South Bend 415 lathe selling info or help

[Greenthorn]

I am trying to help get rid of my brother in laws estate, and have a lathe that I am wondering how to sell? I was going to try and sell locally or for pickup. Is craigs list the best way to sell stuff like this anymore. I'm thinking it weighs at least 400 pounds. The model number appears to be 415 with a Z0 or ZC following the model number. I have absolutely no knowledge or info about lathes or how they even operate properly. I can tell you he was a gunsmith and used it quite often, having purchased it in 1996. Pretty sure he said it was made in the 1940's, think he said he paid 500 for it at auction and put around 1000 in it to get it working properly, do you all think $1500 is a fair price to ask for it? I am near Evansville Indiana if any members here have an interest in it. Thanks for any help or info.

 

[KS Plainsman]

There's a few things to consider here. Your location, how much tooling, if any is going with it, how much effort you want to put into selling it, and how much the money is worth to ya.

Evansville, looks like a populated enough area, any local, or regional classified site would probably be the best bet. Ebay is another option, to reach more people. You can still list it as "local pickup".

The lathe looks in good condition, and if it's all operational, that's good. If he was using it, and you're selling the tooling with it, that will definitely help the sell. Since tooling is where most of the cost with a machine is incurred.

I can't help on price, since that's dependant upon the market in that area and I'm not up on current prices, things being what they are. I did look on Ebay and a guy has one listed for 1950, which seems high to me. Where I am, if it was fully operational, doesn't have a ton of wear and has tooling with it, I could see it going for $1500. Some places they could bring a third of that.

Maybe this will help a little bit. Sorry I can't be a bit more helpful. I wish I was closer honestly. Looks like a nice machine. I have a 16" South Bend and would like a smaller one to go with it.

 

[Greenthorn]

Thank you for the advice, I am just going to put it on craigs list to get rid of it for 1000 or best offer, there is a cabinet full of sheit for it, but I don't know the difference between a router bit or a lathe bit..for ....*s-word. I do know the majority of work he did was gun suppressors not barrel work, and not related to OPE (chainsaw) work. So, sorry if asking here was a mistake.
Don't know if this is even usable for chainsaw cylinder work, just want to get rid of it....open to any offers from members....rather sell it here if it is usable to chainsaw modification peeps
.

 

[blades]

flat belt drive, pros and cons there, small hole through headstock not what a gunsmith likes to see as that means doing barrels between centers- just more of a pia. but can be quite accurate depending on operator but I can't tell the length of the bed, rough guess is it is a 9" throw ( center axis of headstock bore to top of ways) by 36" or slightly longer bed which is too short for some work, smithing wise.
In todays market $500-900 provided the head stock bearings are good , the ways have minimal wear- which wood show up at the first 15" from the chuck to the tail stock. tooling -depends whats there. Does it have a full set of gears to go with it? without those maybe $250-500 . The gear sets are how you set up chuck speed and feed of the saddle - important for cutting threads.
A year ago I picked up a similar unit for $ 50, barn find- never used but i did not get the gear set, although I can get it from a different source. The South Bends that bring the big dollars are the Heavy 10" models in good condition. It is a labor of love ($$$) to bring these old units back up to snuff. When done correctly old iron is very nice.

So a 415 model # is a 9" throw lathe- with a 36" bed , it is a model C , apx 1935 or newer mfg date which might be listed on the unit somewhere. ( model A's are the more wanted units- just about every high school in the US had those in the shop class.) I can't read the bottom portion of the spec chart. I have had several lathes over the years ( old iron) from this size up to 20" throw by 72" beds. Hope this is of some help

 

[wcorey]

Not the most nor least desirable model but does look to be well set up and ready to go to do typical stuff.
As mentioned already, the tooling is important and potentially can have as much or more value than the lathe, spread the accessories out and get some good pics for your ad and also people here can point out/identify what you have.
Lack of quick change feed gears is a minus but if it at least has the gear set (box/pile of various size gears) will still cut threads and such. The quick change tool post is a plus but value added also depends on how many tool holders it has. A four jaw chuck and tailstock chuck would be a good plus.
Assuming the ways aren't worn down, no chipped gears, has all the basics included plus some good odds and ends like cutters, measuring stuff, etc then I'd think $1500 isn't out of range, though it can depend a lot on your local market. Around my neck o the woods it's hard to find really anything american made ready to go with good accessories for under a grand..

 

[Dustin4185]

As stated several times already, local market will dictate price.

I came here to give other advice:

I just helped liquidate my wife’s grandmother’s estate. It is a PITA, and you just have to let stuff go at a reasonable price that everyone involved is comfortable with. We sold the contents of her house (hoarder!) to a guy that 1) cleaned it all out in a day and 2) resells stuff on online auctions. I’ve watched them on Facebook to see how bad we got screwed, lol. Let’s just say people will pay a lot of junk, but the added bonus of him taking everything was worth it. I also saw several items come back up for sale on another auction so I am assuming he has a lot of no-shows after they bid. All that to say, if he has several other tools/equipment of that sort, maybe reach out to some local auction houses/junkers that may take the whole lot for one price and move it out for you all. In the end, it was better than trying to do estate sales, FB marketplace, and CL and dealing with the scammers.

Good Luck!

 

[Al Smith]

I don't know if this would apply or not .Some place in all my junk I have a service manual for a SB either 9" or 10" .If I recall the head stock might have tapered bushings that can be tightened up if it gets too much slop in it ..The first lathe I ever used at about 15-16 years old was a SB with about a 5 gallon bucket full of change gears .I think it can over on the Mayflower .

 

[blades]

i learned lathe work on an old flat belt drive Higgins ,roughly 12x48 size wise, that my dads friend had in his garage. The South bend lathe co goes back somewhere around 1914 with industry standard 9" units. Now days it is just a brand name that Grizzly sells, but there is a South Bend lathe co. out on the west coast that you can still get most parts from for the old iron.

 

[Al Smith]

Nice thing about those old SB's is they made so many of them so parts don't seem to be hard to find .Screw chucks for example .That old antique I fiddled with as teen ager was so old it had an ornate cast iron stand . I think it was a 9 inch and maybe 36" between centers . Old machinery in this area isn't hard to find because at one time there were a zillion small machine shops which by now have all but disappeared .As typical though prices could vary ,about like E-bay .

 

[Al Smith]

As far as antiques I've got one .Pre 1920 Bowes and Emmes 20 by 48"and weighs about 7-8000 pounds .Patterned after the first quick change lathe ever made in 1913 . When I bought it at an auction for $225 I also bought a pallet full of chucks for $65 and in that load is a 20" four jaw chuck I can't even lift which I've never used .I might add that old duffer has a gov plate approved for the war effort in WW2 which turned parts for Sherman tanks .