Question: Southbend lathe

[Scot]

A friend of my dad is selling off the estate of a relative. One of the items is an "old 10" Southbend lathe. " That is all we know about it at this time. I have no idea as to voltage or tools. He does not have a clue what it is worth. Any ideas?

 

[cap-n-cray]

I know enough about lathe to be dangerous..... but I always check Ebay for cost. Sometimes you have to look for a while to get a good idea what is selling and how much. Here is one:



Southbend Lathe



Cary

 

[nickleinonen]

cool. . now i'd love to have one of those in the corner of my garage

 

[bighammer]

I've been looking at them for a bit. They seem to range from about 600 to 1500 depending on age, condition, accessories, etc.

 

[Champane Flight]

Three phase

The biggest problem would be the three phase power in my area.

 

[LSMITH]

A phase generator works fine for most hobbyist type lathe work. You can still cut fine with them and the accuracy is not affected. Downside is cost, phase generators are expensive, and not very efficient so the light bill can get nasty if you run it a lot. 3 phase lathes are cheaper though, as there is less demand for them. When a single phase 10" lathe comes up for sale it usually leaves in a hurry.



Price is a subjective thing. It really depends on condition and what goes with it like bighammer said. Add 15-20% to the price of a 3 phase machine if it is a single phase machine. For a bare lathe in working condition they start at about $500. For one with a good quantity of tooling and accessories in very good condition you can pay over $2500 easily.



Southbend made a decent machine, LeBlonde was a bit better and THE BEST manual lathes are those made by Mori-Seiki. There are 100 brands of lathes, you get what you pay for, just make sure it will do what you need it to do.

 

[illflem]

I've run into the no three phase problem many times, in all cases it was much cheaper to replace the motors with single phase. One time it even involved replacing 12 motors on a fruit packing line. You just have to figure the motor replacement cost into how much the piece of equipment is worth to you before you bid or make an offer.

 

[bighammer]

My wood lathe has a 3hp 3 phase motor. There's a built in phase inverter on it so wiring was no big deal-- Just another 220v circuit.



When I do my first big bowl or platter (up to 24" dia. ) I'll be really glad I got the bigger model.

 

[Boomer II]

You can make a three phase generator out of a three phase motor. A three phase motor will run on 220, but will not start, you can rope start the motor then shoot the juice to it, it will generate a third leg. I've been running my mill and HC chucker on one for 17 years.

 

[LSMITH]

Yes Boomer that does work, I have seen it with my own two eyes and even used it. Make sure the motor is as big as the draw you need to feed. Power is ugly but unless sophisticated electronics are involved it is fine.