Yup, definitely a project. Be polite and courteous to the fellow, and consider a very low offer. That machine shows very poorly (for good reason). I have picked up several machines that looked really bad, but turned out very well.
- a large geared head, auto feed drill press. It had a "bent spindle" and was pretty rusty (really cheap). It was stored outside, laying on its' side on a pallet in the bone yard. Turns out the chuck arbor was bent (it is very difficult to bend a spindle and the machine still be in one piece), the rust cleaned up, fixed a number of minor items and then traded it for "future considerations".
- 2 bench grinders out of the dumpster (a 6" Baldor with a bad switch, and a 10" King that was missing the LH nut) - both now work well.
- a small heavy duty lathe, it wasn't real cheap, but was a category of machine that I had been looking for for several years (like an old Cadillac - could be junk, or a really nice vehicle. Something that starts as a low end vehicle will never be a Cadillac). The cross slide drive assembly had been broken off (apparently the back end of the cross slide got hit when it was moved out for the auction). Being broken, was a pain, but obviously that made it cheaper. Played around for about a year - now works great.
- a Cincinnati knee mill, no tooling, handles missing or bent, really dirty, no option to check operation (not super cheap, but a fair price for a poor looking machine that could not be tested). However, this Cinci had the larger table, 3 axis power feeds, VS drive - all the core features I was looking for. Again, a year to clean it up, slowly acquiring tooling - and now it is a nice machine.
Of course, I'm just sharing my "good news" stories. It has not always gone that way. However, when you pay nearly nothing, your exposure is very low.
Another consideration (as others have pointed out above) is that all of the machines I described above are complimentary to machines I already had. I already had a drill, grinders, lathe & mill - to fix the projects (truth be told that is what my hobby is, I rarely actually make something that leaves the shop). I have also been in this game for 30+ years (all as a hobby guy), so I'm comfortable taking a chance on a machine. I almost never purchase replacement parts (just bearings or bolts - usually I make the replacement parts).
Take a chance. Make a low offer. Be prepared to lose your money on it. Lots of good advise above. You have to assess your competency and whether you want to take on a machine project (it would be a great learning experience). You may be able to straighten the cross slide screw (I have straightened all sorts of things that "could not be straightened") - at least well enough to use the lathe to make a new screw? Of course, depending on it you value your time and the learning opportunity - purchasing a replacement may be the way to go.
Let us know what you decide to do.
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Goof'd up the pictures. ?? Appologies - tried to edit them, no luck.
