South Bend Lathe question

swami4u

swami4u

Banned
I will be picking up a New (old) south bend lathe for tips/ferrules.
My question is it is spec'd with Power feeds. It has Standard gear change
+ power feed. Could someone tell me what the power feeds gain me, as they seem to be pretty rare on these old lathes.


Thanks
 
The power-feed moves the carriage without you having to crank the handwheel.
You may not use that much.
The change gears are for cutting threads. You'll use these even less. You may have to get some documents for that though.
Try to locate an owner's manual.
 
KJ Cues said:
The power-feed moves the carriage without you having to crank the handwheel.
You may not use that much.
The change gears are for cutting threads. You'll use these even less. You may have to get some documents for that though.
Try to locate an owner's manual.
Click to expand...


This lathe http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=164090
comes with a unreal amount of tooling. I need to know what i will have to buy
to do tips/ferrules. I know already i will need something to protect the shafts
from the chuck (collet's) What are your favorites? Also still looking for advice
on adding a rear chuck to this beast. Pic of the rear area in above links.
SO in short, if it was your lathe, how would you go about setting it up for tips and ferrules?

Thanks for those who share the info.

Thanks
 
Not to be rude or anything my friend, but, this is what you'll need to do tips and ferrules. http://www.cuesmith.com/index.php?me..._lathe_micro_3
I'll pretty much guarantee by the time you buy this old lathe and convert it to the point where you'll feel comfortable in doing what you want it to do, you'll have spent more than Chris's, Lee's or Todd's tip and ferrule repair lathes. Its a pretty lathe, pretty old. Its a museum piece and under the right circumstances I'm pretty sure it would give great service for another 100 years.
The cuemakers here that are using older lathes like these are experienced machinists and already have the necessary equipment in their shops and knowledge to convert Old Betsy. Save yourself a kick in the ass and wait a few years down the road to take on a project like this.
 
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swami4u said:
I will be picking up a New (old) south bend lathe for tips/ferrules.
My question is it is spec'd with Power feeds. It has Standard gear change
+ power feed. Could someone tell me what the power feeds gain me, as they seem to be pretty rare on these old lathes.


Thanks
Click to expand...

The cross slide feed is probably the rare one. That is the one that goes across the bed. The sadle or carriage feed is common with engine lathes that are equiped for thread cutting. More rear is a lathe with a power feed compound slide.
All the same, if the bearings are in good condition and not too much wear in the front part of the lathe bed, it will be very good for tips etc.
You will most likely need to make up something to support the back end of the shaft so it runs fairly true and not mark the shaft.
Either way, with a machinists lathe ,there is alot of things you can make and have fun making.
Does the M/C you are looking at come with a quick change gear box and feed/pitch selection.? I ask this as alot of earlier lathes only had gears that needed to be set up on a train for each pitch or feedrate.
Neil
 
SB lathe

I have had a similar model "A" with a 3 1/2 foot bed which translates to about 28 inches between short centers. SouthBend always listed the size of the bed without regard to the room taken by the spindle and tailstock. The power feed is not the same as the thread cutting feed. It moves the carriage in and out (or Y axis) or along the length of the bed (or X axis). Even models without the power feeds have a thread cutting feed. And it is used if you make your own screws or cut threads with a router into wood.
The weakness' are: cannot sand a shaft between centers, you will need to make a back chuck or use bushings in the rear of the spindle to even support a spinning shaft for tip or ferrule work. You can thread the shafts but not a big enough through hole for butt pin install unless you get a South Bend heavy 10 lathe. The one in the pic looks like a standard nine. And the weakness that drove me crazy is that if you use soft vinyl tube for bushings with a three jaw chuck you will now and then destroy a shaft! I have done it A shaft with a bushing squirms enough in the three jaw metal chuck to let a shaft move between two jaws and destroy the ferrule and last couple inches of shaft. Not often, but it will bite you I guarantee it. It needs a six jaw chuck, or a machinist to grind the 3 jaws so they do not have the typical small surface area that a metal lathe chuck has.
Now the cueman lathe and the unique as well as some others are made for cues and easily do what the SB will except thread cutting, unless you buy the added tooling. BUT their chucks will firmly hold a shaft without damaging it. And you will be able to sand a shaft with them. And even work on house cues. Can you adapt a SB? Of course given enough time and determination, anything is possible. I did it and now regret it as an exercise in futility. I sold the SB and bought a Unique, and later a Cueman as well. Way easier to use efficiently for our kind of work. And portable to take to tournaments. Best wishes.
 
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