South bend lathe
South bend lathe
I have an older 9 inch south bend lathe, that has served me well over the years. Was thinking of buying an additional south bend ..larger diameter ? Now that grizzley owns and produces south bend,. Was wondering how the quality today compares, to yesterday's, older lathes ???
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Re: South bend lathe
You pay a preimum for the SB name from Grizzly for a Chinese lathe ! My tool dealer friend sold several of grizzly's Shop Fox brand 12X36 Gunsmith lathes that I set up. They seemed to be decent .
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- Bill Shields
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Re: South bend lathe
the new SBs are not at the top of my list of lathes to purchase.
now...find me an old 10EE .......that runs or has had the electronics fixed / updated...
now...find me an old 10EE .......that runs or has had the electronics fixed / updated...
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
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Re: South bend lathe
Well, actually they are not Chinese lathes. They are made in Taiwan. Big difference in quality and QC.
I can’t speak for Grizzly current condition, but I did inspect their full line of machine tools a few years ago in their Bellingham show room.
At that time the SB lathes we’re nicely finished castings, with no rough edges and a high quality finish. The standard Grizzly machines, that looked like identical castings and parts had a more rough overall surface, particularily with casting lines and seams left over from the casting process. The machined parts all looked the same. I did not measure any of the machined surfaces or ask about internals. However I’ve have never read a comment about a new Grizzly lathe producing irregular parts.
So I surmised the new SB line was/probably is a more well finished lathe.
I don’t buy into the argument that old beat up American machines are better than new, precision machines manufacturers elsewhere. accuracy
and precision is what I look for in a lathe.
I can’t speak for Grizzly current condition, but I did inspect their full line of machine tools a few years ago in their Bellingham show room.
At that time the SB lathes we’re nicely finished castings, with no rough edges and a high quality finish. The standard Grizzly machines, that looked like identical castings and parts had a more rough overall surface, particularily with casting lines and seams left over from the casting process. The machined parts all looked the same. I did not measure any of the machined surfaces or ask about internals. However I’ve have never read a comment about a new Grizzly lathe producing irregular parts.
So I surmised the new SB line was/probably is a more well finished lathe.
I don’t buy into the argument that old beat up American machines are better than new, precision machines manufacturers elsewhere. accuracy
and precision is what I look for in a lathe.
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Motive power : 1902 A.S.Campbell 4-4-0 American - 12 5/8" gauge, 1955 Ottaway 4-4-0 American 12" gauge
Ahaha, Retirement: the good life - drifting endlessly on a Sea of projects....
Motive power : 1902 A.S.Campbell 4-4-0 American - 12 5/8" gauge, 1955 Ottaway 4-4-0 American 12" gauge
Ahaha, Retirement: the good life - drifting endlessly on a Sea of projects....
Re: South bend lathe
I think its a matter of maintaining accuracy over time and new machines won't have that longevity that older machines have.Glenn Brooks wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 12:29 pm
I don’t buy into the argument that old beat up American machines are better than new, precision machines manufacturers elsewhere. accuracy
and precision is what I look for in a lathe.
Mr.Ron from South Mississippi
Re: South bend lathe
There's a guy in Maine that buys South Bend Heavy 10's and restores them. A complete teardown / repair / refurbish rebuild, not a Krylon rebuild.
He only buys ones with good beds, because it's too much to re-do the bed.
I think he sells them for around $3,500-$4000.
You are getting almost a remanufactured lathe.
The new 10" South Bend is $10,000, more than double the cost.
Is it worth more than double?
My opinion is no, but there are people buying the new one, so some people believe that it is.
Heck, I have a friend who only buys new cars because he doesn't want a driver's seat someone else has farted in. He's paying a lot more for transportation than he needs to, but that's his decision.
Steve
He only buys ones with good beds, because it's too much to re-do the bed.
I think he sells them for around $3,500-$4000.
You are getting almost a remanufactured lathe.
The new 10" South Bend is $10,000, more than double the cost.
Is it worth more than double?
My opinion is no, but there are people buying the new one, so some people believe that it is.
Heck, I have a friend who only buys new cars because he doesn't want a driver's seat someone else has farted in. He's paying a lot more for transportation than he needs to, but that's his decision.
Steve