South Bend Lathe

The South Bend lathe operates like the LeBlond with the size and power of the Hardinge. The lathe must be stopped before shifting gears and also offers a high/low range switch. For general machining and drilling this machine works as well as any other lathe in the shop. There is also a coolant system built into the machine that can help when machining harder materials. The machine is well suited for using collets or a chuck.

THE CONTROLS

Many of the controls on this machine work the same as described on the first two lathes, such as the handwheels, power feed, and half-nut lever. Other controls like the spindle speed and power feed direction that operate differently from other lathes will be described.

SPINDLE CONTROL HANDLE
The spindle power is turned on and off with this switch as is the direction. The switch, which toggles up and down, is hidden behind a guard. The switch has a forward and reverse setting, the first is used for conventional lathe work while putting the spindle in reverse is used only for special turning tools and putting threads on a part.

South Bend Lathe

HIGH/LOW RANGE
After a gear ratio is selected for a certain spindle speed this switch can be turned and switch the speed from high speed to low speed. The switch is useful for parts that need to be turned and drilled. The high range can be used for turning while the low range is used for drilling.

POWER FEED DIRECTION
The power feed switch on the carriage will change from longitudinal to cross-feed traversing and this switch on the headstock operates the direction of traverse.

SPINDLE SPEED LEVER
These three levers move specific gears in the headstock to change the speed of the spindle. There is a list on the machine that gives the final speeds for high and low range depending on the combination of the three gears.

EMERGENCY STOP
This switch will shut off the machine power immediately. It should only be used for emergencies and not to stop the machine during routine turning.