Cutting cylinder bases

[Stihl 041S]

could be an easy $500 in just the tooling alone. to me, its more greasy than rusty. the ways looks good as does the tailstock. a good careful cleaning of the grease then wipe down the steel with the surface rust. then some 600 and steel wool. time consuming but it all can easily enuff be brought back to brite metal condition. and its on a nice stand. even if motor wont work, that can be fixed. and a sure thing to maybe talk the seller into a lower price. but, it prob works. imo, nice old lathe...

My view. He bought it and let it sit in a building.
That red on center chuck and ways is rust. Goes all the way around the chuck and center.
It will work. But it will wear much faster.
If you get it.
Get it warm and drain all fluids. Fill and run for maybe an hour.
Drain and filter thru a coffee filter.
Do it a couple of times.
Flat sand if you are going to do that. And clean because that abrasive and rust are your enemies.

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

of course, rust is rust. lol. but to me, that is merely surface rust and can come off given enuff time, effort and desire. I have a small mill up at my farm I am bringing out of my shop there to town here. it has some surface rust on the bed and quill. I can easily get it off. but it comes off one small spot at a time. those ways don't have rust to any extent, imo. should brighten up real quickly. but a pix is not touching it in person... hope u can get it. it would be a nice sized one for a home-based shop. or any shop for that matter. is it single phase 220?

 

[Stihl 041S]

of course, rust is rust. lol. but to me, that is merely surface rust and can come off given enuff time, effort and desire. I have a small mill up at my farm I am bringing out of my shop there to town here. it has some surface rust on the bed and quill. I can easily get it off. but it comes off one small spot at a time. those ways don't have rust to any extent, imo. should brighten up real quickly. but a pix is not touching it in person... hope u can get it. it would be a nice sized one for a home-based shop. or any shop for that matter. is it single phase 220?

I edited my last post.
For hobby it is fine. You are right.
But in the machine trade the saying goes “there is no such thin on surface rust on the ways”.
Table....no sweat at all. Flat stone it.

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

I bet the ways are true to the chuck's CL within .001" or .0015 at worst... and u can prob dial in anything in the chuck to 0.000 centerline... or 1/2 thous

 

[Stihl 041S]

I bet the ways are true to the chuck's CL within .001" or .0015 at worst... and u can prob dial in anything in the chuck to 0.000 centerline... or 1/2 thous

It will be straight to it.

Cl of the chuck Won’t be near centerline of the Spindle unless it is a NorthField.

Chucks seldom run true unless they are a “Buck” chuck. And you adjust them for a certain opening.
Because the scroll is not ground.
That’s why there are soft jaws to bore.
And collets are near center.
And you can grind the masters for near center but it will only be true where you grind them.
Makes little difference on most things.
When you rebore to add a thou then you need a buck chuck.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

all of this advice is good. but the bottom line is how good are you? big dif between being a machinist and being a metal worker enthusiast. even if real good at it. if it was mine, and I speak from exp, both as an owner and operator... I would want a 13X40 manual engine lathe. or thereabouts. even new, they are affordable. but, as I say... it really all depends on you. and ur skills. I know a guy and he is a retired Master Machinist... he has an older, smaller lathe in his basement. there is little he cannot do with it, other than unless swing related. but he has the knowledge, skills, education and... the experience. of course, think of ur customers, too. can you provide reworked cylinders of the highest quality?

in any event, I think this is an interesting thread. will follow to see what u decide upon. if u see a used lathe with metal brite ways... smile upon it. prob well taken care of. if rusty, dusty and musty... don't mean it hasn't, but does mean it needs some servicing. if you are not a machinist... perhaps consider becoming friends with one and/or a tool n die maker type. there are many of both in larger metro areas. and often, they work and may not have a personal machine shop. maybe couple tools. if u have a good lathe, they might help u with the set up in exchange for some machine time.

but, if u have never owned a lathe... YOU MUST DO THIS!:

never!, ever!... turn it on with the chuck key handle still in the chuck! it happens. so, always say to yourself before engaging the power; elec. ON/OFF handle... now where is the T handle? ask couple times! tossed handle can kill you! and never... be careless with your clothing. even a loose T-shirt is dangerous. I saw a guy get wrapped up in a T-shirt with another revolving shop tool. it happens. don't let it happen to you! it will be instantaneously disruptive to you!

safety first!

my 13 x 40 engine lathe
View attachment 693779 View attachment 693780 View attachment 693781

We have a Grizzly in the shop that looks just like that aside from it's green.

 

[Marshy]

could be an easy $500 in just the tooling alone. to me, its more greasy than rusty. the ways looks good as does the tailstock. a good careful cleaning of the grease then wipe down the steel with the surface rust. then some 600 and steel wool. time consuming but it all can easily enuff be brought back to brite metal condition. and its on a nice stand. even if motor wont work, that can be fixed. and a sure thing to maybe talk the seller into a lower price. but, it prob works. imo, nice old lathe...

but no doubt a what u see is what u get kinda deal... see if its got any gear oil...

I plan to give it a good look. I'll check fluids, backlash and wear. Im going to get him under $1000 with the tooling but I'm prepared to walk away.

 

[Marshy]

of course, rust is rust. lol. but to me, that is merely surface rust and can come off given enuff time, effort and desire. I have a small mill up at my farm I am bringing out of my shop there to town here. it has some surface rust on the bed and quill. I can easily get it off. but it comes off one small spot at a time. those ways don't have rust to any extent, imo. should brighten up real quickly. but a pix is not touching it in person... hope u can get it. it would be a nice sized one for a home-based shop. or any shop for that matter. is it single phase 220?

Its 3 phase actually. Idk the voltage. Will need to get a converter. If I'm spending money to accommodate single phase then I'm going with a converter vice putting on a single phase motor.
We will see how bad the rust is. Evapo-Rust is a great product and I'll be using it here if I do get it. No need to blow out an elbow rubbing it like a genie lamp.

 

[weeks auto]

I have the exact same south bend 9a it’s a very nice lathe and easy to learn on with good parts availability

 

[Stihl 041S]

That collet setup is nice. That is something you will use.

 

[Gord404]

I have a 9" south bend as well, 1935 404 in great shape.( stored away for many years)- hard to tell them apart from the newer version 9" but a well made piece of machinery and I use it all the time.

 

[Marshy]

Looked at that lathe today. Leaves a lot to be desired. The rust isnt much of a concern. I feel like that would clean up fine and wouldn't affect performance. The cross slide had 0.060" lash and the carriage is unknown because there is no dial on it. The biggest problem I see was the handle on the carriage has a lot of slop like a bushing it worn out. The gear in the drive for has a lot of lash and the rack under the ways shows lots of use. Over all it would make a nice lath with some new parts. I'm more interested in using one rather than restoring one. I told him I cant do more than $1k and I'm leaning more towards $800 even with tooling. I'd still have to convert single to three phase and it needs a lot of cleaning.

Here is the rack for moving the carriage. It's hard to see but on the far left you can see the gear teeth that doesnt see much use. The tip of the tooth is a flat like it's supposed to. The teeth in the area in front of the chuck are sharp to a point. It would need a new rack and all new gears for the carriage IMO.



Motor is 1 hp 3 phase with a reversing pole via relays for reverse. Dont know if the relays are good or not either because hes never ran it.

 

[Stihl 041S]

All manuals have backlash.
Put an indicator on the end of the slide and push it in and out

 

[Sepia]

All manuals have backlash.
Put an indicator on the end of the slide and push it in and out

I just replaced the cross-slide nut in mine. It had .015" backlash before, and with the new nut now has .0015"

It's not a difficult or overly expensive upgrade/repair. The new brass nut was $55 for a South Bend 13"

 

[catbuster]

Yeah, 1 or 2 or maybe 5 thou is okay. 60 is not. It would have needed some work

 

[Marshy]

Yeah, 1 or 2 or maybe 5 thou is okay. 60 is not. It would have needed some work

I was not checking the lash as @Stihl 041S described. I forgot to being my indicator. The 0.060 came from reading the dial on the cross slide hand wheel. When you changed directions that how much lash was in the assembly before the slide would change directions. Either case. I see enough wear on the rack for the carriage for me to be concerned. At least for the price.

 

[Stihl 041S]

I just replaced the cross-slide nut in mine. It had .015" backlash before, and with the new nut now has .0015"

It's not a difficult or overly expensive upgrade/repair. The new brass nut was $55 for a South Bend 13"

Right. The actual play in the nut.
And the beauty of SB is all parts are available I believe and raw. Astings for a mill attachment for the cross slide.
Really nice is to stiffen the frame with a subframe.
During the war the government told how to do it.
Really deadens them.