What's new
What's new
By:
Advanced search…

I surrender...time for resller- or auction??

T

tobnpr

Hot Rolled
Joined
Sep 27, 2015
I live in the machine desert that is FL...
Been patiently looking online for half a year and nada.
12" -14" swing, 5c capable/short spindle for rifle barrels, prefer 36" -40" btw centers but not mandatory.

The thought of buying a lathe through a reseller, or at auction where I cannot physically inspect/run under power scares the crap outta me, but seems I have no choice.

Is buying through a reseller any "safer" than auction?
 
It depends on the auctioneer and the reseller.

You have zero recourse or feedback system with an auction. And some auctioneers are downright thieves.

You might have some recourse with a seller. First get in your car and go see/run/inspect the machine. If you are like one of the locals in this area who literally won't drive 5 miles to look at something....... also do research on the machine and seller. Is the seller one of AL BABBIN aliases? What's the return policy? Any tooling?
 
The biggest problem with buying not standing in front of a lathe is wear.

IMO lathes with worn beds are boat moorings.

Sellers seem to think they are worth their weight in gold


You have not well defined your desires, your specs define many of the lathes that are out there

how much spindle speed?

how heavy?

A 12 inch lathe can weigh 1200 pounds or 6000, can turn 2500 rpm or 550


I would figure out more accurately what you desire and then search for that thing
 
You can do a lot with a worn bed if you know what you are doing, just more of a pain in the rear


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Do you have any knowledgeable friends or relatives in the rust belt? Maybe they could be your boots on the ground for the initial inspection, and deal. Then you could drive up, rent a one way uhaul trailer, and bring it home yourself.....after taking your friend out to a thank you dinner....

Steve.

Sent from my SM-J737P using Tapatalk
 
Not a matter of not being willing to drive- there just aren't any coming to market.
As said, a second lathe for barrel work- large spindle bore, short headstock.
Weight isn't a concern, the SB heavy 10 is the perfect example, but more recent ones with hard beds are almost never seen. Couple of older, single tumbler models available in-state but not interested in a lathe with excessive wear.

As with many of us, shop space is limited (I have <600 sf) so I don't want one with more bed length than needed, but would consider in light of the problems finding the "right" machine.

There's an '80's Taiwan-made Jet belt drive, while I've had good.experience overall with that era equip from there, it's still a smaller Jet...

I'd seen a vid online from a reseller that inspected their machines, repaired/replaced broken/excessively worn components before reselling.
I'd be happy to pay that premium for at least some peace of mind.
 
Go bigger!

tobnpr said:
I live in the machine desert that is FL...
Been patiently looking online for half a year and nada.
12" -14" swing, 5c capable/short spindle for rifle barrels, prefer 36" -40" btw centers but not mandatory.

The thought of buying a lathe through a reseller, or at auction where I cannot physically inspect/run under power scares the crap outta me, but seems I have no choice.

Is buying through a reseller any "safer" than auction?
Click to expand...

12-14" long beds are few and far between in FL. Consider bigger.
Here is a 16x54 just outside of Melbourne
Lablond lathe - tools - by owner - sale

Good Luck
Carl Boyd
 
tobnpr said:
I live in the machine desert that is FL...
Been patiently looking online for half a year and nada.
12" -14" swing, 5c capable/short spindle for rifle barrels, prefer 36" -40" btw centers but not mandatory.
Click to expand...

I believe if you really knew what you want and were willing to go to the trouble to get it you would have it. I bought 2 lathes in Orlando at different times from Ebay and both were reasonable deals. Granted I'm a little different compared to some but when I want something I will go to great lengths to have it such as renting a trailer and driving a thousand miles to get it. Been to Phoenix Ariz., New York city New York., Harrisburg PA. Clinton NJ., Twin city area MN., the list goes on.
An engine lathe is as common as dirt in the machining world unless you,re expecting to get a 40 year old obscure jewel that has sat in a climate controlled warehouse since new.
Probably the best suggestion going by your description would be a Harrison M300 13"X40" BC lathe. A very popular, well designed machine still supported by the factory for parts and often sold used on Ebay.
Dan
 
tobnpr said:
Not a matter of not being willing to drive- there just aren't any coming to market.
As said, a second lathe for barrel work- large spindle bore, short headstock.
Weight isn't a concern, the SB heavy 10 is the perfect example, but more recent ones with hard beds are almost never seen. Couple of older, single tumbler models available in-state but not interested in a lathe with excessive wear.

As with many of us, shop space is limited (I have <600 sf) so I don't want one with more bed length than needed, but would consider in light of the problems finding the "right" machine.

There's an '80's Taiwan-made Jet belt drive, while I've had good.experience overall with that era equip from there, it's still a smaller Jet...

I'd seen a vid online from a reseller that inspected their machines, repaired/replaced broken/excessively worn components before reselling.
I'd be happy to pay that premium for at least some peace of mind.
Click to expand...

Where are you in Florida? I’m over in Cocoa, FL. Shoot me a PM.

There is a growing group of machinists down here and I think an opportunity to network a bit to spread knowledge of machines that are available.

I agree that Southbend Heavy 10s are rare machines down here. I always keep a lookout for nice lathes, in the past year I have seen a couple of 13” Southbends, an 18” Victor, a 20” Lion, several Jets and Enco machines, some older Lablonds, a Monarch 60 series, a couple of Monarch 10EEs, and one Hardinge HLV-H. Just outside Florida I have seen a green era Nardini and a DoAll which I think was mfg’d by Romi or Nardini.

Granted, all of these don’t fit your needs, but I’m sure you can find what you need with a little hunting.

Similar to another poster, I will go much farther to get exactly what I want if I find the perfect machine. I brought my 10EE home from TX.

Send me a PM and I’ll be happy to share anything I run across.

Ryan
 
I will say, I ended up buying both my Monarchs from small time dealers, both great guys who bought and sold what they knew and liked.A big commercial dealer is just turning inventory, like a used car dealer. And like a used car dealer you can get good and bad from them.

I looked at dozens of lathes, but in Eastern Ma you can do that, so in the end the answer is find a dealer you like, it will probably save you time and cost you some small amount of money

But you do need to get more specific on what you want. 'Large bore'? Most pre 1970 lathes have a like 1 9/16 for a 5C, wouldn't I kill for a 2 inch bore....

Say large bore to a dealer and they will think that also, nothing from southbend or monarch

See my point?
 
I'm in the same boat as you, I've been looking for 9 months for a good lathe. The first thing to consider is that the economy is in a very different point right now than it's been for a very long time. All the talk of great deals on lathes (or machinery in general) was from a different time when machine shops were going belly-up left and right and nobody was buying new equipment. Lathes around here have doubled in price in the last few years. A machine shop was up for auction (cause the owner went to jail for a kickback scheme, not because business was bad) down the street from me. I couldn't believe the prices people were paying for stuff. A lathe that two or three years ago would have been under a grand went for $2300.

The lathe you are looking for is super desirable right now as well. Its exactly what everyone on here with a garage shop is looking for. We've all read the posts that the southbends and the like are flimsy junk so we're looking for something bigger.

While you could consider going up north to find a lathe, keep in mind traveling that distance is not free. You may be better off just going to a reputable machinery dealer and paying to have it shipped.

Otherwise, just check CL/Ebay/Bidspotter/Facebook Marketplace everyday, but be prepared to pay more than it seems like you should.
 
tobnpr said:
I live in the machine desert...
Been patiently looking online for half a year and nada...
Is buying through a reseller any "safer" than auction?
Click to expand...

When you get serious about buying one, you will. If there is little from which to choose in your immediate area, you will pay more shipping. You might also want to pay a professional to do a pre-purchase inspection, if you are not comfortable assessing it yourself through photos and dialog with the seller.

Buying from a reseller is one certain way of paying retail. And a very unlikely way to get one that is well equipped.
 
Maybe drop an email to Adam Booth (ABOM79 on YouTube and see if he knows of anything or even has something to sell that you might be interested. He's in Pensacola and seems like a straight shooter though he probably gets way more requests than he can reply to.
 
iwananew10K said:
beats a 10L..its a Sheldon...incorrectly listed as a SB...1 3/8" bore, and has the taper...kind of between a 10L and a 13" SB..fine smithing lathe...operates just like a SB. I belive this one is an 11" or 12"

9 x 36 engine lathe - heavy equipment - by owner - sale
Click to expand...

Thanks! New listing...
Called the owner, says it's in good shape, including the ways...going to take a look later this week.
Older single tumbler, don't know much more about them (headstock bearing design, etc).

Coincidentally, a 16" SB also popped up locally...
South Bend 16" Lathe - tools - by owner - sale

New model with lever clutch I see, did these have hard beds standard, or as an option? "L" spindle nose? (I see a spanner wrench...)

Asking price is insane (IMO), but might be worth a call to see if the owner is serious about that price...
 
Asking price is insane (IMO), but might be worth a call to see if the owner is serious about that price...
Click to expand...

Yes and the tooling costs extra...according to the ad.
 
Just a word of caution. Some modern lathes will not allow the toolpost to get close enough to the headstock to machine work in a collet mounted directly in the spindle adapter. A spindle nose collet chuck will be necessary in that case. Lathes I know have this problem are Clausing Metosa 13" and Nardini 14" and 16". If the saddle does not have wings that straddle the headstock check the distance from the spindle nose to the toolpost.
 
Been looking for a heavy 10. There were two at a local auction, so I went to check them out. They were late models with large dials and the level clutch.

First thing I noticed was there were grinders all over the shop instead of in one location, so there would be grinding dust all over.

Second thing, possibly caused by the first, there was a ridge on the bed of each machine that you could almost measure with a ruler.

I didn't bother bidding on either, because at this point, I'm looking for a lathe and not a project.

I suspect that the person that bid $1,600+ on one of them probably didn't inspect the lathe. My guess is that I will see it back on Craigslist from one of the local dealers for $2,500.

Steve
 
You can have pretty decent ridge on the front way and still do nice tight work, you just have to account for it, longer work is obviously tougher. The rest of the lathe may be worn too. Probably wasn’t a bad call passing on them , others will show up


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
You must log in or register to reply here.








 

ABOUT PRACTICAL MACHINIST

With more than 10.6 million unique visitors over the last year, Practical Machinist is the most visited site for metalworking professionals. Practical Machinist is the easiest way to learn new techniques, get answers quickly and discuss common challenges with your peers. Register for the world’s largest manufacturing technology forum for free today to stay in the know.

Learn more about us.

STAY CONNECTED

Facebook Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Pinterest Twitter Tiktok

Register Become a forum member. Register today.

Sign Up Sign up for our e-newsletter.

© 2024 Copyright Practicalmachinist.com. All Rights reserved.

Back
Top