Seeking advise

[Woodward]

Hello all,
About me....
42, male, trucking, mechanic, welder, excavating, construction, electrical, bla, bla, bla, drag racer (weekend warrior)

Several years ago I took 2 "machining technologies" classes at the local tech school mainly to familiarize myself with mill and lathe operations.
Had a great time, learned allot and would now like to add these to my shop.

My interests at this time would be along the lines of making small parts, shafts, pins, bushings, knobs, knurling and so on.....
Thread turning is important to me as well.

I have been looking at used equipment and was hoping to find some practical advise from people far wiser than I.

In no particular order, my questions are,

Are all lathes set up/equipped for thread turning?
For example, I have found many older Southbends for sale but i dont know if all older equipment is designed for thread turning.

In a way, it seems as if the Southbend crowd is similar to the JohnDeere people. Many are not only enthusiasts but collectors as well, not only interested in practical usage but the nostalgia factor as well. (at least it seems that way)
Yes/no ?

Which lathes and mills are more practical/affordable as far as tooling goes?

If i buy a piece of equipment which is set up for 3 phase electric, can i simply replace the motor with the same HP single phase unit?
(I'd rather not use a phase converter if possible on advise from a friend)

I have found several lathes which are far larger than i can ever imagine needing but if i were to purchase a "big one" would that effect the quality of smaller parts being produced?

I believe the lathes at school were all "gear head" (?) design. They were quick and easy to change speeds which i liked allot. I am guessing the belt driven models are much more cumbersome?

Can all lathes and mills be retrofitted with DRO's at a later date?

Sorry for the barrage of questions, probably more to come
Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[aametalmaster]

Yes SBL's are all for threading providing all the change gears are there or it has a quick change gearbox. Yes you school lathes were prob gearheads. DRO's can be added at anytime if you desire. You didn't say where you live and some lathes are more common in some areas than others. Like Ohio, eastern Pa, Mich and Mass and NYC. I would look for a good used 9" SBL preferebly with the quick change gearbox. Extra chucks, tooling and such will run a lathe up and sometimes alot of the extra stuff is junk or not needed. Check out my http://groups.yahoo.com/group/southbend10k/ yahoo group for lots of pics and ideas. I started with a few bare bones lathes and made what i needed and now i can do anything that walks in the door. Watch the spindle hole size too. Lots of small imports and the smaller 9" SBL have a 3/4 hole where the heavy 10 SBL has a 1 3/8" for most of them.

This is a good idea of a change gear SB lathe. This one is a rare riser lathe meaning its really a 12" lathe made from a standard 9" lathe from the factory.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=330374790335

This is a 9" quick change SBL.
http://cgi.ebay.com/SOUTH-BEND-9-X-2...item5636a649a8

This is a SB heavy 10 with the welded metal cabinet. Some have a big cast iron leg and a small tail end leg.
http://cgi.ebay.com/SOUTH-BEND-Heavy...item2556ab0c4d

any more questions just ask...Bob

[Woodward]

Thank you for the response.

Can you or anyone advise me on a Mill?

One i have found has a 2/3 HP motor and is set up for R8 tooling. (Most I have seen are 2-3 HP)
Its a good size unit, (2200 lbs) but i am wondering if the smaller motor will be problem and or would the head itself be lighter duty?
The most difficult work i will probably put it through would be drilling say 3/4" plate with a 3/4" drill bit.

Opinions please.

[aametalmaster]

The 2/3 hp sounds kinda small for the size machine (weight wise) Even if you got it how many 3/4" holes are you going to be drilling? I dill lots of the with hole saws because i can't chuck a bit over 5/8" my machine runs too fast. So if you can get a deal on it go for it. Good used mills are pricey and hard to find in some parts of the country...Bob

[Woodward]

Thanks for the response,
I thought maybe it was a typo but the rating on the table is on the low side too. (compared to many BP's I've seen advertised)
In reality, I will probably never work the thing like it was intended, so i guess if its nice, maybe i should get it.
If I dont push it hard or run it non stop like a production line it should be ok. Yes ?

[aametalmaster]

YES. I would buy it if it was reasonable and close by...Bob