1938 South Bend lathe

SDE

Well-known Member
Or, I buy junk.
The paint was like tree bark. So I cleaned and painted the lathe. The handle for lifting the motor was broke. I welded it and it works. The tail stock was froze up, but I got it loose and it works. A jaw is broken on the chuck. The chuck is made by the Union Mfg. Co. I have not been able to find any replacement jaws and one post said that as old as it is, replacement jaws will be tough to find. So I may need to replace the chuck. I also have not been able to remove the Chuck from the spindle. I removed the cross slide gib this morning and then cleaned and re installed it. From what I could tell, I have tightened the adjustment screw in as tight as it will go and it still does not stop the cross slide movement.
I saw where a person can buy a copy of the original "CARD" for $25 and that it will have the details on it that will allow you to order the correct replacement parts. Is it really worth it to buy that Card?
TY
SDE
 
Chuck should unscrew. If there's enough jaws left, chuck a length of steel in it perpendicular to the spindle and smack it with a hammer a few times to turn the chuck CCW to break it loose on the threads.

ENCO and others have all sorts of chucks and mounting plates at reasonable prices. https://www.mscdirect.com/enco
 
These jaws are 3 threads per inch and I have been seeing jaws with 4 threads per inch. The union chucks that I have found are 4" or much larger.
TY
SDE
 
I have had my brother and also my son help to hold the spindle while I took a fee whacks at two different wrenches that were perpendicular to the chuck. My dead blow hammer just isn't getting it done. If I have to buy a different chuck, then I might split the backing plate, in order to remove it. After all, if I can not get replacement jaws, then the chuck isn't any good to me.
TY
SDE
 
The dead blow hammer I use is solid steel. (pun intended) When I switch from the three jaw to the four jaw and back sometimes it gets real tight. I put the chuck key in the hole pointed slightly up from the front an whack down with a sledge hammer close to the chuck.
 
Bare with me now.

Go here.

http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/detail.aspx?id=17108


Open the PDF file. It is an Owners Manual for the lathe. Scroll down to page 22 for the jaws.

Look at the "Cat. No." (example [u:c877937f11]Cat. No. 4006[/u:c877937f11]). Is for a 4 jaw, 6" capacity jaw.

Next Goolge "South Bend Lathe Cat. No. 4006".

You will find what you may be looking for.
 
Correct. We have used the same technique often. Putting it in direct, and back gear at the same time locks it up. How to run a lathe from South Bend is a great resource. cheap on Ebay. Jim
 
Done that many times in the past. But I wonder if the chuck is stuck bad enough whether getting carried away might break a tooth or teeth on the back gear. Surely penetrating oil was applied.
 
I went to that site and I attempted to enter my "Cat. No 113 B", but it came back as no results found. Do you need to be a member of that site to get results?

That was an interesting manual. I did go down to page 22 of the manual for the nine inch lathe. The info that was there did not tell me anything about the jaws. I hope to find the manual for the 113 B catalog number.
TY
SDE
 
I did watch a couple of them. I might have to make a spindle locking device that one man showed in his video. I do not have the material to make it yet.
TY
SDE
 
I don't think you will destroy them! Might have happened sometime or other but I have never heard of it. If anyone was to destroy a set of back gears I would be one to do it. At 80 years old my moto is still. don't force it, get a bigger hammer!
 
Most of the jaws that I saw listed had four threads per inch and these are three threads per inch. I will continue to look for more jaws. Union Mfg Co has not existed for many many years.
TY
SDE
 
The only thing there, that I saw, that was about a 13 inch machine, was about a restoration.
Thank you
SDE
 
I've gotten a couple of similar size free by chucking up a chunk of hex stock and using an impact wrench on it. Probably could use a short, large bolt with double nuts clamped tight if you don't have hex stock. Also, before I ruined the chuck, I'd see if it would come apart--is it bolted together? If so, the usual drill is to loosen the bolts just enough so the heads protrude then tap those heads around the bolt circle to separate the halves. Make sure to mark them so you get them back in the same orientation. If nothing else, taking it apart may give you better access to the spindle threads for penetrating oil or judicious use of heat.
 
I am going to make a band clamp to go around the flat belt drive pulley that is on the spindle shaft. I do believe that my brother gave to me a cordless impact wrench. I will try to put a bolt in the chuck and see if the impact wrench will get it loose.
Thank you one and all for your assistance
SADE
 
Tim V's idea of using hex stock sounds good. If you don't have hex stock, check your assortment of big punches and chisels. I have some big punches that a socket will fit perfectly on. I like the idea of somehow clamping the drive pulley - you see lots of lathes with broken bull gear teeth, and I always wonder what happened.
 
SDE your making your life hard for no reason. I have ran old lathes for over fifty years. I have never heard of anyone breaking the back gears by locking them to get a chuck off. I have personally had to take a ten foot piece of pipe to loosen one chuck. As for the cordless impact, your wasting your time. It would be 1/2 at the most. That will not do much at all.

Here is how I get the majority of stuck chucks off. Turn your chuck to where one of the jaws is at 90 degrees to the bed towards the operating side. Lock the back gears. Open the jaw to where it is as wide as it will go but still has the majority of the jaw in the slide. Take an oak, or other hard wood, block and hold it on the outer side of the chuck jaw. Hit the block down ward with a sledge hammer. Used sharp blow not a love tap. LOL 90% of the chucks will come right loose with the impact.

The other 10% I stick a long pipe/bar across the jaws and turn the chuck counter clockwise off the spindle. Like I stated earlier I have had to use a ten foot pipe on the worse one I have ever gotten loose.
 
The Hulk couldn't damage the gear teeth on my old Sidney 14" lathe when locking the spindle with the back gear and direct gear. Your SB lathe is as good or better machine than that. Just lock it up and use a long bar between 2 of the jaws.
 
Being just shy of 80 I have lived my life under the motto not to force it, go get a bigger hammer.
That is why they made bigger hammers. :)^D

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