South Bend 9" model 405 Lathe - Refurb / Restoration / Upgrade

I did most of the way cleanup by hand. I used scotch pads and soft bristled brushes. The bed portion was done with a pneumatic wire brush. The bed casting had the most flaky rust. It was one of the last pieces I did so I rushed through it. If you have significant rust, I would recommend electrolysis. You can make a quick setup with a battery charger, baking soda, and a scrap piece of steel. There are several write ups and videos on how to do it. I did all the other parts that way and it made clean up very easy. The rust disappears and it doesn't remove any extra metal. My bed was 4' long and I didn't have a big enough bin to submerge it in. If I wasn't in a hurry, I could have built a large wood box and lined it with plastic. In the long run, it probably would have saved me time to build a larger bin for electrolysis and it would have been a more thorough cleaning.

Thanks for the reply.
I liked the way your bed looked really bright and clean.
I've got a 45 gallon tank set up for electrolysis rust removal, running off a 12v dumb battery charger, the arbor support, and motor mounting frame in there at the moment.
My table is 30" long, so it should go in my tank OK
I would really like to make a tank big enough to get the main body of the mill in, probably looking at best part of 100 gals
Electrolysis sure makes easy work of cleaning things up, and the real bonus is, it takes all the old paint off to :)
Cheers

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Originally Posted by mr95gst

I did most of the way cleanup by hand. I used scotch pads and soft bristled brushes. The bed portion was done with a pneumatic wire brush. The bed casting had the most flaky rust. It was one of the last pieces I did so I rushed through it. If you have significant rust, I would recommend electrolysis. You can make a quick setup with a battery charger, baking soda, and a scrap piece of steel. There are several write ups and videos on how to do it. I did all the other parts that way and it made clean up very easy. The rust disappears and it doesn't remove any extra metal. My bed was 4' long and I didn't have a big enough bin to submerge it in. If I wasn't in a hurry, I could have built a large wood box and lined it with plastic. In the long run, it probably would have saved me time to build a larger bin for electrolysis and it would have been a more thorough cleaning.

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Hi mr95gst.
This is the way that I attached a drive pulley to the leadscrew I have left this as a friction drive for the pulley for security, I think your lathe may have a ¾ bore in the mandrel to pass the leadscrew through to drill and tap and face the end.
I did face off 1/8 from the rear bracket by use of a stub mandrel which I did not think would be classed as vandalism to an old lathe.
The drive motor and gearbox is a 12v DC replacement for a Bentley golf cart new from fleabay for £25 and a PWM speed controller from the same source for £5 so not an expensive mod, a DPDT switch is also required for reversing.

Attachment 16951
My SB has a feed apron but I think you would be using your half nuts for this so would need a larger driven pulley than mine.
I am about to try some casting soon as my local factory closed and I have lost access to their scrap bins.
Regards
Olderdan

Very nice restoration. I like your flat belt solution. I have a South Bend 10K waiting for restoration. Mine is starting out a little cleaner but if I achieve even close to what you did with your 9" 405 I will be happy.I am sure I will be checking back here often once I start.

Attachment 16986

Carlos

Carlos, my kindred spirit! Nice machine. I am jealous of your gear box and power cross feed. These older lathes have nice shapes. Slap some paint on that thing and it will be a work of art. Be sure to keep us updated.