South Bend Lathe Wrench

thingiverse

I designed this South Bend Lathe Wrench to fit the tailstock & carriage lock on an older South Bend 9" & 10" metal lathes perfectly. It's specifically made to fit both the 20mm Hex Nut on the tailstock and the 10mm lock on the carriage with precision. My goal was to create a replacement for the two missing wrenches on my 1950s era South Bend 9" metal lathe, which is why I chose Fusion360 as my design software for this project. After printing it at 100% fill with PLA Plus, I found that it fits snugly right from the start. It provides a secure locking and unlocking of both the carriage and tailstock with just one quarter turn while remaining stable on both the 10mm square or 20mm hex nut. I'm extremely pleased with its performance. It's very rigid and rugged, making it suitable for use on both nuts without any issues. I've used it a few times now, and it still fits perfectly despite getting a little dirty. A simple hard bump with my hand is enough to ensure it remains tight. So far, it hasn't loosened up yet, which makes me very happy!