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LeBlond lathe value

OBD

Plastic
Joined
May 14, 2020
I'm trying to help a friend sell an older LeBlond lathe. It's number is 2727. It looks rough, but I believe everything on the machine is functional. Any ideas on the value? I would attach a picture, but I don't see that option.
 
I'm trying to help a friend sell an older LeBlond lathe. It's number is 2727. It looks rough, but I believe everything on the machine is functional. Any ideas on the value? I would attach a picture, but I don't see that option.


handy thread

https://www.practicalmachinist.com/...res-south-bend-forum-372508/?highlight=photos


Serial format

LeBlond used alpha prefixes - one or two letters. So if the lathe turned out to be B2727, that would be a 13" Regal from about 1938
 
I did not see alpha prefixes before the 2727. I'll look again tomorrow morning. From the looks of the lathe, you're spot on the swing and timeline. THANKS HT!!
 
Thanks Buck!! That's some handy info. We are going to research the lathe more before moving forward. THANK YOU!!
 
I'm thinking $2000 to $6000 is quite high for that machine. $500 to $1000 would be my guess without seeing photos assuming everything is in good shape.
 
It's a solid machine. Do either of you have an email address I could send a pic to?
 
We have someone who is interested, we just need some value to guide us on the sell.
 
You can send photos to [email protected]. I'll look at them but I can tell you being as old as it is your not going to get much for it. I have purchased quite a few lathes some for myself and some because I could sell them. I know the machine you have well, good machine but Regal is Leblond's low budget model. Even if it were the top of the line you would be lucky to sell it for $1000.
 
I paid 700 dollars for a 13" x 42" 'roundhead' Regal lathe, built in 1943. Fully tooled, in good condition, with taper attachment and single phase motor.

When determining price or "salability" of a used machine tool, it comes down to three words: "Condition, condition, condition" and a fourth word: "tooling".

The old LeBlond Regal lathes of the late 30's-40's all had threaded spindle noses as standard equipment. If the lathe has faceplate and chucks furnished with it, this is a plus. If not, the only way to mount chucks or a faceplate on the threaded spindle nose is to machine backing plates from scratch as no off-the-shelf backing plates or faceplates are available.

Headstock gearing in these lathes is quite light. This is a weak link in 'lumphead' (predating the roundhead) as well as 'roundhead' Regal lathes. Abused lathes of these types often have damaged gearing in the headstock. Busted teeth are the mode of failure. Some used parts appear on eBay, but the only other recourse is to make new gears as replacements. Before listing this lathe for sale, it is a good idea to open the top cover on the headstock and be sure the gearing is in good condition with no damaged teeth.

Otherwise, these are good little lathes, very user friendly. I have owned my 13" Roundhead Regal since 2012, and really enjoy using it and am impressed by what it can do for a lightly built lathe.

Price of a used lathe is also a function of geographic location. Some areas of the USA are virtual "deserts" due to a scarcity of used machine tools, particularly of the size/type/price range for home/hobby machinists. Other areas are more plentiful.

A lot as to pricing and condition depend on the history of the lathe. If the lathe were purchased new by a home-shop machinist who used it with care and lightly, the lathe gets highball price. If it came out of a school where students crashed the compound into the chuck jaws and the lathe received spotty maintenance, or from an industrial location where the lathe was stuck in the back corner of a maintenance shop, the value drops dramatically.

I was happy to get my LeBlond roundhead Regal lathe for 700 bucks. It is what the seller asked, and I did not bargain with him. I said "yes" as soon as he named the price. I'd seen two other 13" Roundhead Regal lathes for sale in my area for 1200-1500 bucks apiece. One lathe had the long taper spindle nose (more desirable than the threaded spindle nose) but no taper attachment nor did it have a chip pan, and was otherwise fully tooled, including a Jacobs rubberflex collet chuck and collets.

The other lathe was also well tooled, no taper attachment, and had a chip pan. I wanted a lathe with a taper attachment and was in no rush, since I have a Southbend Heavy 10" lathe (w/0 taper attachment). When this Regal lathe came along, I jumped on it and consider it a good deal. I got:
-3 jaw chuck
-4 jaw chuck
-steady rest
-follower rest
-faceplate
-dog or 'catch' plate
-arbor with drill chuck for the tailstock
-a few toolholders for the lantern type toolpost on the lathe
-metric transposing gears for cutting metric threads, an unexpected bonus when I discovered them already mounted on the lathe
-a few extra loose change gears
-factory flood coolant system with original 'Gusher' pump

The lathe was within about 25 miles of my house, so not a major ordeal to get it home. Another reason I think I got a bargain.

If the lathe the OP is wanting to place a value on is a "Lumphead" Regal lathe, I would put a lower value on it. The Lumphead was LeBlond's first effort in the Regal line and has plain bronze headstock bearings, and some were built without the quick change gearbox (meaning loose change gears, another drop in price).
 
I would attach a picture, but I don't see that option.

If you are on a computer it is easy to add a picture, when you are in the text window to type, look at the header above it and see some icons, to the right (on mine) is one that looks like a tree in a picture frame, click on that, and follow the prompts. Have the pictures downloaded to you computer first.
If you want to add video click on the film strip next to the tree picture.
 
Resized_20200508_171459.jpgResized_20200508_171459.jpg
I've been working off of my phone. Thanks for the tip!! Here is a pic of the lathe. I'm open to any opinions on value so we can make an equitable deal for both parties. THANKS!!
 
Your picture shows a gap-bed 'roundhead' Regal lathe. It's all there, but now way to judge condition from the photos. The gap-bed allows larger diameter work to be swung close to the headstock. Not the most common of the 'roundhead' Regal lathes. I am guessing the nominal swing of this lathe is maybe 19 or 21", so this is at the upper end of capacity for the Roundhead Regal lathes. I cannot tell if there is a taper attachment on this lathe from the photos. Assuming there is no damage to gearing in the headstock, and normal wear on the bedways for a lathe of this age, and assuming no other tooling than the chuck which is on the lathe, I'd say 600-700 dollars would be a fair price. A 19"-21" swing lathe with a gap bed is a bit more than many home shop machinists want or need. The lathe, aside from being intact in the photos, has some rust on it, and no telling from the photos how much wear there is on the bedways. 600-700 dollars may not sound like a fair price for this lathe, but it is a realistic price. One member of this 'board did buy a LeBlond Roundhead Regal lathe from the son of a deceased toolmaker. The toolmaker had bought the lathe new and been the sole owner/user. The result was a very well tooled lathe in as near pristine condition as could be found. I believe that member of our 'board paid closer to $2000 for that lathe. With it, he got a toolpost and indexable toolholders made by the original owner, all nicely hardened and ground steel, and plenty more tooling. The scraping on all the bedways and dovetails was like the day that lathe was shipped by LeBlond. The lathe in this thread has seen some use and probably not the best of maintenance. Given it is a gap bed machine, I would not doubt it has seen some hard use, maybe turning truck brake drums or flywheels which a gap bed lathe could handle. It is not a lathe anyone is going to do small jobs or close work on, which is what a lot of gunsmiths and home shop machinists are looking for. It is an old workhorse, and in about the same shape as an old workhorse at this point in time.
 
View attachment 288791
Here is a pic of the lathe. What's your honest opinion? THANKS!!

It would be helpful if you could get more photos, show all extras that belong with it (extra chucks, tool post tools, drill chuck and center points for the tailstock...) as well as the overall back view and close up of the ways near the chuck. Close ups of the main parts also is good.
If you can use a real camera to take pics, cell phones pics show up very small on here.
 
It looks pretty rough. But condition is most important. It would need a 3Jaw, 4 jaw and taper attachment and be able to fire up to get a good price. Hope I did not overly get your hopes up.
 
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Eval hopefuls need BIG photos and bunches of them if you expect any approach to a detailed estimate

An example - how to covered in the link in Post #2

attachment.php
 








 
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