What's the most you would pay for an Enco/similar 12x36 lathe???

[CNC Dude]

Hi Group,

I may be getting closer to finding the lathe for me, but in the past few days I have seen too many import lathes being ridiculously priced. I think this is caused by owners thinking that because they paid 5K for a lathe 20 years ago, it is perfectly fine to sell their Smithsonian material for $3K or more today. And BTW, this is no logan, southbend or the likes. I am talking Jet's, Enco's etc.

Of course we all know a 12x36 lathe can be found every now and then for anything in between $800 to $2000.

I would like to hear stories of how much are these used lathes going for nowadays (read Sept 2013) so I don't overpay when the real opportunity pops up (and there is actually one in the works as I type this).

I realize that accessories do play a role, but let's not focus on details as at the end, there have been sales where a lathe with a trillion accessories still goes for less than an unit with less goodies. The scenarios can be plentiful. It can be an auction, a deceased relative and the survivors needing to clean up the house, or somebody changing hobbies and relishing garage space.

So simple question, how much would you pay for a 12x36 if the opportunity arise? Or how much did you pay for your used 12x36 when the opportunity came up? if you don't mind the later question, that is!

Thanks for filling in this poll!

 

[Chuck K]

My first lathe was a 12-36 taiwan model. I don't recall the brand name, but I paid 500 for it. It had a royal collet closer on it and came with a 3 and 4 jaw chuck. It needed some tlc. I wouldn't pay that much for it again. I think it depends on so many things. Location is huge. I'm in an area that is saturated with old iron. Machines are pretty reasonable here. I wouldn't have a clue what the prices are in your area.

Chuck

 

[Rbeckett]

Unfortunately there is no real "blue book" for used machinery and depending on your location and the market you are in they could go for next to nothing or nearly full price. As a general rule I look for a price somewhere around 1/2 of the items original retail price and allow for freight and extra tooling and goodies. If it is a bare bones machine with no tooling then again depending on the original price and the current age I go 50% minus 4-5 % per year for wear and tear... Excess rust or visible missing parts or damage reduces it's worth to me to very little. When I first started buying machinery I was like a rabid dog and would pay whatever they asked, now I am a bit more selective and tend to pick and choose a little more carefully and discriminate the good from the not so good pretty quickly. Remember if a deal looks too good to be true it probably is. Although occasionally a great deal does arise invariable 100 not so great deal also get offered. Things like bad motors, stripped gears, damaged ways and missing parts all too often. When I look at a picture of what they have for sale I am quite interested in what is showing in the background too. Is it a dusty old wood shop, or a storage unit, are other machines visible and for sale? Is stuff piled on the machine or cluttered all around it? Those indicate to me the kind of care and feeding that the machine has received. Unfortunately in my experience dust=rust so look carefully and don't be afraid to ask for specific pictures at various angles to ferret out the junk early. Hope this helps.

Bob

 

[TomS]

I picked up a 1989 Taiwan built 12 x 36 Enco a couple of years ago for $1,100. It belonged to a retired machinist that used it very little. In fact it had most of the packing grease still on it. It came with the original three jaw chuck, no four jaw, and a steady rest. A Royal collet closer was included as was a quick change tool post. A few pieces of tooling were missing but I got some extras. I still think I got it for a fair price considering it's condition and country of manufacture.

Hope this helps making your decision easier.

Tom S

 

[richl]

I got lucky and my 13"x40" was free, i will be brining her home tomorrow. Wear is not too bad for a 13 year old machine. I would tend to lean with the wisdom of rbeckett, there is no real #, this machine came out of a medical research facility it was not used heavily and had at most 2 machinists working in the department. It needs some love, it is not perfect, but it is free.

I learned a few things about machinist tools with this find, nearly any research facility and industry are likelynto have similar equipment. To them when the machine passes a certain age no matter the use, or condition it is at best scrap value to them. The machine may not have had the love and care as mentioned here by toms, but they should still be very usable machines and serve a serious hobbiest well)

hth
rich

 

[Ray C]

easy answer... the best buy out there is the PM1236 which cost either $3200 or $3600 if you get the option package. Anything used needs to cost much less than that inclusive of your shipping expenses as those prices include shipping. suggest you look at those two packages and compare inventory. Also keep in mind that not all brands are created equal. the models might be very similar but i guarantee, quality control is not.

Ray

 

[CNC Dude]

AHA! I see somebody did pick up the freebie lathe from New Jersey. Well, congratulations! I saw about this lathe on a different forum and I have to say it is amazing the kind of commotion that free lathe caused. I had to laugh when somebody suggested they should have priced it very high so that somebody felt like haggling at the price and "getting" a deal. Hilarious, just because I bet it would have worked precisely as described...

Ray, for the lathe that I was offered, I actually used the PM1236 as a reference. I found in the local CL an Enco with DRO for $3600. Since the lathe is 16 years old, I immediately knew it was too expensive (when I compared it to a brand new, and including shipping PM1236). But what is "too" expensive and what is fair? The too expensive is easy although it is one of those things you know when you see it but you really can't explain why, which makes the "what is fair" harder to grasp.

Of course if I explain the owner that $3600 is too much, he will be protective of his assessment because after all, every other lathe may be worth $1500, but not his. For all he knows, this could be the lathe used to sharpen Wolverine's adamantium claws. Chances are there are still adamantium atoms all over the bed... Heck! $3600 is a steal!

I do realize that location will play a role. Since lathes take so long to pop up on the local CL, it is quite possible (as well as depressing) that somebody will in fact pay something in the vicinity of the asked $3600. It won't be me, that's for certain.

But the more stories I hear, the better equipped I will be to ensure I do not overpay for an used lathe. If I had $4K, I would have already purchased a PM1236, but I do not have those funds at the moment. In fact, even if I had it I would not use it on a new lathe, because the stuff that I want to do can be easily done on an used lathe. I already paid top dollar for a Grizzly G9249 a few years ago and had to sell it for $1400. Would rather not have to live the same experience again.

 

[JohnAspinall]

Just one more data point for you:

12x36 Tida (Taiwan) new in crate (although it had sat in that crate for 20 years!), very little tooling, $1000 about 5 years ago.

 

[Ray C]

Situations like this, its best to make your best offer and see what happens. 16 year old DRO does not impress me unless its a very high end brand. Its only been about 7-8 years where the non-name-brand dro equipment has become quite reliable. Id offer 1500 if it was clean, not abused and had most of the original accessories (chucks, center rest, follower etc)...

ray

AHA! I see somebody did pick up the freebie lathe from New Jersey. Well, congratulations! I saw about this lathe on a different forum and I have to say it is amazing the kind of commotion that free lathe caused. I had to laugh when somebody suggested they should have priced it very high so that somebody felt like haggling at the price and "getting" a deal. Hilarious, just because I bet it would have worked precisely as described...

Ray, for the lathe that I was offered, I actually used the PM1236 as a reference. I found in the local CL an Enco with DRO for $3600. Since the lathe is 16 years old, I immediately knew it was too expensive (when I compared it to a brand new, and including shipping PM1236). But what is "too" expensive and what is fair? The too expensive is easy although it is one of those things you know when you see it but you really can't explain why, which makes the "what is fair" harder to grasp.

Of course if I explain the owner that $3600 is too much, he will be protective of his assessment because after all, every other lathe may be worth $1500, but not his. For all he knows, this could be the lathe used to sharpen Wolverine's adamantium claws. Chances are there are still adamantium atoms all over the bed... Heck! $3600 is a steal!

I do realize that location will play a role. Since lathes take so long to pop up on the local CL, it is quite possible (as well as depressing) that somebody will in fact pay something in the vicinity of the asked $3600. It won't be me, that's for certain.

But the more stories I hear, the better equipped I will be to ensure I do not overpay for an used lathe. If I had $4K, I would have already purchased a PM1236, but I do not have those funds at the moment. In fact, even if I had it I would not use it on a new lathe, because the stuff that I want to do can be easily done on an used lathe. I already paid top dollar for a Grizzly G9249 a few years ago and had to sell it for $1400. Would rather not have to live the same experience again.

 

[Rbeckett]

I got lucky and my 13"x40" was free, i will be brining her home tomorrow. Wear is not too bad for a 13 year old machine. I would tend to lean with the wisdom of rbeckett, there is no real #, this machine came out of a medical research facility it was not used heavily and had at most 2 machinists working in the department. It needs some love, it is not perfect, but it is free.

Thanks for the Props and be sure to give us lots of pics when you get it home. Tooling is next and you just have to shop around and get the best possible price you can find. I would avoid most if not all of the soldered carbide and go with HSS or Index able. I just found a set of 5 of the most common 1/2 square tools for 26 bucks on Ebay. This was the second time it came around and I missed it the first time verifying what the replacement bits were, but got it this time. They came in the mail today from Cali, they just shipped it from Anaheim Cali on the 16th, so that was lightning fast. Good luck with the new machine and keep the projects pics coming too.

Bob