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Wildly Overpriced Big Cincinnati Shaper

rcoope

Stainless
Joined
Sep 25, 2010
Location
Vancouver Canada
CINCINNATI Horizontal Heavy Duty Shaper - business/commercial - by dealer

Cincinnati Shaper 1.jpg

I thought I'd put this here so people could laugh, shake their heads, or maybe call the vendor and just yell at them. These folks seem to be reselling a lot of old machines on Craigslist in the Vancouver area and they are all priced really high, but this C$9500 (say US$7100) shaper kind of takes the cake given shapers aren't exactly in commercial use. As shapers go I guess it looks in good shape though it's been dubiously repainted so you never know, and looks a little large for the average antique enthusiast. If you feel like it, search "Lenmark Industries" in the For Sale section of Vancouver Craigslist and you can see they have a bunch of Monarchs, including a 10EE (for $8000) in among a lot of electric motors and other effluvia.
 
They should put it on ebay, jack up the price about 20% and everyone can enjoy it.. Ebay loves it, the seller loves it, and who knows maybe the poor schmuck who buys it will love it..

Maybe I should put my Steptoe on Craigslist.... After all, I paid 200 USD for it at a state auction.. Cheers; Ramsay 1:)
 
The colour looks right for it being one of Collectors machines, and looking at the dealers other listings there are other machines the same colour, including a Churchill way grinder.
 
Even in the days of the used machine tool pirates down in NY City, asking that kind of wildly inflated price did not happen. The used machine tool dealers (some of whom were real pirates) would often "rebuild" worn machine tools with a coat of paint, some polishing, and some fresh flake scraping done on worn surfaces. They bought the worn machine tools at auctions or other sales, hauled them to their stores, and had them "rebuilt" by their "mechanics". The machine tools then looked good on display, jammed in tight with plenty more similarly "rebuilt" machine tools. The dealers knew what a high, though not unrealistic, starting price was. Buyers who were onto their game would dicker (the NYC term was "hondel", from the German or Yiddish 'to do business') and never pay the initial price. The dealers had to move the used machine tools to make room for more bargains from auctions and shop liquidation sales, and they had a heavy overhead what with being located in NY City. Even with one of their "rebuild" jobs, I do not think the worst pirate amongst the old used machine tool dealers would have had the chutzpah ( a Yiddish term for 'collosal nerve', 'gall', or 'balls') to as such a wildly astronomical price. They knew where to start off their pricing and were prepared to have a good deal of back-and-forth with buyers before a sale was closed, usually sealed with a handshake and a drink of whisky.

The seller of this shaper on Craigslist probably has next to no overhead, maybe has the shaper and other machine tools stuck in an unheated outbuilding on rural property. They may not have paid a whole lot for that shaper, and with little more than haulage and a coat of paint invested in it, can afford to take their time in selling it. Start high, see if they get any nibbles, and if things are dead, lower the price a bit... and keep trying. At the prices they are starting the listing for that shaper off at, they may well wind up at the big machine tool auction in the hereafter and their executors will take any offer, or give that shaper away to the first guy who will haul it out off the property.
 
They should put it on ebay, jack up the price about 20% and everyone can enjoy it.. Ebay loves it, the seller loves it, and who knows maybe the poor schmuck who buys it will love it..

Maybe I should put my Steptoe on Craigslist.... After all, I paid 200 USD for it at a state auction.. Cheers; Ramsay 1:)
hahaha Ill give you 250 so you make a profit!!!!!
 
If I'm not mistaken, there's some stuff missing off of that shaper. I swear, I saw this same shaper on Craig's listing out of Houston a couple years back for around $1200, missing parts. And again, I may just be imagining this..
 
C'mon guys , Give the man a break, He even painted it red ! And I swear looking at it he seems to have painted inside the ram dovetails (Looking at its rear end,) That should help any galling or wear ! Real Craftsmanship, The blighter is a star.
 
hahaha Ill give you 250 so you make a profit!!!!!

Not much profit when you consider that I had to change both motor bearings, install three new drive belts (Gates matched set) and completely tear down and clean the twin disc clutch..Also to be considered is new lube oil and semi-fluid grease from lubriplate for the gear box... lol Cheers; Ramsay 1:)
 
Hey, I purchased this shaper! Not from Lenmark but from the owner himself and for considerably less than $9500.

It's in absolute beautiful shape and runs very smooth, quiet and cuts quite accurate. There is next to no wear at all on the ways and nothing on this machine is missing. I have everything.
I couldn't be happier with it honestly.

All I can really say is whoever ran this Cincinnati Shaper throughout the years took a lot of pride in taking care of and maintaining it. I feel very lucky to have stumbled upon this machine!

This shaper originally came from the Chrysler Junior Tool and Die plant in Detroit. From there it was in Lansing Michigan before arriving in Vancouver and now resides in a heavy industrial machine shop in Manitoba. It's one of the very last Cincinnati Shapers that Cincinnati produced. It's a 1968.
 








 
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