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Clausing 1500 Lathe and Birmingham Milling Machine

yshai24

Plastic
Joined
Feb 5, 2021
Hello,

I hope this isn't the wrong place to ask this but my father just passed away and he had a lot of tools in his shop. Mostly machining for motorcycles. I don't know much about these tools and have been doing some research but I wanted to ask here if anyone had any advice on the average used price for these items? We are in the process of figuring out what to do with some of these things and any advice would be helpful.

Appreciate the time and assistance.

Lathe.jpgMilling Machine.jpg
 
There’s no Kelley Blue Book for machine tools. In a “machine-rich” geographical location both of those machines may only be worth $1-2k, each. In a region where there wasn’t much manufacturing they could be worth 2-3 times that.
Second consideration would be the machines power requirements. Three-phase motors are typically better for tools like this, but single-phase motors are easier to “plug n play” in a home garage or basement shop.
Third, are you selling the tools bare, are do you want to sell them as a lot with all included tooling for each?
Fourth, can you load or assist in loading? Are you willing to ship them? Can you be reasonably certain you’re able to prepare them for shipping, but locking the machines down, crating, etc.

Those are the big questions I would need answered before even giving a ballpark value. I’m sure plenty of others will weigh in and add their thoughts as well.



Be safe and stay healthy




Jeremy
 
Hello Jeremy,

Thank you for the quick response. Those are all great considerations, some I had thought of and some I hadn't. Part of the problem I had was I didn't want to just give them away because I didn't realize how much tooling costs or other items such as the vice (online the Kurt Vice looks to be a few hundred $).

1) The tools are in Portland, Oregon
2)Not sure on the phase but I would guess single-phase since he had it in his garage and I don't think he added extensive wiring for them
3) I'd be selling with the tooling components for each
4) My father had a tow company so he has a few tow trucks I could use (not that I know how to use them) which is how he loaded them to his shop.
 
Looking at those pics, you will need someone to determine what tools go with the machines, and what are just random tools. The machines will need to be moved to where a forklift or the tow trucks can lift them, not hard if you know what you are doing, pia and dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. Lifting to load with a tow truck is possible, it would help if you had someone experienced.

For pricing comparisons look at ebay active and sold listings, note some active listings can be dreaming.
 
I can’t say anything on pricing in the Pacific Northwest, but here in the south I think you could get $4-5k for the mill and tooling pretty easily and probably $5-6k for the lathe with its assorted tooling.
I have the little brother of the Clausing that I got with collet-closer, three and four-jaw chucks, Dorian BXA tool-post and several holders. I paid $3500 for my machine in 2016. I did buy it from the original owner, with documentation and was able to see the machine run prior to buying.
Later that year I bought a Seiki XL mill with variable speed head for $3k. Your Birmingham isn’t a variable speed machine, which will *probably* knock a few bucks off the purchase price, but otherwise the machines are comparable. Mine came with a Kurt knock-off and I talked the seller out of a single 1/2” end mill.
Anyone buying will know A)that tooling costs and B) that for you, selling it piecemeal is gonna cost a lot of time. A BUNCH of tooling, collets, tool-holders, maybe an indexing head or rotary-table will add MAYBE $1k to the base machine sales price. Big MAYBE.
Lastly I would do your best to learn a little about these machines before you list them, however and wherever you decide to do so. Take good pictures and make sure those pictures don’t show amateur mistakes like the chuck key in the chuck or the chuck on the ways. Definitely do your best to not seem like a “motivated seller” unless you just want them gone. If you just want them gone, ask $5-7500 for everything and make clear all you’re willing to is open the doors and count the money.




Be safe and stay healthy




Jeremy
 
If they have VFDs they might be electronically variable speed and reversible depending on how the VFDs are wired. Looks like both have DROs as well, which is a nice plus, though the mill only has a 2-axis DRO.
 
Looking closely at the pictures it looks like both machines have VFD's (white box to left of lathe DRO and gray box to left of mill head) These should make them more saleable to a home shop guy, but would also be a plus to a business. Machines look in pretty good shape, and the Kurt vise is a very nice accessory. Did your dad have any friends that shared his interests who might be able to help you separate the tooling into lathe specific and mill specific? There is likely some measurement tooling that is applicable to either,(micrometers, dial indicators, etc.)and you might want to sell that as a separate lot.
 
Just to give a little comparison, I had a really nice Clausing 1300, pretty well tooled, I sold for $3500 here in Maine.
I think they're really nice lathes. A 1300 is just the next size smaller than the 1500. Mine didn't have a DRO.
If its been sitting for a while sometimes the variable speed doesn't work right.
A simple change of O rings will usually solve that.
 








 
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