BrianPowley
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Just had to share this with the Forum.
I've been looking for a small lathe to incorporate into the business. Mostly for cutting cylinder/barrel grooves for inlay and polishing round stock.
A good friend of mine(Larry) said he had a lathe and would gladly give it to me. It was given to him and he really had no use for it.
Larry didn't know what kind it was, only that it was old and heavy and he would deliver it.
I said----OK! (a good deal just got better.)
Larry shows up with the lathe completely disassembled and I just had to ask why he took it apart.
Larry said, "It was too heavy for me to lift, so I took it apart to get it in the van."
You know what the expression on my face was,don't you?
Since Larry is my good friend, I thanked him for the "gift" and decided to figure out what I had laying on the floor of my garage and if there's anything I can do with it.
A little research yielded a welcome surprise:
The lathe is a vintage South Bend 9" Model C....probably manufactured around 1945.
The "Practical Machinist's" forum and Ebay has been gleaning advice, an actual owners manual and some missing(?) parts.
After a few months of electrolysis cleaning, bead blasting and Rustoleum Spray Paint, she's just about ready for service.
Hey,Hey,Hey-----A free metal lathe!!!! (some assembly required.)
I've been looking for a small lathe to incorporate into the business. Mostly for cutting cylinder/barrel grooves for inlay and polishing round stock.
A good friend of mine(Larry) said he had a lathe and would gladly give it to me. It was given to him and he really had no use for it.
Larry didn't know what kind it was, only that it was old and heavy and he would deliver it.
I said----OK! (a good deal just got better.)
Larry shows up with the lathe completely disassembled and I just had to ask why he took it apart.
Larry said, "It was too heavy for me to lift, so I took it apart to get it in the van."
You know what the expression on my face was,don't you?
Since Larry is my good friend, I thanked him for the "gift" and decided to figure out what I had laying on the floor of my garage and if there's anything I can do with it.
A little research yielded a welcome surprise:
The lathe is a vintage South Bend 9" Model C....probably manufactured around 1945.
The "Practical Machinist's" forum and Ebay has been gleaning advice, an actual owners manual and some missing(?) parts.
After a few months of electrolysis cleaning, bead blasting and Rustoleum Spray Paint, she's just about ready for service.
Hey,Hey,Hey-----A free metal lathe!!!! (some assembly required.)