Anybody know this lathe?

**Jan Nieuwenhuis** · 7th September 2013, 07:26 AM

When I bougt this lathe in The Netherlands, some weeks ago, I first thought it to be a Southbend 9", but after cleaning it a bit and studying the details, I knew this was not the case.
I went over the lathes on Tony Griffith's site, but to no avail.
There is not a single name of the manufacturer to be found.
The chart on the gearbox is in English, French and Spanish, I think, but it is very hard to read.
One of the former owners has made some changes: The reverse gear lever doesn't look original and the gear wheel cover does look home made.

The total length is some 45", the center height is 6" and the distance between centers is about 20".

Does anybody have a clue about the origin and make of this lathe?

Cheers,
Jan

1.jpg 12.jpg 11.jpg 10.jpg 9.jpg 8.jpg 7.jpg 6.jpg 5.jpg 4.jpg 3.jpg 2.jpg

**Michael G** · 7th September 2013, 07:58 AM

You're right - it looks like a Southbend but some of the proportions are out.
'60's vintage?
I'd suggest it was made in Spain simply because of the languages present - a French maker wouldn't have bothered with any other language than French (a UK manufacture might have put another language on but it is unlikely) and no one else other than the Spanish would be likely to include Spanish on the plate. My favoured interpretation is that a Spanish manufacturer has decided to make a lathe and (like a number did in Australia) copied a Southbend but changed the design cosmetically to avoid licencing fees. It will be interesting to see how different it is on the inside

Michael

**simonl** · 7th September 2013, 05:08 PM

I have only seen photos of South Bend lathes. The compound slide looks like a South Bend. Plenty of them on ebay!

Simon

Simon

**WCD** · 7th September 2013, 11:37 PM

That's an unusual bed design.
South Bend lathes (the older ones anyway) have three V ways on the bed (two for the carriage, one for the tailstock, and clones seem typically to have two V ways, but the photos show a bed with a single V way, with the tailstock running on flats. It's difficult to see what aligns the tailstock in the horizontal plane - I guess it is simply guided by the inner faces of the flat ways, like a Myford.

Bill

**Jan Nieuwenhuis** · 8th September 2013, 07:58 AM

You are right, this picture shows how the tailstock is guided:
35.jpg

The single V makes me think toward the Fortis lathe:
Page Title

What do you guys think?

Cheers,
Jan

Originally Posted by WCD

That's an unusual bed design.
South Bend lathes (the older ones anyway) have three V ways on the bed (two for the carriage, one for the tailstock, and clones seem typically to have two V ways, but the photos show a bed with a single V way, with the tailstock running on flats. It's difficult to see what aligns the tailstock in the horizontal plane - I guess it is simply guided by the inner faces of the flat ways, like a Myford.

Bill

**WCD** · 8th September 2013, 10:46 AM

Originally Posted by Jan Nieuwenhuis

The single V makes me think toward the Fortis lathe:

Jan,
That looks right - the castings etc look identical.
Cheers,
Bill

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