Thread: Carroll Jamieson 15X36 lathe - $600

Carroll Jamieson 15X36 lathe

Never heard of this one before, and Tony's site doesn't list it.

Seems like a nice solid lathe, cheap too.

Made in Batavia, OH. Tony's site has one in the "Unknown" section.
Harry

I have a few Carroll Jamieson docs hosted here

http://pounceatron.dreamhosters.com/docs/index.html

about 3/4 the way down. Nice machines!

Greg

I worked on a pair of the larger gearheads back in the ‘80’s, good machines, not LeBlond’s but not South Bends either. Middle of the road. That looks like a pretty good sized one for the home shop type guy or gunsmith. Earl.

This guy is motivated. He just reduced it to $500.

Show up at his door with 300 bucks cash and a trailer.............. I would if it wasn't so far. Earl.

Originally Posted by bigearl67

Show up at his door with 300 bucks cash and a trailer.............. I would if it wasn't so far. Earl.

It is still for sale and he hasn't budged on the price. Anyone know if there are taper attachments and steady rests available anywhere for this lathe. It would probably fit my needs but it is light on accessories.

Originally Posted by GPappy

It is still for sale and he hasn't budged on the price. Anyone know if there are taper attachments and steady rests available anywhere for this lathe. It would probably fit my needs but it is light on accessories.

I would budge him with 300 bucks. Just my 2 cents...... Earl.

Originally Posted by bigearl67

I would budge him with 300 bucks. Just my 2 cents...... Earl.

Really? I mean, $500 seems pretty cheap for a lathe of that size. Does it always have to be a lot less?

Originally Posted by Frank R

Really? I mean, $500 seems pretty cheap for a lathe of that size. Does it always have to be a lot less?

its your money ... if its all there AND not worn out 500 would be ok to me ... from my perspective as a seller, when someone tries to chisel me like the previous poster, i tell em the price is now triple for you but half for anyone else ... Seriously though, it looks pretty rough even for 500 ...

$300 to $500 is typical for this type of machine. The unfortunate part for both seller and buyer is the cost of shipping. If the buyer can move it themselves, then they would pay more. If they have to get a roll back truck and have it delivered more than 50 miles away, it could get very expensive.

Originally Posted by N Sekulic

when someone tries to chisel me, i tell em the price is now triple for you

I like that.

I always honor a person willing to negotiate, its part of the game. But I usually chuckle and gently tell people "no" when they cross the line.

Originally Posted by Frank R

I like that.

I always honor a person willing to negotiate, its part of the game. But I usually chuckle and gently tell people "no" when they cross the line.

“when someone tries to chisel me" is in the eye of the beholder. Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. It takes two to make a deal, a willing buyer and a willing seller.

Sellers who get upset because someone offers less than what the seller is willing to take make me smile. If that is what it is worth to the buyer, why get upset. I have made offers on items and had that type of reaction and then see the item slowly come down in price until it is at or below what I offered.

If someone offers me less than I am willing to sell for, even a lot less, I just politely say no and tell them what I am will to sell for on that day. Why get emotionally attached to an inanimate object and burn bridges that you may want to cross later?
"

when someone tries to chisel me like the previous poster

Wow! Sure am glad I am not obligated to buy machinery from you! Would hate to be forced to pay your markup.

Typically lathes in this size range will be in demand with the largest crowd, the home shop guys. If it went a 45 day C-L cycle for 600 bucks without selling then it’s not a 600 dollar lathe and probably not even in the 500 dollar range. If it’s again listed for 500 bucks and still not selling………Well then 300 bucks in about the most I would offer and that’s my feeling on it. I doubt this machine would go 400 bucks on e-bay, before fee’s and I’ve seen dozens of them go for less than half that at auctions. If someone gets their feeling hurt because I would offer them what a machine is worth instead of what they think they can get out of it then it’s on them, not me. If I were selling this and a buyer offered cash in hand and was ready to take it away pronto I would easily take a small hit just to alleviate the whole C-L hassle with no-shows and tire kickers.
I think GPappy has the best handle of the situation, just don’t get emotional.
Just my 2 cents. Earl.

My approach; once I have carefully looked over the object, have the truck and cash with small enough bills to cover less than multiple $100s, is to ask "what is the absolutely least you will take in cash right now" If the price is what I am willing to pay, I pay, load and go.

If not, I thank them and say "that is more than I can afford", and go.

An antique dealer and auctioneer friend once told me "always let the seller set the price". That way the seller can never say "he gypped me".

A year ago I looked at a monster metal spinning lathe with a pile of forms. Asking $500. The forms would be firewood for me. I asked the question & the gentleman said "if I can't get $500 it can sit there until I die". I said I had to think about this a bit, & I kicked it back and forth in my head and decided that by the time I got the speed adjusted for my purposes, I would have more in it than was reasonable. I told the seller that and he agreed.

He was a retired machinist turned mechanical engineer and had a shop of Heavy 10, huge mill, Cincinnati Shaper, and many neat shop made machines. I ooed and awed over the stuff and made to leave. He said "come look at this" and took me to another building with a wood shop where he was making a replica of a model N Ford. Upstairs he had a room for playing country music that would rival any commercial music hall. He played an instrument, and a few folks got together most Monday nights to play. The neighbors and friends came to listen.

I spent an hour and a half not buying a lathe, and had a wonderful chat with a neat guy.

Paul

Let me clarify, I don't sell things for a living ... I'm saying I price things very fairly when I sell something, and if someone calls me, says they are interested in something but the price is a bit high for em, then I at least have the opportunity to not waste my time and tell them I won't go lower ... If someone just shows up, and immediately offers me about half, I view that as wasting my time ... Its not about the amount of money ... Its about courtesy ... Additionally, if the item, such as this lathe is no good for 500, why is it good for 300 ... ie if its such a piece of shit, why even bother making an offer ...

I'm sure we've all bought and sold enough items to know that some people have no idea of what an item is worth ... Look at some Ebay buy it now prices ... Ridiculous! ... But, 500 dollars for a working lathe of this size is cheap ...

Let me clarify, I don't sell things for a living ...

It’s being advertised in a major metropolitan area for over two months and still has not sold. If the market is not there then it’s not there but I would tend to believe otherwise as this is a fairly high demand size machine. If you want it then give him 500 bucks and be done with it. It’s not worth 500 bucks to me and apparently not worth that to the C-L viewers that are looking over it. Why accuse me of “chiseling” someone because I would offer them what its worth to me? Especially when it’s in the fair value range.
Let me understand what you are saying: You would sell a 300 dollar machine for 500 bucks and if someone offered you what its worth you would triple the price to them but sell it to someone else for 250 bucks, despite they are willing to pay you 500 bucks. No wonder you don’t sell for a living, only Congress can rationalize that spending.
Just my 2 cents. Earl.

Originally Posted by bigearl67

It’s being advertised in a major metropolitan area for over two months and still has not sold. If the market is not there then it’s not there but I would tend to believe otherwise as this is a fairly high demand size machine. If you want it then give him 500 bucks and be done with it. It’s not worth 500 bucks to me and apparently not worth that to the C-L viewers that are looking over it. Why accuse me of “chiseling” someone because I would offer them what its worth to me? Especially when it’s in the fair value range.
Let me understand what you are saying: You would sell a 300 dollar machine for 500 bucks and if someone offered you what its worth you would triple the price to them but sell it to someone else for 250 bucks, despite they are willing to pay you 500 bucks. No wonder you don’t sell for a living, only Congress can rationalize that spending.
Just my 2 cents. Earl.

Because you are chiselling someone with your "i'd just show up with a trailer and 300 bucks and offer it to the seller" instead of being forthright on first contact and just saying to the person that you dont think its worth 500 bucks but you'd offer 300 in the first place ... No ... You couldnt have the decency to be forthright ... You'd rather waste the sellers time ... You can twist my words however you want, it doesn't change the fact that you are the one who is looking for something for nothing ... a fair price is a fair price ... two months on the market isn't that long ... It aint a perishable item, so it aint gonna spoil

Realistically, the lathe is worth nothing to me ... Not my cup of tea at all, so, even if it was in great shape, and close to me, I wouldnt bother with it ... I'm just trying to figure out is where your coming from? ... How the hell did congress get involved? and since they are involved, why isnt the price 500,000,000???

I actually discounted items to people because A) Im pretty sure they aren't going to resell B) They seem like decent people and finally C) Because they don't come over to my house carrying 300 bucks for a 500 dollar item ... For what its worth, I think your 2 cents is about worth one log from my dogs ass ... But this is america, and since you'd come over here and only offer me 1 cent for my 2 cent dog log, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree


Nathan

I'm just trying to figure out is where your coming from?

Nathan,
My advice to the OP was to offer the guy what the machine was worth and be willing to take it immediately if he accepted. I never said I wouldn’t let the seller know I wouldn’t pay his asking price, you said that. If it turned out to be cherry then I might even give him his asking price (this one sure is not cherry!). Often machines like this are priced because it’s what some thinks it could be worth. Death of the owner, divorce or just cleaning out the barn are pretty much typical of reasons to sell, not just the money. With this machine I see a lot of issues with tooling that would drive the after sale price way up to get the machine useful, this needs to be figured in.

If the seller wants more then you can go from there, no problem. Not sure why you are getting your nose all out of joint over this. Two weeks on the market is a long time for a really good deal, let alone two months. And 300 dollars for a 300 dollar machine is not trying to get something for nothing, it’s paying fair value.
Offer/counter offer and either accept, compromise or move on. I only buy with cash on the barrel head, no checks , iou’s or anything else. If you want to pay a premium for a machine that you want, then fine. There are a lot of reasons why to do so. I’ve bought because I liked a particular machines features, I had an immediate use, extra cash in the wallet, etcetera.

If this machine were local to me I would check it out, possible buy it. If I did buy it I would oil it then offer it to other PM members (I have no use for another lathe this size) for the money I had in it. I have done this several times in the past and even loaned my trailer out and delivered machines to members with out ever taking a dime. Despite your nasty comments I would even do this for you if you needed it.
Here is another machine the same size a couple hours south of the seller that has parts readily available and is in better condition. Doubt it will go 400 bucks.

Bidspotter.com-Live Internet Auction Broadcasting-South Bend Lathe, 16 in. X 36 In., s/n 11778,

Just my 1 cent. Earl

I spent an hour and a half not buying a lathe, and had a wonderful chat with a neat guy.

I had a South Bend on C-L that a guy came over to check out. After shooting the bull for over an hour discussing the stock market and coyote hunting we decided it was best he got a different machine. No problem. A couple weeks later I was on the operating table and the anesthesiologist said “still got your South Bend”. That guy really cracked me up, never laughed so hard in my life.

"if I can't get $500 it can sit there until I die".

That goes the other way as well. A buddy of mine was trying to buy an old Italian Harley Davidson sprint from a neighbor for years and the guy wouldn’t sell. Good natured bantering by a couple old fogies. The guy always told my buddy “it can just sit there for any less than a grand.” Two years ago his widow gave it to my friend. Kind of a shame, now he doesn’t want it, but he sure misses his neighbor.