# Is it worth it



## COMachinist (Mar 9, 2014)

I been looking for a home shop lathe for a while. Found this Clausing with ever thing on the lathe bench you see. The owner is asking 1800.00 USD for every thin and the lathe. I have no idea is this lathe is worth that, or if it will do threading and stuff for the home shop. My other choice right now is the G0602. 


Oh and this is only 40 miles form my home. So shipping or tax is not an issue.
Thanks for any help.
CH
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]


----------



## Terrywerm (Mar 9, 2014)

Placing a value on a used machine is difficult, especially without the opportunity to examine it closely first hand. To give any kind of opinions (and they would be just that, _opinions, not an appraisal_) some more information would be needed. Even then, proper evaluation is nearly impossible, because some things have to be felt or checked with an indicator, not just looked at.

Swing of lathe
Length of bed (distance between centers would suffice)
Detailed photos of the ways
Detailed list of accessories.

From the photo it appears that this lathe comes with a 3 jaw chuck, two 4 jaw chucks, a faceplate, a dog drive plate, an assortment of collets (maybe not a complete set), a collet chuck, a drill chuck, and a quick change tool post.  I assume that it probably comes with some dead centers, drive dogs, and live centers as well, but you will need to look.

This lathe does have a quick change gear box, so yes, it is capable of threading.  I cannot tell from the photo if it has a taper attachment or not.

There are plenty of accessories which will help with the value, but the real indicators will be the condition of the ways, condition of the backgears in the headstock, and the spindle and spindle bearings. The ways should be smooth and free of nicks and gouges. The gears should not have any teeth missing. The bearings should all be smooth and quiet, and not allow and side play or end play in the spindle.  The spindle should be free of nicks and gouges on the inside Morse Taper, and the chuck mounting threads should be clean a free of damage.

In addition, without cutting a test bar, it is impossible to tell how much wear there is on the ways. You should also check to see how much backlash there is in the cross slide and compound rest.

This lathe with all of its accessories might well be worth the $1800  that the seller is asking, especially if everything is in good shape and does not show excessive wear, but don't take my word for it, as I have not been able to give it a thorough examination. It might be a good idea to see if there is someone in your area willing to go with you to evaluate it. 

If you choose to purchase this lathe, and it is in good shape, you will not be disappointed with it.


----------



## Dave Smith (Mar 9, 2014)

CH--If the lathe is in good working condition and he is asking $1800 with all the extras--he will probably accept a little lower cash offer of maybe $1400 or $1500 cash---it is very close to you so that is worth a lot and it is worth $1500 for sure--I would make my cash offer fast or it will be gone quick---Dave


----------



## rafe (Mar 9, 2014)

That lathe will do everything you need it too....limited only by the swing.....Can't really tell the condition or what all is on the table, so can't help with the value ....but if the condition is good and a lot of tooling is included ....$1800 is  a fair starting point ....go look and see what he has to sweeten things up see it work if you can ....bring 1200 in one pocket  300 in another ....and the rest in your shoe
See Wermie's post ..There also appears to be a set of telescoping gauges....not real expensive but all the little things add up if you don't have them ...what's in the red box? Also has a quick change that's not cheap !!


----------



## drs23 (Mar 9, 2014)

So did you go get it/look at it?


----------



## Pacer (Mar 9, 2014)

That would seem to be a Mark III Clausing possibly/probably from the 1940s - the Mk III was the top of the line in that series. I had one just like it from 1946, mine was a 12x36 so that one is most likely the same . Like SB and others there were 2-3 or more versions. What made this the top one was a spindle clutch - that handle with the round knob on the top of the spindle cover, this allowed you to disengage and brake the spindle without stopping the motor. A pretty neat deal but likely to have problems if never rebuilt - mine was trashed and it required making the parts from scratch. They are pretty nice lathes, at least comparable to a SB, and better than say an Atlas/Craftsman. Like most of the others in this grouping of lathes it is a bit on the light duty side, youre not gonna go taking big cuts. In other words it would make a good choice for a home shop.

I rebuilt mine from the ground up and sold it for $1800 in very good condition, so I would think this one is a bit on the high side - but with the excellent grouping of accessories its not far off. If you are really needing/wanting a lathe consider paying the asking price -- otherwise you are getting into the price range of a decent Chinese lathe and wouldnt be facing the unknown problems with an old piece of machinery.


----------



## GK1918 (Mar 9, 2014)

Is this worth it?   $1800 bucks every two months for home heating oil and nothing to show for it- all up in smoke?

at least you can touch it, make things with it, even if it dont run, at least you can look at it, instead of smoke!


----------



## COMachinist (Mar 10, 2014)

drs23 said:


> So did you go get it/look at it?


Get points all and I really want thank you all. Well the weather was great and I drove up and took a real life look at it this weekend. It is in a CNC shop and the owner said he uses it on regular bases to do small parts. Best as I can tell it is a Series 100 MK3 it has the V gear change front. I'm not an expert on how to check out a lathe but it seams to be fully working. It feels tight and everything moves smoothly. It runs fairly quiet with out any strange noises. I did not take a DTI or any test tools to measure anything. It does not have the cabinet like Pacer's but has cast iron legs. There is not a taper fixture on the lathe but it does have a QC tool post. I hoped he would take $1500-1600 for it but he was set on the price. I have a budget of 1500-1600. Grizzly G0602 was right in that price range and as bad as I hate to buy Chinese stuff it is in the price range with shipping to my shop door. I'm just a hobby machinist and there is a lot hobby machinist that use the G0602 with lots of neat mods for it. I don't plan to do any for hire jobs just home stuff.
Thanks again for all your input everyone.
CH


----------



## COMachinist (Mar 10, 2014)

Well it looks like I'm going to bite the bullet on this one. He called and wants out of his shop and he came down to 1700 and he will load it in my pickup. for me. Yes it does come with the collets and the holder. It was rebuilt about 5 years ago. The commies wont get any more of my coin. The owner told me it will repeat to .001 and most of the time hold +-.0005. I'm not sure I believe that but. Oh and yes the clutch to disengage spindle works with out flaw.
So I told him I'll take it!
CH)


----------



## xalky (Mar 10, 2014)

COMachinist said:


> Well it looks like I'm going to bite the bullet on this one. He called and wants out of his shop and he came down to 1700 and he will load it in my pickup. for me. Yes it does come with the collets and the holder. It was rebuilt about 5 years ago. The commies wont get any more of my coin. The owner told me it will repeat to .001 and most of the time hold +-.0005. I'm not sure I believe that but. Oh and yes the clutch to disengage spindle works with out flaw.
> So I told him I'll take it!
> CH)


I think you made the right decision. It looks like it comes with a lot of tooling. It's a nice lathe. )


----------



## toolman (Mar 10, 2014)

Sweet! Let us know what you think after you get her home.


----------



## rafe (Mar 10, 2014)

GOOD SHOW....He's probably telling you the truth about it's accuracy (In his hands)When you pick it up ask him to throw in some cut off scraps for practice ... and any thing else he can spare as far as tooling. When I bought my lathe he was asking 1900 and he wouldn't budge but it was a great deal and I jumped on it ....I think once you start working with it you will feel the same....NO comparison to what 1700 will get you in Asian IMHO
Keep posting about your score and regards


----------



## chuckorlando (Mar 10, 2014)

Nice. I love the mechanical look of the old machines.


----------



## GK1918 (Mar 10, 2014)

chuckorlando said:


> Nice. I love the mechanical look of the old machines.




No thats real stuff that won the war...so they are not old= they are the real thing.    glad he got it  !!!


----------



## drs23 (Mar 10, 2014)

Great score! When do you get to pick it up? Have a place ready to set it in? I agree with Marcel, see if he'll throw in some drop/scrap so you'll have something to turn on when you get it in place.

Congrats again!!


----------



## Dave Smith (Mar 11, 2014)

CH--very glad you got it--you got a lot of value with it and it willl make you a nice shop lathe--Dave


----------



## COMachinist (Mar 12, 2014)

drs23 said:


> Great score! When do you get to pick it up? Have a place ready to set it in? I agree with Marcel, see if he'll throw in some drop/scrap so you'll have something to turn on when you get it in place.
> 
> Congrats again!!


Hi All
Well I would have had it already, but we had a storm with 50-60mph winds and snow and ice so I asked if he could keep it until tomorrow. It should be dry and in 50+ temp wise so it wont be a problem Thur. I'm looking forward to having good old American "Iron in the shop. I have a 20'x48' shop to put it in and already have power wired for it so all I need is setup, level it, and bolt it to the concrete floor and start cutting. I have a Fogbuster coolant system to install. My first upgrade is install a 3ph 1.5hp and the VFD so I can have a range of RPM for cutting AL, brass and bronze. I sure want to thanks everyone here for their great contrabutionns to help me make a good deal. I'll post pix when I get it set up.
Again thanks Everyone
CH


----------



## drs23 (Mar 12, 2014)

COMachinist said:


> Hi All
> Well I would have had it already, but we had a storm with 50-60mph winds and snow and ice so I asked if he could keep it until tomorrow. It should be dry and in 50+ temp wise so it wont be a problem Thur. I'm looking forward to having good old American "Iron in the shop. I have a 20'x48' shop to put it in and already have power wired for it so all I need is setup, level it, and bolt it to the concrete floor and start cutting. I have a Fogbuster coolant system to install. My first upgrade is install a 3ph 1.5hp and the VFD so I can have a range of RPM for cutting AL, brass and bronze. I sure want to thanks everyone here for their great contrabutionns to help me make a good deal. I'll post pix when I get it set up.
> Again thanks Everyone
> CH



COOL! You know we like pics. Can't wait to see it spinnin'!


----------



## 34_40 (Mar 12, 2014)

UGH..  "We" gotta wait another day?:whistle:  :rofl:  

Seriously tho', it looks like a nice unit.  I have a 108 and it looks a lot like that one, I hope your as happy with it as I am with mine!

Now you'll be turned into a tool junkie! :winner:     watching all the auction places for micrometers and tool bits etc. etc. etc....  rofl!:whiteflag:


----------



## fastback (Mar 12, 2014)

Nice buy, happy the you were able to get it. Make sure you get us some pictures once you set her up.

Paul


----------



## COMachinist (Mar 14, 2014)

Hi Everybody.
I posted in the wrong thread so I asked it be delete over there and repost here, sorry.
Got it home today and in the shop. Murphy was on vacation and I didn't call him come along).  Here are few Pixs, It will take me three weeks to go though all the  boxes of tools, cutters, boring bars, taping heads every drill chuck is a  Jacobs, I even have on for the spindle it threads on like a chuck or  backing plate. I have 3 sizes of backing plates and drive dogs up to  1.5" Carbide drills from 1" to 2" 2 sises of 4 jaw, 2 sise 3 jaw. I have  taper fixture, a turret thingy that goes on at the tail stock, tapping  heads at least 2, the guy just kept giving me stuff. so kept loading.  Then I asked how much I owed him and he said 1500.00 Wow we agreed on 17  I mumbled, he said most of the stuff look old and used incomplete tools  etc. so he would knock off 200.00. Out came the bank envelope and 15  crip new 100 dollar bills went from my hand to his. Now I know your all  going to think I'm making this up to make it sound like I got really  good deal, but I'm not. We have a say  around the house that the only  luck I have is only bad luck, My wife calls it the Perdue Luck. Let me  tell you is right most of the time, well all of the time.
Today it looks like I didn't get crapped on. I was really bummed out  when he didn't want to deal a little and that he may just sell it to  some one else, but I hung in there and it paid off.:lmao:  We just don't see really nice well cared for lathes like this out here  in the west(Colorado) there is not even a lot farms out here mostly  Ranching. Now for the Pix. We got another storm coming Friday but will  get her up an running asap.
Thanks again all.
CH

- - - Updated - - -

Here is just some of the tools I got with the lathe. It will be a week or more before I can sort these out.
CH


----------



## GK1918 (Mar 14, 2014)

Nothing to say CH, I only fell off my chair!!!!!!!!!thats turn key  wowwww  aint ya glad now

sam


----------



## rafe (Mar 14, 2014)

That great moment when you realize that you were sold tooling at a fair price and given the lathe it works with...lol Same thing happened to me ...Best of luck with your fine new machine .....This is a great forum to ask and answer question ...Gotta love old US Iron IMHO


----------



## xalky (Mar 14, 2014)

Awesome! I'm happy for ya.... You did really well. You might not realize how much money you just saved on tooling. You just bought a turn-key lathe setup at a very reasonable price with all the doodads, you could probably ever want. 

Congratulations!


Marcel


----------



## Terrywerm (Mar 15, 2014)

Congratulations on the nice lathe and tooling!


----------



## Dave Smith (Mar 15, 2014)

CH--I'm very happy for you---good bargains and savings happen to good people---CONGRATULATIONS----Dave


----------



## fastback (Mar 15, 2014)

Well it looks to me that your luck just changed.  Good luck with the new lathe.

Paul


----------



## toag (Mar 15, 2014)

That my friend was a great deal.  Really like the lever tailstock.   Even got a qctp... youre set!


----------



## COMachinist (Mar 15, 2014)

Thanks All.

I really feel fortunate. I will be on a steep learning curve for while.
Happy Machining
CH


----------



## 34_40 (Mar 15, 2014)

As the kids say today..  "DUDE..  You scored!"  :roflmao:    

Congrats and enjoy the new "toys".


----------

