____________________ > Aurora
> System components
> New Style
> Motor Parts
> 1955 bulletin south bend 13 lathes truly precision rara
1955 bulletin south bend 13 lathes truly precision rara
"SOUTH BEND 13" Lathes & Accessories
South Bend Machine Tools Used Throughouth The World
Copyright 1955 by South Bend Lathe Works
By 1918 the South Bend Lathe Company, having been in operation for twelve years, had produced over 17,000 lathes, was employing 350 skilled workers - and had become known world-wide as an exporter of decently-made, well-specified lathes. Naturally, very early models are now rare, with only very occasional examples coming to light such as this very fine 1910 model. As production increased - and driven by the needs of World War One, parts were machined in batches of 100 (and lathes built in sets of 25s) and so jigged that at least those 100, and sometimes more, had spares that were completely interchangeable. Surprisingly, the leadscrews and racks were purchased from an outside supplier, a specialist in that type of precision work, and none of the lathes (unlike those from competitors) was available with a screwcutting gearbox. In 1918 South Bend's smallest machine was the 13" and from there the range rose in size with models of 15", 16", 18", 21" and 24". All the lathes up to the 18" looked remarkably similar, but the two largest were of more-obviously heavy construction and mounted on very substantial, box-like columns instead of legs. The entire range, including the massive 24" lathe, could be fitted with headstock, tailstock and toolpost raising blocks, (an option that continued into the 1930s) and all were available in a choice of five bed lengths and with a gap if requested; in the latter case the ordinary Model Number was prefixed by the digit 1. The very longest of the 21" and 24" lathes, with between-centres capacities of 8 to 12 feet, were supplied with a supporting column under the centre of the bed.
