Dear Sir, I have owned this South Bend 9-inch model A lathe since 1988. It is a 9-inch Model A workshop lathe, with a rear counter-shaft drive, six speeds and a 9-inch swing. It has a plate riveted to the front of the bed to the left of the South Bend name plate stating: “This machine conforms to orders of the War Production Board” The lathe was originally shipped to the UK under the Lend-Lease scheme that contributed hugely to the allied victory in the second world war. I bought it at an auction in Godalming, Surrey, UK for the princely sum of £80. It replaced an earlier model A which I bought from a fellow model engineer in Staines, Middlesex in the early 1980’s. Unfortunately, I didn’t record the details of this earlier machine, which i gave to a friend that I've lost contact with long ago. I restored it and fitted a new ¾ HP single phase motor: it has been in use ever since and I have used it to build several ¾” and 1” scale steam locomotives, several scale model sailing and naval ships and even a working 1/32- scale radio controlled U-boat (!). It has also proved invaluable in the restoration of my vintage 1967 Norton Dominator 650SS and my 1975 MGB GT V8. The details are as follows: Serial number 114201 Stamped J.A.N. adjacent to the serial no. on the extreme right-hand end of the bed. 37 is cast on the bottom rear rail of the bed at the headstock end. Model A Cat No 944 AO Bed length 48 inches Quick Change Screw Cutting Gearbox Gear Chart No 1 (both 20T & 40T gears are still present) Over the years that I have owned it I have acquired the following accessories: • Boxford cabinet stand with coolant plumbing (Denford Machine Tools Ltd, of Halifax, UK produced licence-built lathes based on the South Bend 9-inch under the very successful “Boxford” brand from 1948 to 1988). • 4 inch raising blocks with hollow adjusting feet (makes levelling much easier and the raised height is a real back-saver!) • Fixed steady rest. • Travelling steady rest. • 9- inch face plate • Dog driver catch plate & a large selection of various driving dogs • Pratt-Burnerd 3-jaw 5” chuck. • Pratt-Burnerd 4-jaw 5” independent chuck. • TOS 4 jaw 5” universal chuck. • Vevor 4” 3 and 4 jaw self-centering chucks (cheap as chips but reasonably accurate). • ER32 & ER16 collet sets (imperial & metric). • ER32 & ER16 chucks (faceplate type). • 3C collet set and drawbar/ nose cap. • 2MT fixed, half and live centres (I'm still looking for a South Bend to MT spindle adaptor!) • Dickson quick-change toolpost and 10 tool holders. • Screw threading dial indicator. • Saddle stop. • Tee-slotted cross-slide (Boxford). • Vertical milling slide (Myford). • Toolpost-mounted grinder (Boxford). • Roller filing rest. • X-Y axis DRO system. • Coolant pump and tank system. • Needle-roller spindle rear thrust bearing. • A spare spindle (just in case!) In 2021 I fitted the x-y axis DRO system, the coolant pump system, a tee-slotted cross-slide and new feedscrew nuts, spindle thrust ball-race and oiler wicks. In February 2025 I had the bed reground by Joseph Corner Machine Tools in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, UK. Joe ground 0.0045” off the prismatic guides using a Churchill VBA double-head slideway grinder to return it to factory condition. It then needed shims on the gearbox and tail bearing holders to bring the leadscrew back to the correct alignment level. I have just finished levelling the lathe and I am very pleased with the accuracy. I have acquired and am about to fit a tailstock DRO, a new tailstock feedscrew nut and a new zero-volt release main switch. Please add these details to the excellent serial number database. Yours truly, David, Farnham, Surrey, United Kingdom.