Tips/Techniques Lathe restoration

[jcoll]

Hello everyone,
As I mentioned in my new user post, I'm currently in the market for my first lathe and mill. Primary goal here is to be able to chamber my own rifle barrells, some other small gunsmithing tasks and light work. My current budget is about $10k max. Currently in New Brunswick, so used machine pickings are rather slim. One lathe I have been eyeing, is a Southbend that requires restoration work. Apparently the individual has the parts to finish the project, minus a drive gear. I can drive out there and check it out (around a 3 hour drive one way), get pictures etc. For the price he's asking, would leave me enough in my budget for a small used mill and tooling to get started, provided restoration costs don't drive me into a monetary rabbit hole. Looking for advice on what to check, look for, if I decide to go and take a look (or if it's even worth going out there to do so), and the practicality of my approach here. Lathe in question is linked below. I appreciate any general advice anyone can give me, thanks!

Southbend lathe

 

[JustaDB]

Thread 'Used Lathe Checkup List'

Jun 24, 2025

Had some free time waiting for my daughter to arrive. This is as good a place and time as any for a Lathe Checkup List

Bring a Dial indicator, a Dial Test Indicator, a magnetic indicator stand, a short piece of stock to test spindle bearing runout, a long test bar to test bed wear with carriage travel, and a nice bright flashlight.

Note that a used bed check does not need to include alignment since that is always done when a lathe is moved anyway. The lack of alignment is not an indication of the condition of a lathe.

Read a manual on that lathe to see how it all works.

Overall...

• Susquatch
• Replies: 3
• Forum: Machine Talks. Mills, Lathes, Shapers, etc.

• 

 

[Mcgyver]

Welcome to the forum. Seems like a lot of lathe for 1600 and well tooled. No idea the wear or what it needs, but it does look older.

As a general thought, not specific to that one, what does restoration mean? Most of internet thinks it's applying (1) heavy amounts of lipstick. otoh it could be some (2) minor mechanical repairs right to a full (3) reconditioning meaning restoring every bearing surface to its a original condition by scraping and grinding.

(1) doesn't matter, but I think you'd want a working lathe to take on (2) or (3).

If you can manage a couple of trips to Ontario, you should be able to get a good, and loaded with tooling, mill and lathe for 10k. Thinking like 12 or 13" Standard Modern and an XLO mill. along with everything you need. Your challenge is its hard to act quickly..... so seek out a nice one that is not quite priced to sell instantaneously.

 

[trlvn]

That appears to be a South Bend Heavy 10 which is pretty well regarded.

The quick change gear box is not where it should be and presumably has the busted gear. Whether you feel comfortable fixing the machine is not something we can decide for you. However, South Bend sold a lot of these lathes and there are certainly used parts available. There are lots of resources on the web for manuals and videos or write-ups related to these machines.

To me, it looks like a worthwhile project. If you get it running, I would imagine you could sell it for at least twice the current asking price.

Craig

 

[jcoll]

That appears to be a South Bend Heavy 10 which is pretty well regarded.

The quick change gear box is not where it should be and presumably has the busted gear. Whether you feel comfortable fixing the machine is not something we can decide for you. However, South Bend sold a lot of these lathes and there are certainly used parts available. There are lots of resources on the web for manuals and videos or write-ups related to these machines.

To me, it looks like a worthwhile project. If you get it running, I would imagine you could sell it for at least twice the current asking price.

Craig

Thanks for the insight, much appreciated. I’m thinking it’s worth a trip out to do an overall inspection. Luckily I can bury a few hours of the trip into a supply run from the city I suppose.

 

[skippyelwell]

A SB 10" heavy would be a good lathe to start with if it hasn't been abused, there seems to be a lot of overspray so someone in its past did a rattle can restoration on it. You really will have to tear it down, older SB's have oil reservoirs underneath the main bronze bearings with felt wicks that bring the oil up to the bearing surface. A lot of the time those wicks are long gone.
There's a guy on ebay that sells a felt kit for every SB made and it's well worth the $30-40 buy it, he also has a nice little "How to restore your SB" hand book which is good as well.

As mentioned above there are lots parts floating around for sale for these machines and there is even a dedicated forum on Practical Machinist forum just for South Bends.

Ooo, his prices have gone up since I last bought one,

South Bend Lathe Heavy 10 (Model 10L) - Rebuild Parts Kit ● Over 10,000 Sold! ● | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for South Bend Lathe Heavy 10 (Model 10L) - Rebuild Parts Kit ● Over 10,000 Sold! ● at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.ca

 

[jcoll]

Yep, prices for pretty much anything have gone up these days I imagine. I’ll check out that forum, thanks for the tip. If I do go this route, I’ll definitely break it down and clean it up as much as possible. Fortunately there’s no rush for me, and I can take my time. If anything I’d have to make sure I don’t go too far down the rabbit hole and turn it into a ten year project. I have a habit of doing that lol

 

[Susquatch]

I think it's a very long drive to see a lathe that you cannot see running and probably another drive to pick it up if you decide you want to.

I want to add something important so please bear with me. If you go and bring a trailer, you absolutely MUST be in a frame of mind that allows you to look and leave. If you don't force that attitude on yourself, you could trick yourself into buying something you will regret. Your subconscious will NOT BE YOUR FRIEND. It will be busy screaming at you that you just drive 6 hours for nothing if you don't buy. You MUST be strong - strong enough to tell your subconscious to FO. If you don't think you can do that, then don't go. The bottom line is that your subconscious knows that it isn't just the time, it's also the sunken investment. It will be busy trying to convince you to buy or lose the investment. But a bad buy is a bad buy no matter how much is under the bridge. Make a logical practical fact based decision, not one that is biased by the water under the bridge.

Since you say it's 3 hrs one way and since the machine in near St. John, you must be in the north someplace - perhaps close enough to add Nova Scotia and Quebec to your search area.

I kinda like Mcgyver's advice to look in Ontario. There are lots of members here who would be willing to take an early look for you to increase the odds of a win. It would also lower the price of a good lathe and increase the time you have to decide.

In my opinion, 10 grand should get you two very nice machines and some required tooling too.

But chambering a barrel will probably require a few grand of specialized tooling - I don't have a list but I know it isn't minor. (I guess it's something I should do some day - especially since chambering seems to be a goal that many new members share). That doesn't include the barrel or chamber specific reamer and other tooling which are prolly another grand.

 

[jcoll]

I think it's a very long drive to see a lathe that you cannot see running and probably another drive to pick it up if you decide you want to.

I want to add something important so please bear with me. If you go and bring a trailer, you absolutely MUST be in a frame of mind that allows you to look and leave. If you don't force that attitude on yourself, you could trick yourself into buying something you will regret. Your subconscious will NOT BE YOUR FRIEND. It will be busy screaming at you that you just drive 6 hours for nothing if you don't buy. You MUST be strong - strong enough to tell your subconscious to FO. If you don't think you can do that, then don't go. The bottom line is that your subconscious knows that it isn't just the time, it's also the sunken investment. It will be busy trying to convince you to buy or lose the investment. But a bad buy is a bad buy no matter how much is under the bridge. Make a logical practical fact based decision, not one that is biased by the water under the bridge.

Since you say it's 3 hrs one way and since the machine in near St. John, you must be in the north someplace - perhaps close enough to add Nova Scotia and Quebec to your search area.

I kinda like Mcgyver's advice to look in Ontario. There are lots of members here who would be willing to take an early look for you to increase the odds of a win. It would also lower the price of a good lathe and increase the time you have to decide.

In my opinion, 10 grand should get you two very nice machines and some required tooling too.

But chambering a barrel will probably require a few grand of specialized tooling - I don't have a list but I know it isn't minor. (I guess it's something I should do some day - especially since chambering seems to be a goal that many new members share). That doesn't include the barrel or chamber specific reamer and other tooling which are prolly another grand.

All good points, and valid advice. I'm going to reach out to him for more pictures, from there i'll decide if I should take a trip out there. If I do go out there, I won't be taking the trailer the first time for exaclty the reasons you stated. I need some supplies from Freddy anyway, so that at least buries some hours for the first trip.

You are correct, I am in nothern New Brunswick, and my search area so far includes southern Quebec and far eastern Ontario, anything further then that would have to be a pretty good bargain due to the diminishing returns of travel time, gas etc., and those good deals seem to go very, very quickly from what i've seen so far. Hard to arrange to get out to those longer distance buys before they sell, and putting a deposit down scares me. I actually saw another Southbend on marketplace in immaculate condition for an amazing price in Quebec, did some further investigation, and funnily enough it led me to this site, where someone had called it out as a scam under a different marketplace account, same picture and all.

 

[Susquatch]

funnily enough it led me to this site, where someone had called it out as a scam under a different marketplace account, same picture and all.

We try here, but we are not perfect. Some of our members have been scammed. But I think you are safer here than anyplace else. If you find something iffy, post it here. The clan here does a pretty good job of sniffing out the crooks.

As harsh as this sounds, you might be better off looking for something in Eastern Ontario that is NOT a deal. It will likely still be deal compared to NB, and the fact that it isn't a deal here increases the chance that its a decent machine and also that it won't get sold out from under you. Really good deals here go fast. I think that's sorta what @Mcgyver was trying to say too.

 

[Hollow-Grind]

Funny story. I plan to move to New Brunswick in the next few months. If I don’t sell one of my lathes here it’s coming with me. How do you like northern New Brunswick?

 

[jcoll]

Funny story. I plan to move to New Brunswick in the next few months. If I don’t sell one of my lathes here it’s coming with me. How do you like northern New Brunswick?

We actually moved here around 5 years ago from southern Ontario. Wife has family in Fredericton, but we wanted something away from the city, so settled on a nice little spot in a small community in northwest NB just off the U.S. border. Definitely a change in pace. A busy traffic day here is when there’s 2 cars at the 4 way stop.

Beautiful place to live if you enjoy outdoor activities. Kids are much happier here, it was getting rather sketchy where we previously lived. It was a huge move for us, took over a year of planning, but was worth it.

Who knows, maybe I’ll still be looking for a lathe by the time you get here and will swing by to pick up yours if you haven’t sold it yet lol.

Good luck with the move!

 

[Chicken lights]

Funny story. I plan to move to New Brunswick in the next few months. If I don’t sell one of my lathes here it’s coming with me. How do you like northern New Brunswick?

I've helped move 3 families to NB, one to northern Ontario by Hearst and recently a friend moved to Newfoundland. Nobody regrets leaving southern Ontario

 

[Hollow-Grind]

We actually moved here around 5 years ago from southern Ontario. Wife has family in Fredericton, but we wanted something away from the city, so settled on a nice little spot in a small community in northwest NB just off the U.S. border. Definitely a change in pace. A busy traffic day here is when there’s 2 cars at the 4 way stop.

Beautiful place to live if you enjoy outdoor activities. Kids are much happier here, it was getting rather sketchy where we previously lived. It was a huge move for us, took over a year of planning, but was worth it.

Who knows, maybe I’ll still be looking for a lathe by the time you get here and will swing by to pick up yours if you haven’t sold it yet lol.

Good luck with the move!

Everything we hear about NB is exactly what we want other than the way most vote. Originally we were looking at the Northern towns but fear they may be a little too French and we don’t speak it

Thinking on Woodstock or Sussex area and that gets me reasonably close to a 1000 yard range. We know Sussex floods so have to research certain areas.

 

[Susquatch]

The Maritimes are a great place to grow older. Don't forget your growing need to be closer to hospitals and old age care as time passes.

 

[Mcgyver]

you might be better off looking for something in Eastern Ontario that is NOT a deal.

It was what I was getting at - pay a premium for being able visit in a week instead of an hour.... or offer a premium for a longer hold. Could work if you first chatted the seller up so he felt you were sincere.

What's the old line .... nothing in commerce is more important than sincerity. Once you can fake that you've got it made! (not how it really works, but a good quip nonetheless)