South Bend / Boxford

[mark smith 20Participant @marksmith20]

HI Im new here. I have a South Bend 9 " model A lathe to restore. The half nuts are all worn and look a little different to another lathe i looked at. I know boxford did various models based on this lathe and wondered if the half nuts are Boxford made .Does anyone have a good photo of the Boxford half nuts and also anyone know if the boxford ones will fit the south bend without any adaption.

Thanks Mark

[mark smith 20Participant @marksmith20]

[mick70Participant @mick70]

got a model c,.

some of boxford stuff is whit whilst sb is imperial.

i know backing plates are diff not sure on other bits.

[mark smith 20Participant @marksmith20]

Hi Thanks, it seems hard to find anything specific on the web about which parts are exactly compatable . Id rather try and buy some Boxford used half nuts (if i thought they would fit) here in the UK if possible than to pay daft prices on US ebay if i can help it. I just bought a Boxford thread dial off ebay and it fits the south bend great with just a little removed from the end of the bar that goes into the apron(it was hitting the saddle clamp inside the apron with the original length).

Mark

[mick70Participant @mick70]

Try RDG they have some bits.

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

Don't forget that the Boxford was English designed and made and the Southbend American. The Boxford was a close copy of the Southbend so many parts do interchange, but I would only look on UK sites for Boxford spares. Can't help with the half nuts. If these are badly worn, what is the gear like on the end of the headstock spindle?

[paul 1950Participant @paul1950]

I often brake boxford and south bend lathes for spares and the half nuts are the same

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

The Boxford ones are on a lever arm like the SB rather than the common dovetail slide of other lathes. There might be minor dimensional differences though so you might be wise to check pivot centre to extreme end to check for fouling, diameter of pivot (bushable of course) and offset. My top one has an oil channel which might have been a modification but otherwise certainly look to be the same.

[paul 1950Participant @paul1950]

as i have just said they fit i have south bend half nuts on my boxford

Edited By paul 1950 on 26/09/2015 21:00:01

[Mark CParticipant @markc]

The gear is probably OK, at a guess it is a "C" with no power apron so the lead screw gets used for long feed instead.

Mark

[paul 1950Participant @paul1950]

are you lot thick the nuts are the same

[Mark CParticipant @markc]

Paul 1950, you might well cobble machines together but Speedy Builder suggested looking at the gears to see what they were like – a perfectly reasonable assumption to make if you don't know the lathe and it's models – and I was answering his question. I also have a lot of experience with these machines and often help people on the Boxford group when they run into problems but I don't get all excited if they don't want to listen……

Mark

[mark smith 20Participant @marksmith20]

Glad to hear that the half nuts on the boxford are the same or similar. The ones that were on this lathe (a model A with power apron,crossfeed etc and quick change gear box.) I will try to post some photos . Can you upload straight from the computer or do they need to be on a image host ?

The reason i suspect the ones on mine may be boxford are that they look similar to the other south bend i have which is newer but the are more sharply cast and have remains of blue coloured paint or primer on them, they are usually just bare iron. South bend half nuts are probably difficult to find in the uk , so Boxford onesif they fit would be ideal.

The south bend ones do have an oil channel in the top nut

[mick70Participant @mick70]

Posted by paul 1950 on 26/09/2015 20:41:18:

I often brake boxford and south bend lathes for spares and the half nuts are the same

If you have list of interchangeable bits would be good to see if you could put it up.i

[mark smith 20Participant @marksmith20]

I would certainly be interested if you come across any half nuts in decent shape. The pinion for the apron hand wheel looks trashed as well and im wondering if that is original as well. The pinion is tapered with wear ,the teeth are all worn and both the hole through the apron appears to have been bushed with brass (as is the pinion shaft)

I dont have a list of compatable parts , it was what i have been trying to find info on. Most places just say that some parts are compatable but nothing more specific.

[paul 1950Participant @paul1950]

no boxford bits for sale at the moment they sell very quick just braking 2 myford ML8 lathes at the moment always looking for boxford lathes

[mark smith 20Participant @marksmith20]

Heres the half nuts on the south bend im restoring. On the right is the half nuts on another later south Bend which i have . They look very different , are they boxford or what???

Thanks

Edited By mark smith 20 on 02/10/2015 13:37:20

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

If you can, learn to cut your own

Even a temporary delrin nut can last long enough to cut a proper metal one

I have been very impressed with the longevity of my T6 aluminium one (drummond owner)

The nut TPI is a doddle since it's always a 1to1 cut

If you're uneasy about doing it under power, crank the spindle by hand

I skimmed my nut arm down to a few mm at the leadscrew thread part, then made an aluminium half nut which fitted into the skimmed out  part of the arm with a securing screw

Edited By Ady1 on 02/10/2015 13:58:52

[mark smith 20Participant @marksmith20]

Thanks i will have to become a bit more confident with threading as im just learning to use a metal lathe,after years of doing wood turning. I have a fully functional South Bend 9A (see photo)that ive recently finished restoring , so have the capability to do what your suggesting (at least the machine is not sure about me). These worn half nuts are off another im restoring..

[Boiler BriParticipant @boilerbri]

nice job, can you fit mine in? lol

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

I did it so long ago that I cannot for the life of me remember how I did it either…

Nowadays I would use a between centres boring bar and attach the arm to a milling slide

Then fiddle and diddle about… lots of fiddling and diddling….

Harder for you too because you have upper and lower threads which will need to be highly accurate to mate correctly

My drummond has the lower half threaded and a smooth upper half surface so there's room for accomodating errors,(luckily for me!)

Edited By Ady1 on 02/10/2015 16:35:12

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Geoff Walker had an article on two ways to repair (the similarly arranged) Drummond M half-nut in MEW 221 that may be of help.

Neil

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