1922 south bend lathe ''restore''

[wayne94mustang]

i picked this up a few weeks ago, it looked bad but it realy worked well. every thing is tight and not worn at all.

here's how it was the day i got it after i painted a few things.....check out the casting date in the last picture.

[wayne94mustang]

this is what it looked like about a week later.

alittle buffing on the knobs and handles and more paint.

[Joe T]

You would have loved my dad's old machine shop. It was full of old machines that he didnt use anymore like a museum. I recently scrapped some more of the stuff I trucked home to our barn.


He had a LeBlond Lathe that sat next to the door that was 20's vintage I sold to someone for like $500 and he took it to mexico.

[wayne94mustang]

here it is with the bed painted and the ways cleaned up.



at this point i needed to build my lathe table so i could have my work bench for tearing the head apart.

the table has a 3/16'' steel plate top thats 3'x4'.






and the almost finished project





i bolted hinges to the motor plate figureing that gravity would keep the belt tight....it does not so i have to add weight to it.

[8950HO]

Probably built better than what they build today.

[wayne94mustang]

Originally Posted by Joe T

You would have loved my dad's old machine shop. It was full of old machines that he didnt use anymore like a museum. I recently scrapped some more of the stuff I trucked home to our barn.


He had a LeBlond Lathe that sat next to the door that was 20's vintage I sold to someone for like $500 and he took it to mexico.

that would of bin neat to see. this is my first lathe but i have messed around with them for over 15 years.

[wayne94mustang]

Originally Posted by 8950HO

Probably built better than what they build today.

no doubt in my mind

i'd like to see a 87 year old lathe from today be this tight.

[wayne94mustang]

more random lathe pr0n pics

[Morty91LX]

Looks great. I spent a lot of time in front of a similar vintage lathe in school, worked great. You can't kill them.

[Marlin]

Vintage tools are damn cool.

[SATURN5]

Nice... I have a similar sized Sheldon.

I need to take pics of it finished yet...

[wayne94mustang]

well, im calling it done, the brass tags are on so now its time to get to turning.

before.....



after.....

[wayne94mustang]

Originally Posted by SATURN5

Nice... I have a similar sized Sheldon.

I need to take pics of it finished yet...

nice, how old is that one?

[SATURN5]

Not sure... I believe 40's.. I didn't notice a casting date.

[sohcv8gt]

Originally Posted by wayne94mustang

i bolted hinges to the motor plate figureing that gravity would keep the belt tight....it does not so i have to add weight to it.

Sweet Job!

Just a suggestion on your motor plate, try drilling a hole on the backside or in between the pulley setup and motor. Then continue trhough the plate and take the hole straight through the table. Get yourself a good sized long bolt or piece of allthread rod, and lock two nuts together on the bottom (I'd use loctite), Up top, use a big flat washer, and two nuts so that you can lock it in place. It will be very easy to adjust the tension and since you set it up with the hinges on the plate, maintenance will be easy as well.

Cool project..wish I had room for big toys like that...

Matt

[Ralph]

What kind of shape are the ways in? They look a little rough.

I think you did a nice job, just not sure what kind of accuracy you're going to get out of it.

[AHP51]

That is really sweet. Like someone already said that thing is built way better then todays crap. It has lasted 87 years and can easily last another 87.

[wayne94mustang]

Originally Posted by sohcv8gt

Sweet Job!

Just a suggestion on your motor plate, try drilling a hole on the backside or in between the pulley setup and motor. Then continue trhough the plate and take the hole straight through the table. Get yourself a good sized long bolt or piece of allthread rod, and lock two nuts together on the bottom (I'd use loctite), Up top, use a big flat washer, and two nuts so that you can lock it in place. It will be very easy to adjust the tension and since you set it up with the hinges on the plate, maintenance will be easy as well.

Cool project..wish I had room for big toys like that...

Matt

this was my first thought as well but the thing is, to change speeds i need to lift up on the plate so i can change the belt over to different pulleys.

i then thought low tech and a small rope with a heavy weight hanging through the table would do the trick and i'll be able to change speeds quickly.

[wayne94mustang]

Originally Posted by Ralph

What kind of shape are the ways in? They look a little rough.

I think you did a nice job, just not sure what kind of accuracy you're going to get out of it.

they look rough in the pics but its just the pitting from rust. you can still see the old factory hand scraping on most of the ways. once i ajusted my tail stock and ran a 6''-7'' test cut on some 2'' round stock and it mic'd dead nut on.

[sapperstang78]

It'll break down now that you messed with it.

[speedfreak87]

I totally need one of those for my dads garage...

[wayne94mustang]

Originally Posted by sapperstang78

It'll break down now that you messed with it.

thats normally how that works but i did find that at least half of the oil passages were cloged with prehistoric grease and dirt so it should be good to go.

[wayne94mustang]

my lathe also came with a full set of 2 and 4 flute end mills so i tried milling on a lathe for the first time the other day.

this is what i came up with, it was a scrap hunk of 1 1/4'' solid round stock.



i also made the piviots and the rod was some 5/16'' stainless that i threaded to fit into the end i made and into the lathe.




i should of bought a lathe years ago.