The electronic lead screw is interesting. I've seen videos; Change gears would be no fun. Couple reasons I don't thread in reverse. One is I have a threaded spindle nose and there's always some (a small risk) risk of spinning the chuck off onto the ways. Second is I'm pretty good at hitting the groove where I end the thread, and trust me I try to thread at a pretty good clip. Experience. Third is the fact that most spindles are designed to take more thrust cutting toward the chuck.
One of my little South Bends is 1947. 4 ft bed. I know because 1947 beds were different than the other two bed types used on them. They only made it that way 1 year. It's in very good condition. Hard to find them like that. But there are still a few out there. My other one 3 ft bed is from around the 60's or so because it has a plunger type tumbler gear selector. I think that started in the late 50's. And I also think SB9's were made up to '69.
I know I could get the exact date from Grizzly since they own South Bend for some time now but it doesn't matter to me. It's just trivia. The serial number on a SB is on the bed back near the lead screw bracket screws. An X in the serial # means special order. My later lathe has 2 X's. One is for the rare hardened bed. Very few SB9's have a hardened bed.
The reason we tend to lubricate aluminum when machining is it bonds to the cutting edge otherwise. I don't worry about it so much on a lathe because you can usually flick that off with your fingernail. For me it's more of an issue when drilling or milling. I'm not a fan of dumping oil all over everything I turn. It's just not necessary. A good finish is more so the result of proper tooling. Given that, a die maker told me to use kerosene on aluminum, even though it's not a secret as such, so I tried it and yes, it's the best! But I can get an excellent finish dry as well. Aluminum is easy, it's almost hard to not get a good finish.
I single pointed this little .166 x 36tpi thread right up to the shoulder last week. It's a proprietary thread tor a prewar BSA rifle. You can't let concerns about crashing distract you. If I do my eyeballs will start zig zagging as I near the stop. Be confident and focus.
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