Van Normans have any value?

BMyers · Nov 27, 2020

I'm thinking about selling off my #12, do the machines have any worth or is all the value in the tooling? I can't decide if I should sell the mill and tools as a lot or piecemeal everything. I presume the outboard support may sell for more than the mill.

texasgeartrain · Nov 27, 2020

BMyers said:
I'm thinking about selling off my #12, do the machines have any worth or is all the value in the tooling? I can't decide if I should sell the mill and tools as a lot or piecemeal everything. I presume the outboard support may sell for more than the mill.

Pics or the machine does not exist !

You got so many variables there, that its hard to say. What does value mean to you, in expectation of selling ? You're local location/market. Condition of machine. Exactly how much tooling, etc.

I'd first trying selling the whole sha-bang, and see what bites you get. Then consider selling some or all tooling separate.

Blackrainstorm · Nov 27, 2020

If you want to sell the machine, you would want to keep the overarm and C collets together. Iirc the 12 uses the Van Norman collet, which would be a huge drawback to buy a machine without collets.

It would be kind of sad to separate the machine from its overarm—it has made it so far together! But if it is super worn out, who knows.

Other tooling not specific to the machine is hit or miss—would increase chances of closing a sale or attracting buyers, but won’t increase the final sale price.

Van Norman 12s are sort of hit or miss price wise. Won’t bring too much money in general because of the small work envelope and proprietary collets. Good mill for a small garage shop though.

Cal Haines · Nov 28, 2020

BMyers said:
I'm thinking about selling off my #12, do the machines have any worth or is all the value in the tooling? I can't decide if I should sell the mill and tools as a lot or piecemeal everything. I presume the outboard support may sell for more than the mill.

A Van Norman No. 12 defiantly has value, but they are in less demand than a Bridgeport and take longer to sell. Two years ago I sold newer model No. 12 with a decent set of tooling for $2000 (the deal also included a beat up old drill press). If you sell off the tooling and the arbor support, it will be very difficult to sell. These are good machines, much better at actual milling than the oversized mill-drill (aka Bridgeport) that most amateurs seem to prefer. I really hate to see a working No. 12 parted out and scrapped. There are people out there that want them, it just takes time. The guy that bought the No. 12 came over 800 miles to pick it up.

Cal

Jared M · Nov 29, 2020

Before I bought my 1R I saw several 12's go in the 1500-2500 ballpark, but also a 16 that sat for quite a while on craigslist until the asking price dropped below 1500. For comparison, I paid 1000 for my 1R and feel like I could offered a fair bit less. There a lot about a 12 to appeal to a hobbyist and so sale prices show in that.

shaggy · Nov 29, 2020

A terrific little machine, but not everybody knows about them. Good if you you're buying one, not so much if you're selling, obviously.

If it's in decent shape, keep it together and the right person will eventually come along. It's a great thing to be able to keep these machines running, and then pass them along in working condition.

Gearclash · Dec 1, 2020

A VN 12 will have value by itself. Saw one sell on online auction a few years ago for more than $1,000, no tooling. Was located in the midwest which I think helps the value. As Cal said it won’t bring as much money or sell as quick as a Bridgeport but it will sell. I would like to get my hands on a bigger VN like a 26-38. Haven’t run across the right deal yet. If the price was right and the tooling was included on a 12 I would give it some thought. IMO tool holders coming with the mill are a rather big deal with the uncommon taper that the VN12 usually has.

BMyers · Dec 1, 2020

Gearclash said:
A VN 12 will have value by itself. Saw one sell on online auction a few years ago for more than $1,000, no tooling. Was located in the midwest which I think helps the value. As Cal said it won’t bring as much money or sell as quick as a Bridgeport but it will sell. I would like to get my hands on a bigger VN like a 26-38. Haven’t run across the right deal yet. If the price was right and the tooling was included on a 12 I would give it some thought. IMO tool holders coming with the mill are a rather big deal with the uncommon taper that the VN12 usually has.

Good information. I am sitting on a set of 1/32 collets, shell mill holders, Morse taper adapter, a few horizontal arbors, slotter, the accessory table stops. I guess in my mind I have more value in tooling than the mill. I know I paid more on eBay for the arbor support than the mill LOL.

swarfmeister · Dec 1, 2020

I've got a 12 at home, and for a lot of plain milling applications it's just a more solid customer than a turret mill (which I work with on pretty much a daily basis). I've seen several well tooled going in the 1600 to 2200 range. As far as the collets go, they're not that hard to make if you're any good on a lathe and aren't looking for high production life cycles. I too have the overarm support and a fair few second-hand collets. All in all a very versatile machine for general use.

shaggy · Dec 1, 2020

BMyers said:
Good information. I am sitting on a set of 1/32 collets, shell mill holders, Morse taper adapter, a few horizontal arbors, slotter, the accessory table stops. I guess in my mind I have more value in tooling than the mill. I know I paid more on eBay for the arbor support than the mill LOL.

Please PM me if by chance you've got a spare VN-C horizontal arbor you'd be willing to part with. -thanks

-shaggy

Cal Haines · Dec 3, 2020

BMyers said:
Good information. I am sitting on a set of 1/32 collets, shell mill holders, Morse taper adapter, a few horizontal arbors, slotter, the accessory table stops. I guess in my mind I have more value in tooling than the mill. I know I paid more on eBay for the arbor support than the mill LOL.

What I did with the mill that I sold for a friend's widow was to list it for $1500 with a basic set of collets (1/4, 3/8, 1/2) and list the other tooling at the same time. I set it up so that the tooling was not available for sale until the machine sells, giving the machine's buyer first shot at the tooling. I listed it in the machinery for sale section here and I think it took about 6 months to sell.

A full set of Van Norman 'C' collets by 1/32", in good condition, is worth a fair amount, probably at least $500. I would list them separately, as discussed.

Cal

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