OpenTube

South Bend Lathe Rebuild: Grinding the Bed Ways

My Lil' Mule

41,785 views

This project has been a long time in the making, and today, it finally happens! I took the bed from my 1960 South Bend lathe to P&B Grinding to have the ways precision-ground back to flat and true. Years of wear had taken their toll, but with expert machining, this lathe will be one step closer to factory accuracy. Join me as we walk through the grinding process and bring this classic machine back to life!

Patreon: south-bend-lathe-124754417

P&B Grinding
10384 Industrial St
Garrettsville, OH 44231
(330) 527-0366
http://pbgrinding.com
pbgrinding@yahoo.com

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20 Comments

@MyLilMule Creator 1 year ago Pinned

This is only the first step in rebuilding this lathe. With the ways ground, I still have to mill, build up and scrape the saddle to account for the loss in material during the grinding. But all of that work I can do myself. For those that will ask, the cost to grind these ways was $1,200. that might seem like a lot for a South Bend lathe that doesn't have flame hardened ways. But, I think the lathe is worth it. I am going to be doing the rest of the work myself, which will only cost me time, but even that will be worth it in the end.

@aeroearth 6 days ago

My first Engineering job at a Machine Tool Manufacturer gave me the chance to see the various processes used. The cast bedways were machined by an ancient shaper and then the bedways were all hand scraped to be flat, a long process. I was told that the hand scraping left numeous very shallow recesses in the surface to retain oil.

@Rustinox 1 year ago

That's really nice of these people to let you video their work. Not every company would allow this.

@edsmachine93 1 year ago

The Southbend lathe bed came out beautifully.
Nice of the shop to let you video the process.
This is something that you don't see everyday.
Thanks for sharing the process.
Have a good evening. 👍🇺🇸👍

@a-k-jun-1 1 year ago

I have an old (1913) Lodge and Shipley lathe that has wear on the ways you can look down the vee way and see the wear. I plan on getting this done, solely as a sentimental piece of equipment. It was the first lathe I used and saved it from a scrapper nearly 40 years ago. I plan on it being my go to lathe in my retirement hobby shop in the near future. Thanks for showing the actual process of the grinding work.

@RustyInventions-wz6ir 1 year ago

Very interesting. I would love getting my lathe regrinded as well. Nice work

@kensmedberg1130 1 year ago

Good One ! Another South Bend good for another 60 years ! I'm new subscriber, but I've seen you many times in comments sections of other metal workers and machinists . Remarkably, this is the first time I've seen anyone post a video showing this process. Good to see there is still a company like P&B Grinding tackling these fine old machines for us that love old iron ! I made a point of copying their contact info in case someone approaches me looking for a similar solution for their old worn treasures.

@AaronEngineering 1 year ago

Well done, it's just like new again. And that was a bloody big surface grinder too. Cheers, Aaron

@blitzkrueg07 1 year ago (edited)

40 years ago I worked with my father at powerking tractors they had a horizontal mill with a 8foot travel, and had a grinding head attached to it so we ground a few lathe beds on there i loved that machine and always thought of someday doing this again. But too old now.

@The_Opinionated_Peg_Leg 1 year ago

Great video! Always nice to see a good grinding shop get a plug. It's like a complete reboot to a factory rebirth!

@Ham68229 1 year ago

Big shout out to those guys for allowing you film them grind your lathe.

@breb77 1 year ago

Fun for me to watch. I did precision grinding for 40 years and retired in 2019. operated all different grinding machines and in the last 14 years operated the surface grinding equipment. Are largest was a Cincinnati with over a 8-foot capacity. Thats one of four other surface machines. As I retired, I picked up a
13" south bend lathe and know there is wear in those ways. To late or I would have done those ways at work, which we were able to do during slack time.
Good luck with the rest of your rebuild.

@rogerhodges7656 1 year ago

Great video. I knew how it was done but had not seen the process.

@devmeistersuperprecision4155 1 year ago

Thanks for posting. I need to get a couple of Bridgeports and a small south bend done.

@billbutto2657 1 year ago

For anyone that may be interested m, we also grind to recondition Bridgeport tables and knees.

@dougcook1176 1 year ago

Thanks for the video. I was always curious about this.

@chadstrand7868 1 year ago

thanks for the video great to see the process

@bluehornet6752 1 year ago

Beautiful work on that bed. Wow...congratulations!

@yeboscrebo4451 11 months ago

Wow thanks for sharing.

@jonmillerpersonal 6 months ago

Before you said it I was thinking, "Wow, what a beautiful and precise shelf that would be in my shop!"

I really appreciate you showing all of this! I would love to do this with my 12" Logan lathe, but it won't make any sense to until I find a tailstock for it.

Incidentally, either the URL is wrong or their website is gone.