I needed replace  a new steering column bushing the other day. I found the correct I.D. but the O.D. and length was wrong. Got out my poor mans lathe. Porta band saw and Harbor Freight belt sander.

 

Edited August 17, 2023 by squonk

[Mickwhitt 4,621]

Someone mentioned it not having a position indicator for thread cutting. 

It does have an indicator to start each pass with the tool at the same point on the lead screw. It swings in to contact the lead screw then you always hit the same start point with each pass.

A lot to learn to cut threads with this machine but it will be worth doing. 

Looks a lot better for the paint. 

Need to check it turns parallell before you commit to accurate work. Plenty of guidance on the Web how to do that. 

But it's definitely worth doing now it's been moved and reassembled. 

Happy turning and if you want any advice drop me a line.