[Mikbul]

On one hand I got a really good price but I would have paid more! Actually I made the bench for it the year before when the price was still up there. I'm just kinda !@#$%^& at all the crap people had to say about it without ever seeing one! Now the world can't buy a small South Bend when their gone. You asked me once why I bought it and one answer I left out, I wanted a South Bend, and nothing else. Also there were no reviews, I think there were buyers but people like to see a review! How many jewelers, watchmakers, etc. etc. are going to buy a 10K, they don't need that much machine.
Sorry about my rant.

BTW hope your sale goes well and I'll be continuing with this thread. I have heat in the shop but the insulation's no done and I don't want to continue with the spindle break in until I can warm it up some in there. Don't want to mess up the spindle bearings.

[voere]

Well I have to say I'm saddened by the news from Pappa Grizzly that the 8K is discontinued, so get one NOW if you really want one. Truthfully when they dropped the price so much I had a sneaking suspicion. I asked him about parts and will have to wait for his reply. Since their supplying parts for 50yr old machines I'm sure there won't be a problem.

Same thing happened when I bought my 2006 Ducati in 2007. They discontinued that model the next year! Parts haven't been an issue so I'll pick up my jaw and go on.

I'm dissapointed that the 8k is being discontinued.I too was a little suspicious that it was a closeout price and not a sale price.At the sale price it seemed that the machines were starting to sell.More machines out there means more reviews and more interest. Eventually maybe it would take off and become a big seller.Of course the sale price is probably cost and would need to go up for profit.I would pay more for a machine that works out of the box and that I don't have to rebuild to make it usefull.It's such an interesting little machine.From the few reviews I have seen it appears more capable than other similar sized lathes.I was hoping that it would be a success and that we would see all kinds of mods and products made for it in the after market like is done for machines such as the G0602.I'm still thinking of buying one.I would hope that it would still be supported by South Bend.Please keep the review going I'm close to putting an order on one.
Rob

[keithmcelhinney]

This review has been so helpful and informative. Not people saying stuff that they "heard" or that I had one 20 years ago,etc. It is the only reason I am really thinking of getting it. I still have to give consideration to how small it is. 18" is not that long and that is right at the distance for one parts I want to make. I would hate to have to buy another lathe 2 years from now because I need something bigger. I would love a 10k but my wallet just can't do that. The G4002-3 already have the QC toolposts, 2 bigger chucks, live center, etc. Completely more of a pita with the gears and the quality isn't close to the SB. I don't cut threads on anything (at least yet) but I probably will in the future.

Why can't the 10k come down to $3.5k!

-Keith

[Mikbul]

I still think there will enough machines out there to see some mods, reviews, etc. Maybe start an SB1001 site or section of a site if allowed to bring all the spread out reviews of sorts together. Helps everyone to get more out of their machine. As soon as I can get the heat on 24-7 I'll start doing some cutting, shouldn't be too long. Of course this is my busy season at work!

[Mikbul]

This review has been so helpful and informative. Not people saying stuff that they "heard" or that I had one 20 years ago,etc. It is the only reason I am really thinking of getting it. I still have to give consideration to how small it is. 18" is not that long and that is right at the distance for one parts I want to make. I would hate to have to buy another lathe 2 years from now because I need something bigger. I would love a 10k but my wallet just can't do that. The G4002-3 already have the QC toolposts, 2 bigger chucks, live center, etc. Completely more of a pita with the gears and the quality isn't close to the SB. I don't cut threads on anything (at least yet) but I probably will in the future.

Why can't the 10k come down to $3.5k!

-Keith

With the rock bottom price on it right now if you can make most of your parts on it I still think it's a bargain. I think with Yankee ingenuity you can get around the 18". How much bigger are we talking? Can't you get the 5" chuck and slide some of the part in? Also the 5" chuck is shorter than the 4". Are you chucking something up and holding the other end with the tailstock? It's a long heavy tailstock. You can hang the back of the tailstock off 2" and it's still solid, that gives you two more inches. If I can get home from work at a decent hour tomorrow I'll order that 5" chuck and we'll see just how much shorter it is. If you can gain an inch at the chuck and the two inches in back maybe that will work for you, maybe not?

[keithmcelhinney]

The big thing I have to make is going to be about 24" long but only an inch in diameter. I can do it the SB but just afraid of what I need to make next. I am still completely leaning this way as the quality makes the Grizzly look silly. Just weighing all the options. Pretty sure this guy is going to buy my lathe on Sunday so I think I am just going to order it then just to make sure I get one. I am gone monday thru thursday next week and will go pick it up on saturday.

-Keith

[Mikbul]

Isn't it nice when you finally make a decision! If your business goes well in a couple years order the 10K and have both! Think how much faster to have one setup a certain way and leave it and the other another. Gotta think big like Henry Ford!:stickpoke
No, I'm just playing with you, I hope you'll like your new lathe!
Mikbul

BTW My good friend has a full machine shop with a heavy 10, Bridgeport, etc. Also head machinist at Yale. Good for advice on all things machined.

[keithmcelhinney]

If my business goes well I am ordering a CNC lathe. Maybe the Tormach lathe will finally be out by then!

-Keith

[Mikbul]

Warmed up to a balmy 71 here in upstate NY today so I finished the spindle break in without running the heater for two hours to warm up the headstock. Didn't want to spin it up high with cold oil in it. Turns out not an issue if you spin it for awhile at low speed, no bearing is without friction. Did ten minutes at, 500, 900, 1800, 2300. Headstock was good and warm then! Broke for dinner to let it cool, then ten minutes in reverse at 2300 rpm.
Ordered the SB 5" D1-3 chuck today, 3-5 business days. If that chuck fits tighter then I'll work on the back of the 4" to make it fit the same. If not then it looks like a hair off the spindle face, but I'll call tech support first since it's under warranty. For somebody here first time there's no issue with the chuck centering, it just comes off too easy. Chuck run out was .001"
One thing I didn't do was pull all three camlock studs and run a precision edge across it to see if there are any high spots at the stud holes where they tapped it. Easy to push up the area around the hole with a tap. I'll do that tomorrow. I might just ream the lip of all three holes anyway, I'm pretty sure that wasn't done.

[Mikbul]

Chucked a piece of 1-1/2" steel up today in between picking up leaves with the JD. First half I didn't use the dead center to see how far I could go before it started to complain, about half way at .020" DOC and 600 rpm's with a carbide insert. Man was the lathe smoothe and tight! Especially considering there's not much chuck holding the piece! If I had the 5" chuck I would have the jaws turned around and a lot more stock in the chuck. When I get the 5" chuck I'll re-do with the same pc of steel to see how far out I can go without help. I need to make up a chart for different diameters and different metals with rpm etc. I REALLY need a swarf pan and a back splash. If you look close in the first picture you can see the oil going up my window frame.:nono: I've got two doors of a liquid cooled generator I can bend up in the brake at work. I'll silver braze the corners for liquid tight.
Attachment 206890

Yes that's a hypodermic full of vactrose II in the second picture! It's for the lathe, really!
Don't have my 5/8" chuck yet and made the mistake of sticking the 1/2" chuck off the 7X16in the tailstock. Worked great but couldn't get it out! Forgot mini lathes have shortened drill chuck arbors! Chuck popped off but left with the arbor sticking out of the tailstock. Grabbed it sideways with a pair of vise grips on the 2MT that sticks out of the quill and hit the vise grips with a plastic hammer, popped right out! Couple marks where the two tapers come together, but no damage to the mating surface. And best of all no damage to the SB!:cheers:

[Mikbul]

In case you're wondering why I didn't use these jaws instead, even if there is more jaw surface on the stock, there's not enough threads on the scroll to be safe.

[keithmcelhinney]

Well my lathe sold, but a wrinkle has been added to the mix. I was positive I was buying the SB but my buddy offered me his lathe at a deal I can't pass up. He is thinking about it but if he goes for it I am going to have to take it. It is the grizzly 9732 with QC toolpost,rotary phase converter and DRO. All for under $4k! Not sure if he is going to do it but it has to happen pretty fast. I can't go too long without a lathe. Also makes me have to push up my electrical work.

-Keith

[Mikbul]

Sounds like a deal! Not trying to dissuade you but just talked to RJ Rolf on practical machinist (he just did the review on the SB10K)and he told me he did the turn, flip turn test of the chuck and got 50 millionths of an inch difference! Said he never saw a chuck do that and "didn't think it possible". That's the same chuck I have on order! Look, you have to make a business decision to make and I'm sure you'll come up with the right one.
BTW why is he selling the lathe?

[keithmcelhinney]

He is going back to school to be a doctor (he is a pharmacist) and doesn't have time to do anything anymore. He already sold his mill so this is the last big machine he has.

Could always put a SB chuck on it!

-Keith

[Mikbul]

He is going back to school to be a doctor (he is a pharmacist) and doesn't have time to do anything anymore. He already sold his mill so this is the last big machine he has.

Could always put a SB chuck on it!

-Keith

Won't need it with a four jaw. Sounds like a good deal and it's already cleaned up and ready to go!
Mike

[Mikbul]

Pulled the three camlock studs off and checked the back of the D1-3 adapter, it's slightly convex, that's why the tapers don't lock as tight as they should. put my machinists square across and if you hold down one side you can see light under the other, you can actually make it rock. Tried it with 3 squares and a precision triangle, all the same. First I stuck my dial caliper on it until I remembered I had a drawer full of micrometers! Used a Starrett 3" mic and it's .001" higher in the center at three spots 120 deg. apart. tried to get the adapter off the chuck but that interference fit is tight. I'll leave it alone. Best thing I think is bring it down to my friend dave and stick the chuck in his SB and skim the back .0005" and call it a day.
You can see the light reflected up on the triangle. The actual light was in the viewfinder but point & shoots never give what's in the viewfinder!

Attachment 206962Attachment 206964Attachment 206966

[Mikbul]

Talked to tech support today about the chuck he said not to worry about it it'll tighten up over time. So I won't worry about it but my concern is documented for warranty purposes. Also received new spindle sleeve today from Grizzly and tomorrow I'll stick it on the test bar and put it between centers to see what I've got.

[Mikbul]

I think it's time for an update on my views of this lathe: Rigidity and power is great out of the box, showed on that quick turn on the 1.5" steel rod. All controls and sliding surfaces are smooth, solid and have a big lathe feel to them. Changing the spindle belts over is a non issue, quick and positive. Tensioner tightens both belts at a time. Lead screw gears are easy to engage, disengage. Although I haven't changed them around the toothed belts look easy to change (more on that later). Getting the correct lubricants and dispenser is a bit of a pain, though I already had vactrose II and I'm using JD low viscosity Hyguard in the spindle bearings. Calls for an ISO32 oil and and that's what Hyguard is. The rest are grease fittings (10). Problem with the spindle sleeve adapter was taken care of quickly by Grizzly, sent me another. Problem I thought I had with the chuck turns out to be a non issue. Chuck run out and repeatability is good. One thing you can't breeze through is cleaning! Especially the chuck and spindle taper. The rpm indicator is a bonus and the lathe runs quiet. I don't care for the little ball bearings in the oil fitting on the spindle. I use a hypo with a car brake bleeder hose on it that fits right on the fitting. Trouble is you push on the plunger and all of a sudden X amount of oil goes flying in. Have to re-think that setup. The labels in the photo on the hypos are reversed. Hyguard on the left and VAC. on the right.

Lastly, I've had no trouble with the bolts on the compound, but by design you just need to snug them! They hold like crazy in the t-slots. And BTW those t-slots are great! You can move the compound all over the cross slide to get the tool positioned and keep most of the cross slides dovetails locked and not hanging in the breeze. If I where turning in that photo I would have moved the compound out on the cross slide and moved the cross slide back over the carriage. (upper photo)

[keithmcelhinney]

One of the reasons I wanted to go to a bigger lathe was that I had flex in the toolpost when trying to do deeper cuts on steel. How deep of cuts can you take on steel with the SB?

-Keith

[Mikbul]

One of the reasons I wanted to go to a bigger lathe was that I had flex in the toolpost when trying to do deeper cuts on steel. How deep of cuts can you take on steel with the SB?

-Keith

Did you read the post about the 1-1/2" steel bar I was playing around with. Anyway I've only tried .020" DOC at 600 rpm with carbide inserts. I need a copy of the machinists hand book to get the correct rpm for different diameters, materials, carriage speed with carbide. I used to get flex all the time with my 7X16, even on brass and aluminum. I saw no sign of flex but I'll have to push it to see. When you say flex in the tool post do you mean just the tool post? The compound? the cross slide, etc. One thing I can tell you for sure is there won't be any in the carriage or cross slide and I can's see them making a compound with flex in it! That leaves just the tool post and the flex I was getting with the 7X16 wasn't in the tool post. That Tormach is solid steel and so are the tool holders.
I looked at the 7X16 today and I couldn't believe how much more tiny the cross slide and compound are compared to the SB. No wonder it flexed! I'm surprised I was able to do the work on it I did.

BTW Aren't you going to go to a QCTP anyway?