Southbend 8 Lathe Questions

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A friends neighbor passed away a few months ago. His daughter is now going through the house & is getting rid of everything. The guy had a South Bend 8 lathe (& a shaper that I am not interested in) which appears to be in excellant condition. Things seem tight on it & he kept it clean. His daughter had an auctioneer come through the house and said that all the items could be placed in an auction although most items wont bring much b/c of their age. She said for me to think about the lathe & tooling and come back with a price. I haven't been able to find out much about this machine except that it is probably from the early 30's. What would be a fair price to offer? Does anybody know much about this particular lathe? Any thoughts would be appriciated. Thank you in advance for your responces!
Reply:I have a southbend 14.  I paid $800 for it and all the tooling.. I believe mine was made sometime in the 50s.  8 is pretty small but they are a good lathe.  Try push/pulling on the cross feed to check for slack.  check for wear just in front of and under the chuck for wear on the ways.  I would look at around $500 or there abouts.  Just depends on what is with it and what exactly it is.  Check your local want ads etc.
Reply:How much tooling?3 jaw chuck? 4 jaw chuck? Drill chuck for the tailstock? Live center? Quick change toolpost and holders?  Steady rest? Taper attachment?  Quick change gears?The tooling may be as valuable as the lathe.In good condition and minimal tooling (3 jaw chuck, lantern toolpost, QC gears) it's still probably worth the $500.IMO, the quick change gears are a requirement.  You can get by if there's a full set of loose gears with it, but that's a serious pain.I paid $500 for my 9" SB with 3 jaw chuck, QC gears, lantern toolpost, live&dead centers, faceplate, drill chuck, and a box of misc bits and drills.  I also paid $100 for a worn out craftsman/atlas with no QC gears and no tooling.  Still worth it since it's cheap and it'll hold "good enough" tolerance on short work.Dynasty200DX w/coolmate1MM210MM VintageESAB miniarc161ltsLincoln AC225Victor O/A, Smith AW1ACutmaster 81IR 2475N7.5FPRage3Jancy USA1019" SBAEAD-200LE
Reply:Originally Posted by AndyAHow much tooling?3 jaw chuck? 4 jaw chuck? Drill chuck for the tailstock? Live center? Quick change toolpost and holders?  Steady rest? Taper attachment?  Quick change gears?
Reply:Don't worry about the taper attachment or the steady rest.  You probably won't be using them that often.  They're just items that make it a sweeter deal.Most of your work you'll be doing in the 3 jaw.  The drill chuck in the tailstock will probably get lots of use also.  The 4 jaw is a nice addition for turning eccentrics, square stock, or things you really need accurately centered.You didn't mention the quick change gear box.  This is something that might break the deal for me (unless it was really cheap).The only other complaint I might have is 8" is really too small.  A 12" or 14" would be much better.  I'm getting along fine with my 9", but I'm keeping my eyes open for a good deal on something larger.Again... any lathe is better than no lathe at all.Dynasty200DX w/coolmate1MM210MM VintageESAB miniarc161ltsLincoln AC225Victor O/A, Smith AW1ACutmaster 81IR 2475N7.5FPRage3Jancy USA1019" SBAEAD-200LE