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Need Advice on Value / Where to Sell - 16" Lathe with 8' Bed

Joined
Feb 8, 2020
Hello everyone,

I am a woodworker by trade and very clueless as to metal working and lathes. A friend of mine acquired a nice South Bend lathe when the owner (a family friend) passed away. I'm trying to help him determine value and sell it, but I've gotten as far as I can. So many of my Google searches brought me to this forum I decided to post her asking for help.

Here is what I know.
Serial Number 9739HKX - I have ordered a copy of the serial number file to determine what the special spindle and swing type are. It was manufactured 1958-1959 according to wswells serial number files.
Model Number CL 8117-E Which is the workshop model with the 8' bed

It was actively used until 2104 to make shot gun barrels. Lots of extra chucks and tools come with it. I will post a couple pictures of the lathe and some of the tools, but I would have 10-15 pictures just of the tools.

Thanks in advance for your help!
Daryl
Lathe1.jpgLathe2.jpgLathe3.jpgLathe4.jpgLathe5.jpg
 
It looks to have a taper attachment. If it is fully intact and the lathe is in good condition it is worth a good bit. From what I read you live in an area that doesn't have much machinery, so that helps him out with a price. It also will depend on how quickly he wants it moved.

If it were mine I'd start at $3,500 obro and go from there if he has time to wait. You can always come down to accept an offer, or slowly drop the price over time, but you can't ever go back and ask more once it is sold. You don't need 10 people to buy it, you only need one guy with a tax refund check.
 
Thanks for the reply and advice on pricing.

Where is a good place to list this? Craigslist or Facebook Markeplace doesn't seem like it would hit a target audience.

Thanks!
 
Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are THE places to list it. I buy and sell machines on Facebook all the time. Mostly buy but do sell when I run out of room.
 
I would use Craigs list and expand the listing to other states. I PMed you with my thoughts.
Taildragger
 
People who are looking for something like this will scan Craigslist over a wide area in an attempt to find it. I bought my current lathe off Craigslist and I also sold two other lathes using it.
 
Some Thoughts On Selling A Used Lathe

Hello crew. I thought I'd chime in on this subject for sake of discussion and to pass along an idea.
No, I have zero experience in selling used machinery, and I don't mean to sound like I'm preaching.

I have actually wondered why we don't see more restored 9" SB lathes on eBay or Craigslist as opposed
to hunks of junk on a pallet. Sure, everybody is looking for a bargain, incl me.

Clearly, there are lots of people who have nice examples since they are easy to restore; tons of parts too.
Perhaps maybe the money is in parting out these machines, not selling restored ones? Are people just
holding onto them? I frankly don't know. Clearly, asking 3-4 grand for a vintage machine might be quite
a leap, considering that new ones go for a third of the cost. Anyway, I digress.
Perhaps a thread for another day.

I believe that selling something as highly "specialized" and potentially heavy as a metal lathe is going to be
a tall task. More than likely, the buyer is going to have to be nearby, not only to visually see the machine, but to haul it away. No one from California is driving to Texas to buy a vintage (or large) lathe. Shipping costs are
over the top and makes that option unlikely.

So what is it going to take to sell a machine? It's going to take LOTS of pictures and lots of information.
You will not be able to post a ton of photos on a site such as this one or even Craigslist. eBay perhaps.
So you need to have a way to get these pictures and info to potential buyers. The way to do that is to provide
a LINK to a site that contains all the photos and machine description/facts you want to convey. (For me,
PhotoBucket is NOT an option).

It has been my experience that you should create a website expressly for the lathe you want to sell. One such place
is Wordpress.com The sites are FREE and the templates are free. And you can load in as many photos as you want.
It's not hard at all frankly....if I can do it, anyone can. But yes, it helps to be somewhat computer savvy. If you
can load pictures correctly here on PM, then I'd say you can probably do it. (Or maybe a younger relative
for 50 bucks...don't get cheap :-)

The point is, you can have a somewhat short website address (LINK) to include in newspapers, Craigslist, PM, eBay or any
marketing media. When you sell it, just delete the site and its over and done. The website doesn't have to be complicated with a bunch of special effects or smoke and mirrors. Just photos, text, and your contact info.
(I have sold a couple of cars this exact same way.)

Here are a couple of basic Wordpress.com sites I currently have (yes, there are some annoying ads in them). Also
note that most photos will enlarge if you click on them.

Sony PMW 350K Viewfinder Adjustment Bracket

The Fabulous Venus!

The StreamLiner Cinema Dolly System

Yes, a couple of these are a bit more complicated than you would need. But again, the point is, if you take a little
time and effort, you can provide much better information about your lathe than is usually possible elsewhere.
By "time and effort" I mean take a bunch of clear photos from all angles including close-ups. And use a tons of
light too. A floodlight or two directly above the machine, and floodlights on both corners, minimum. Daylight even better. (You're lucky we're in the day and age of Smart phones and not 35mm film cameras!). Avoid really wide shots; just fill the frame with the lathe. No one wants to see your truck or patio chairs in the background.

If you happened to see the VonDutch auction link, you will see poorly composed and out-of-focus closeups.
This is NOT what you want. Lazy will get you nowhere!

Take some time to clean up the machine the best you can beforehand. It takes little effort to wipe it down
with some solvent or oil. If it looks like a POS in the photos, then don't expect much interest in your machine.
Arrange the available tools on a drop cloth or assemble them on the lathe; don't just show a box full of crap.
Open the gear covers. Include all plaques on the lathe and GB; and the serial number for sure. And be sure to
include what's wrong with the machine as well as what's right! Perception of value is what you are after.

You can even shoot a short video of the lathe actually running and going through the different power feeds.
Then, post the video on YouTube; copy the link, and include it in the text portion of your site. Unless
you have a good speaking voice, stay away from narrating the video. If you do however, make sure you use a microphone!
Nothing worse than listening to some yahoo that sounds like he's talking from across the room. And walk completely
around it. Clear off (or cover) anything in the background like a jumbled and messy workbench piled high with crap.
If you need to, just hang some tarps to isolate the machine from the rest of your shop (or the washer/dryer on your
front porch :-) You know what I mean...try to be a semi-pro about it, but no need to shoot "Gone With The Wind".

Once you have all the photos and all of your text pre-written in advance, its a simple task to just cut and paste.
Put all of the photos in a separate folder on your computer "desktop" for easy access. (You may have to experiment
with photos sizes tho). Remember, you can always edit it.

So to wrap this up, give the Wordpress.com site a look....it's quite easy. And did I mention FREE?!
Just as you like to hold a close tolerance with your machining project, do the same with your media and the message.
It's an incredibly narrow market segment, so you've got to try to do your best.

Good Luck!

PMc

PS: Sorry for making this too long. I was going to include a few examples of photos what NOT to show, but figured
I'd hurt someone's feelings so left them off.
 
^^^
Restoration of old iron is a labor of love- and nowhere NEAR cost-effective if planning to sell the machine.
In fact, knowledgeable buyers prefer it not to have been "freshly painted" as this could have been done to hide flaws- and if done "quick and dirty" to make it purty for a sale will be peeling and flaking off shortly after you take delivery.

South Bends need to be torn down, thoroughly cleaned and felts replaced every 7-10 years per their specs. Done prior to listing - with pics documenting the work done and condition of parts- would be far more attractive to me than a fresh coat of paint.

That said, i've painted all of my old American iron- but I'd never want to pay someone else to do it. Many, many hours to do it "right".
 
Documentation Is Everything!

I am in TOTAL agreement with you. You will never get back the man-hours it takes to restore a lathe for purpose of selling. However, you should get back minor expenditures such as the felt kit, paint, and perhaps a few used pieces. With any luck, you can make a few hundred bucks from your efforts. I'm restoring my second 9" almost purely for therapeutic value. I didn't acquire it for purposes of making a killing. It was partly also a "rescue" of sorts, part of the "dreaded disease". (I did have to purchase a set of gear guards on top of head stock). But I'll also not part with it for the going rate of a pile of junk on a pallet!

You hit it on the head: documentation is everything. Trust but verify. Thats why I shoot a ton of photos, both before, after, and during the project, especially showing new felt in place. (My mini-novel above was about a site to put all that documentation, not evaluation). If I do as planned, I will have a small binder with all the main photos printed along with a thumb nail drive holding all of them, along with a page that details the history of the lathe (as best known). This way, should I pass unexpectedly, my family will have all they need to better sell the lathe. But who knows, it may fetch junk prices at an estate sale. (I won't be here to worry about it!).

I certainly agree that there are those who might do a quickie paint job just to pass it off as being "restored", but hopefully the buyer has some experience to know better...I'm sure very few even know about felts tho. I too would much better prefer to find the machine un-touched as with my recent Model B (below). I can't imagine the work it takes to go thru a much larger machine. Again, all I was proposing is to at least wipe away heavy grease and grime with some mineral spirits just to expose the actual patina for sake of photos...not paint the darn thing in an effort to deceive!
(Those that buy to part out have a whole different agenda).

Have fun and enjoy while you can!

PMc

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