I'm a complete lathe newbie. I have just finished reading "How to Run a Lathe" which was very informative. I've had this lathe for a little over a year now. I just replaced the motor at no cost to me and it's running fine. Apparently the lathe was crashed pretty badly by the previous owner. The compound rest is pretty chewed up.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/brsmith/P1080350.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/brsmith/P1080348.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/brsmith/P1080347.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/brsmith/P1080352.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/brsmith/P1080354.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/brsmith/P1080355.jpg

It still holds the tool post but the positioning is pretty limited. What are my options here? The lathe is a Sebastian and there are not that many of them floating around these days. I don't think it would be easy to find a replacement. I haven't removed the compound rest to see how it mounts. Is this something that is relatively interchangeable between different makes of lathes? Will I be able to do most anything I want with this problem or is this a real show stopper?

Another question is about tooling. Here is a picture of what the lathe came with. Yes it's rusty but it's not as bad as it looks. Most of this stuff just has a really light coating of rust, no pitting or anything.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/brsmith/P1080338.jpg

Those tool holders are 1 1/8" x 1/2" I only have those two and a boring bar holder. One is a cut off tool holder and the other holds a square bit. I'm thinking that with a straight tool holder and a right hand tool holder I will have a decent set. Is this the way to go? Would there be a better way to hold tools since I have limited positioning due to the compound rest damage?

Also, what about this boring bar. It has a cutting tool mounted inside, but I am unfamiliar with this setup. Does the end unscrew from the rest of the bar, allowing the tool to be removed?

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/brsmith/P1080341.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/brsmith/P1080343.jpg

Is this the tool used to remove the end? I tried fitting it over the cutting tool but the tool protruded just a bit too far.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/brsmith/P1080345.jpg

I am intending to learn on this lathe. I am willing to work around its faults if that is possible. Hopefully in the future if lathe work is for me I will acquire something better. I'm just wondering if it's a good idea to try to make this work or if I should start searching for something different.

Compounds aren't normally interchangeable between different makes.

I've seen some photos of compounds that had broken out like that and were fixed. It involved milling down the broken parts and rebuilding with square and rectangular stock. It was all bolted together with counter bored SHCS. It should be a pretty easy milling machine project, but I doubt it will ever be as strong as the original.

Our compund on our 16" South bend was chewed up a bit but not that bad and we built it up with brazing and then I milled it back down again so that it was square.

Then we got a quick change toolpost and I milled the square nut that came with it to fit the compound tightly and we've never taken the quick change toolpost off since then.

As for the boring bar is there any set screw in the end of it? All of ours have a set screw on the end to tighten the bit into the boring bar.

I'd say take apart everything that you can and clean up all the rust and grime and then oil it all up good and slap it together. Tighten up the gibs to remove any slop and it should cut like a new one.

I just got done rebuilding most of our South Bend about 6 months ago. I even took apart the apron completely and put new leather oil wicks in, shimmed up some stuff and put some torrington bearings on the worm gear that runs the powerfeed. It's like a brand new machine!

Our compund on our 16" South bend was chewed up a bit but not that bad and we built it up with brazing and then I milled it back down again so that it was square.

Then we got a quick change toolpost and I milled the square nut that came with it to fit the compound tightly and we've never taken the quick change toolpost off since then.

As for the boring bar is there any set screw in the end of it? All of ours have a set screw on the end to tighten the bit into the boring bar.

I'd say take apart everything that you can and clean up all the rust and grime and then oil it all up good and slap it together. Tighten up the gibs to remove any slop and it should cut like a new one.

I just got done rebuilding most of our South Bend about 6 months ago. I even took apart the apron completely and put new leather oil wicks in, shimmed up some stuff and put some torrington bearings on the worm gear that runs the powerfeed. It's like a brand new machine!

I have no mill... yet. So I'll probably end up leaving the compound rest alone for now. I do like the idea of building it up and then milling it back to shape. Is brazing the best method to use for something you plan on machining?

There is no set screw at the end of that bar. The groove you can see about 3" down the bar might be a shoulder where the tip of the bar unthreads from the rest of the bar? I haven't been able to remove it yet.

I have no mill... yet. So I'll probably end up leaving the compound rest alone for now. I do like the idea of building it up and then milling it back to shape. Is brazing the best method to use for something you plan on machining?

There is no set screw at the end of that bar. The groove you can see about 3" down the bar might be a shoulder where the tip of the bar unthreads from the rest of the bar? I haven't been able to remove it yet.


Well for ours I think brazing was the best, but it wasnt' missing nearly as much as yours is... If I was you I'd actually use some nickel rod and build it up with that and then bury it in some ashes to let it cool really slowly so it's easy to machine. Then take your toolpost and the compound to a local machine shop and have them mill it back down to the correct dimensions. I doubt they would charge a whole lot... I did ours on my little Cummins Mini-mill and it wasn't too much trouble.

As for that boring bar I have no clue... never seen one like that before.

Good luck!