I'm looking at a 1965 13 x 36" Clausing Colchester, user-owned and cared-for, ways said to be in excellent shape, with 3J, 4J, steady, and QCTP setup included. Price $3200 plus tax, plus cross-country freight at around $1800, so, total a bit over $5,000.
lathe metal, Clausing 13 x 36 | eBay
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Now, on the West coast currently I can buy an equivalent-size (or somewhat larger) LeBlonde or Cincinnati for about the same amount, though they rarely come with much in the way of tooling.
So is this just an old clunker I should leave alone, not worth getting shipped? Will just about any LeBlonde of the same vintage beat it hands-down? Would like to hear your opinions.
--thanks
"Old" sort of. "Clunker" maybe not. "Medium" as lathes go, but respected as an honest worker-bee at it.
There are a lot more "positives" than negatives in those fotos, even to keeping the right lubes close to hand? Looks as if the PO took good care of it.
You MAY have hit a sweet spot. "Condition, condition, condition..." trumps "legendary powerful".... but worn plumb TF out!
- IF.. there really IS very low wear on the ways?.. there could naturally be low wear ALL OVER.
- IF.. the owner was a small shop or better-yet an only now-and-then HOBBY user? "Low wear" could be the reality, not just a BS claim of it.
A(ny) LeBlond, Regal OR "Heavy Duty", a(ny) Tray-top Cinncinati, is FAR the more likely to have been in heavier "industrial" service and be
far worse for wear, even to the extent they were heavier lathes.
They might be more likely to beat your BUDGET "hands down" before they were put in good enough shape to beat the Colchester that was ready to run?
The Cinncy "tray top" era, BTW, actually weren't much use atall put up against a Large & Shapely.
I was often ON one at first at Galis because no one with more USWA seniority wanted to go near the wimp-ass SOB when even an old Niles would kick its underpowered ass clear into the middle of next week! Upside was it had the least wear of any lathe on Galis' line BECAUSE nobody wanted to deal with working so damned slow, rather than drawing a more powerful L&S or an already "up-motored" Niles!
My gut says that's too much money for a Colchy, but as said: "condition, condition..."
Tooling seems to be a sweet starting point as covers all the initial bases as well.
2CW