I'm sure you will get plenty of input from others on this, but the photo
in the lower right hand corner of the set of pix you sent are for
totally separate machine. It looks like a tool and cutter grinder to
me. It should be sold as a separate item.

Don't take my input on the lathe as gospel, but it looks to be a 9"
swing lathe. Potential buyers "in the know" should want to see and
feel it, checking for the condition of the ways, and checking for
looseness in the headstock, since it appears to be a babbit bearin model.
The tailstock is the part at the right end of the lathe. There is a
drill chuck in it. Turn the outer ring on the chuck until the jaws are
all the way closed. Then measure the distance from the center of those
jaws to one of the ways (the shiny iron "rails"). This number times 2
is the "swing" of the lathe. It's one of the main pieces of info that a
prospective buyer will want to know.
Now measure the distance between the end of the tailstock chuck and
the Headstock (big thing that the belts are attached to)chuck.
Add about 4 inches to that measurement (because this measurement is
usually made with the chucks off and the tailstock ram all the way in)
and you should have the approximate "distance between centers".
Anybody who is shopping for a South Bend lathe needs that info first.

Threading Gears: Look at the gears attached to the left end of the
lathe. There should be a bunch more someplace around there. The only
real negative I see about this lathe is that it does NOT have a "Quick
Change Gear Box. You need either the QC gearbox OR the stack of extra
gears to make the machine fully funcitonal And, if you can't find the
gears, a new owner would have no way to change the carriage feed rate.
That could limit the price considerably.

Price: The price can vary a LOT depending upon condition and the amount
of tooling that comes with it. South Bend is a well known and
respected maker.

I helped a friend of mine evaluate and buy one almost exactly like this
lathe a year ago. It had even more tooling than this one. It also had
the original cast iron-leg stand. We paid $1000 for it, dissasssembled
and loaded it an drove away. A year later, my friend is still walking
about 2 feet in the air because he got such a good deal!!!! We did not
haggle; just paid the asking price.

Shipping is a sort of big deal. But, selling it "for pick up only"
limits the range of buyers, as you probably already know.

I just checked ebay for "comparables", but right now, although there are
about a half dozen South Bend lathes there, I don't see any that would
be close to what you have there..


Hope this helps,
Pete Stanaitis
----------------------------------------------------

wrote:
Hi all,

I'm handling the estate of my late father-in-law, who has a South Bend
lathe in his workshop. The lathe has no identifying markings or
serial number that I can find. I'm wondering if anyone can help me
identify it from these photos: http://learningapi.com/files/ebay/lathe/

While it's quite dirty, the lathe is is good working condition and was
used regularly until just recently. There's a drawer full of parts and
accessories that I cannot identify (some shown in photo) as well.
Does anyone have an idea of what this machine would be worth in the
Boston area?

Thanks for any advice you can offer!
Larry