# Looking at Buying a Clausing 6930 series Lathe--What Do I Need to Know?



## Utah Smitty (Feb 27, 2018)

I've been looking for something to upgrade to from my South Bend Heavy 10.  I've looked at new Precision Matthews and Clark Taiwan lathes, but they're a little over my budget.

I ran across a guy in another state advertising a Clausing 6930 series lathe with a lot of tooling--toolpost grinder, milling attachments, micrometers, Dial indicators, 3 & 4 jaw chuck, steady rest, Aloris QC toolpost and holders, drills, reamers, carbide cutters, etc. He's asking $4,900, which may be a little high.

Anyway...

The 6930 series lathes use stepped pulleys between the motor and intermediate shaft instead of the Variable pulleys that the 5910/6910 series lathes have. I would probably put a 3 hp DC motor with a variable speed control on it rather than mess with the pulleys.

What do I need to look for in these machines?--any weaknesses, or recurring faults?

Thanks,

Utah Smitty


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## 4GSR (Feb 28, 2018)

If it has a 3 phase motor on it, go with a VFD.  Be a lot cheaper than a DC motor and controller now days.

6900 series lathes are fairly nice lathes.  You can still get most of the repair parts for it today if needed. 

Not much tooling for the the price.  See if you can get them down to $3500 at least.

Oops, I didn't read all of the text, just looked at the pictures.  Lots of tooling, probably worth the asking price.  Still, it's used, and devalued IMO.  Shoot for around $3800 and go from there.


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## wa5cab (Feb 28, 2018)

Whether you go with a DC or a variable speed AC motor, don't disable the step pulleys.  You shouldn't run either type motor too slowly or it will overheat.


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