My experience lies primarily in CNC milling machines and routers. Over the last few years I've decided to focus more on metal work and I've been looking to purchase a lathe. I have some machinist friends and I reached out to them to let me know if they found anything that would help me get started.
This past weekend I received word a friend's acquaintance had purchase a warehouse and it had "some machinery" in it. I received some pictures of what looking like Warner & swasey No. 3 and No. 5 turret lathes, and an old rockwell mill. I decided to check it out because it's pretty close to me.
Turns out, it was a manufacturer of fittings that closed shop in 2000. The shop has been sitting for 20 years. The amount of tooling in the shop (as you might expect) is absolutely ludicrous.
The only problem is... I have no idea what the hell I'm doing.
So, as a new doe-eyed future lathe owner, I'd like to get some input on what exactly I should try to pick up from this warehouse to get me started. I've taken quite a bit of pictures, and I will rely on everyone's input to help me through this. Once I get what I'm looking for, I'd be more than happy to share his contact info with anyone interested in what's left (because, honestly, there may be enough for everyone).
As for the lathes, there are four lathes, what appear to be 1960's era Warner & Swasey No.3 and No. 5 turret lathes. All of these are gigantic production machines (which is all the lathes) and I don't have the space for them, and I don't think they're really what I'm looking for as a hobby machinist/gunsmith. There were also two Hardinge lathes around a 9" size or so, rather small which he made small fittings on. Both had turret setups and had pretty decent looking ways.
Based on the fact the big lathes are too big, and the small lathes are too small, I probably won't be interested in any of those. I'm looking to purchase a lathe around a Clausing 14x40 or something in about that general size. My main interest is his tooling and measuring tools. Unfortunately, since I don't really know what I'm looking at, I don't really know where exactly to come in with a price. It would appear most all of the tooling is US made, so probably decent quality.
On with the photos.
There is tons more, but I only had a few hours to go through what I saw.
What I need to know, if anyone would be so gracious to share:
Which tooling would you go after if you were just getting started?
Many of the tool holders appeared to be 1", and I'm not sure if that's too large (or not ideal) for a 14x40 lathe or not.
This past weekend I received word a friend's acquaintance had purchase a warehouse and it had "some machinery" in it. I received some pictures of what looking like Warner & swasey No. 3 and No. 5 turret lathes, and an old rockwell mill. I decided to check it out because it's pretty close to me.
Turns out, it was a manufacturer of fittings that closed shop in 2000. The shop has been sitting for 20 years. The amount of tooling in the shop (as you might expect) is absolutely ludicrous.
The only problem is... I have no idea what the hell I'm doing.
So, as a new doe-eyed future lathe owner, I'd like to get some input on what exactly I should try to pick up from this warehouse to get me started. I've taken quite a bit of pictures, and I will rely on everyone's input to help me through this. Once I get what I'm looking for, I'd be more than happy to share his contact info with anyone interested in what's left (because, honestly, there may be enough for everyone).
As for the lathes, there are four lathes, what appear to be 1960's era Warner & Swasey No.3 and No. 5 turret lathes. All of these are gigantic production machines (which is all the lathes) and I don't have the space for them, and I don't think they're really what I'm looking for as a hobby machinist/gunsmith. There were also two Hardinge lathes around a 9" size or so, rather small which he made small fittings on. Both had turret setups and had pretty decent looking ways.
Based on the fact the big lathes are too big, and the small lathes are too small, I probably won't be interested in any of those. I'm looking to purchase a lathe around a Clausing 14x40 or something in about that general size. My main interest is his tooling and measuring tools. Unfortunately, since I don't really know what I'm looking at, I don't really know where exactly to come in with a price. It would appear most all of the tooling is US made, so probably decent quality.
On with the photos.
There is tons more, but I only had a few hours to go through what I saw.
What I need to know, if anyone would be so gracious to share:
Which tooling would you go after if you were just getting started?
Many of the tool holders appeared to be 1", and I'm not sure if that's too large (or not ideal) for a 14x40 lathe or not.