# What Is The Best Tool Score You Ever Got?



## alloy

I'm at work today and one of the kids I'm trying to train (long story)  were talking about the mill I brought home this last weekend and asked me what was the best tool score I ever got.

I thought this would be a fun topic for the long holiday weekend.

I've scored a lot of great deals especially the course of this year and it's hard to pick just one.

But I think my best ever score was the Kent 4VK mill I got with the Servo power feed and Kurt  power draw bar for $1000. The motor shaft was destroyed, but I picked up an entire head with a Baldor Super E motor for $200 at an  auction.  I'm going to have to replace the non working DRO, but my total investment in the mill will be  $2500.  I saw one on EBay last night without the E-head for $12k.

So tell us about the best  tool score (forklifts included) you ever got.


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## Ed ke6bnl

I just picked up a 1955 round ram Bridgeport with a newer J head, seems pretty tight for $500 delivered to my house about 75 miles for $100 and sold my smaller good working Burke Millrite for $1400. so just got a DRO and Power feed for the new mill. Just got a couple of months ago a Delta surface grinder with mag chuck and whitney punch and milling end cutter some wheels ( a bit sloppy in the gibbs) for $150 and sold the whitney punch for $100.

also my old BurkeMillrite and 11" rockwell lathe both loaded on my trailer $900 as I said just sold the the mill for $1400 Did add igaging dro's to mill


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## T Bredehoft

Yard sale, 36" Starrett vernier caliper in original wooden box stamped USAAF (Ca. WWII). $25.00. Took it to work, showed them the receipt (yeah, I hadta ask for it). The shop paid me 1/2 of the cost. They had it calibrated, came out exact. It was the only one in the shop, got used a lot. Still have it, don't use it any more, nothing that big to measure.


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## carkrazd

1963 Hardinge HLVH
With tons of 5 C collets and tooling
A Taper Attachment ,Radius Cutter.
Metric Threading Gears
and a Hardinge Dividing head for
$ 2200


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## rgray

14 inch John Steptoe shaper. Bought at auction for $50.00.....Had alot of fun with it.


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## BGHansen

Rockwell 10 x 36 lathe (picture attached).  Holt, MI school shop closing sale - $25.  Caveat is I did a lot of work to get it to the photo below.  Completely disassembled it and stripped off at least 10 coats of paint using Dad's water-based paint stripper.  Bought all new badging, new wrench for the tail stock.  Came with a Dumore no. 44 tool post grinder and full complement of lantern style tool holders also.  Had to make a brass bearing block for the telescoping taper attachment.  Replaced most of the screws too.  Probably had an additional $100 in the lathe so we'll say $125.  Still gloating even though the lathe is going up for sale . . .

Bruce


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## TOOLMASTER

to many to list...but my favorite funny one is.....

i see a box full of these items and i offer the guy 20 bucks for the box full....the guy says no way i have to get at least 50 cents each...i say ok...he counts them out to a grand totals of 16.50....paid , left n laughed


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## bill stupak

This is part of a score from an auction. A gent in his nineties was downsizing to a smaller property and had to sell off all his tools and equipment. All of this stuff was buried under a lot of other junk in a box. Starting at 12 o'clock, a Starrett and two no name squares, a hand knurler -later sold on ebay $65-, 5 edge finders -two working-, various indicator holders, inspection mirror and a working digital thermometer, 12" Brown and Sharpe square , 18" Starrett square, 12" no name square, very old and still working Chicago trim router, circular saw ripping guide, tablesaw feather board, Starrett button back indicator w/ magbase -works perfectly-, miter gauge -fits my disc/belt sander slot. The good, I got the lot for $12, the better, I regularly use almost all of it. I’m still grinning.


Bill


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## hman

Best for me so far was a very nice Gerstner 6 drawer tool box - full of tools - I bought from a pawn shop in April and posted to the forum.  Total price was $300.
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/gerstner-score.34808/

Thoroughly cleaned up and polished the box and dust cover, used a stem iron to repair the felt on the door (Gerstner uses hide glue), spent about $10 or so to buy a key from Gerstner, and sold the box for ... $300.  Here's s photo of my "free" tool haul.  Lots of other minor "goodies" in the box.


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## Charles Spencer

Well I posted this a little while ago:

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/i-finally-caught-a-deal.39719/


I also got a South Bend 9C two years ago for $65.00.


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## TomS

About a year ago I bought a little used Ultron Snap change tool system.  In 1998 this is what you got for $1,450. 




This is what I got for $150.




I got everything in the first picture plus a rack of 12 tool holders.  These holders sold in 1998 for about $120 each.  I use this setup on my CNC mill exclusively and love it.

Tom S.


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## 4GSR

My recent tool gloat find was a brand new Aloris CXA tool post with 7 brand new holders for $200 bucks.  Had a film of rust on the top side where they were exposed to the elements for 20 years plus in a rat infested cardboard box.


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## JimDawson

Scores,,,,,Hmmmm..
Reach type, off road fork lift  8500 lb, Free  I put about $1000 into it to get it operational.
5000 lb Yale warehouse fork lift $500, still going strong after 8 years in my shop
Matched pair Kurt D-60 vices, $125 for the pair, were stuck but in very good condition  I sold my import Kurt clone for $125 after I got these.
Eagle CNC mill, good condition and operational, $1000 Have done substantial upgrades so I'm in it about $7500 now
DoAll MTA 6x18 hydraulic surface grinder, operational but I haven't set it up yet, $250
Heavy industrial 4x8 CNC router, operational, about $650
12 inch Mitutoyo vernier height gauge $25, like new condition
A couple of other forks lifts, a little labor.  I sold those.
Lotos plasma cutter, New, Free
4x6 CNC plasma carriage setup, operational, Free  One day I'll build a table for it.
Enco tool & cutter grinder, like new, still had the cosmoline on most of it, was used for one job, $650
Wells M-8 horizontal band saw, good condition, $25
Milwaukee deep cut porta-band, needed a cord, Free
That's all I can think of for now.

Every time I see a deal, I jump on it.  I really need a bigger shop


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## T Bredehoft

JimDawson said:


> Every time I see a deal, I jump on it. I really need a bigger shop



I dunno Jim, Seems like you need_ another_ shop. One for BIG stuff, one for hobby stuff.


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## Silverbullet

Seams Ive just had a real tool score. About three weeks ago a Craigslist add listing ( small tools) the title. I looked it up small tools alright a victor mill ? Cnc 2d mill he said . Al set up and running $750 only had to be moved with in a week. But he had other tools listed a 15" Bridgeport rotary table, a Heinrich air vise with foot control, plus a adj, angle plate slotted and tee slots. Oh and a phase 11 5c spin dexer , my cost total on the 4 items   $120.00 if I could have arranged it I would have the mill too I was the first caller on the machine. The air vise and foot control are brand new . The other items are in very good condition .


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## livesteam2000

I picked up a Hardinge Cataract Sensitive drill press in excellent shape (after a bit of cleanup) mounted on a 16" x 18" x 3/4" steel plate for $25.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## coolidge

JimDawson said:


> Every time I see a deal, I jump on it.  I really need a bigger shop



I saw this on our local craigslist Jim and figured you would scoop it up but its still for sale.


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## toolman49

G'Day Fellas,
Best recent score was a 300mm PAV vernier caliper in near new condition for $15.00.
Regards,
Martin


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## JimDawson

coolidge said:


> I saw this on our local craigslist Jim and figured you would scoop it up but its still for sale.



Not even sure what it is, looks like a part of a truck mounted boom.  Got a link?


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## coolidge

JimDawson said:


> Not even sure what it is, looks like a part of a truck mounted boom.  Got a link?



http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/tls/5306189110.html


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## AR1911

Hmmm, I can't top some of those.  But...

There was the Nice SB 9A lathe for $100
And the SB Shaper for $50 - Basket case, but complete.
Possibly the $50 pallet of "Junk" that had a couple hundred brass 5C collets, 2 Sky-Hooks, dozens of lantern toolholders and lots more.  At least $1500 worth.
Sherline CNC mills - 2 for $250
I'm probably forgetting some...


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## alloy

Jim needs to go get this.  $50 for a CNC mill.  

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/tls/5335558520.html


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## JimDawson

Hmmmmm, that might need a new home.  But I smell scam, or a deliberate typo on the price.   But won't hurt to check.


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## alloy

If you need help to go get it let me know 

After being towed home I just spent half of yesterday and this morning putting a fuel pump in my rig, so I'm ready to go do something.


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## jere m

I have had a few ok deals, but i havent been looking that lng either.

My last best deal included 3 full size oxygen tanks and one full size ace tank.( One of each were full) 10 lbs of steel welding rod brazing rod mixed, 3 two stage harris regulators. An old welding cart, a pedistal dayton fan,  giant ½inch self winding schrader hose reel, 16 inch bandsaw, and some other odds and ends i forget. Everything was $200 but i sold the empty oxygen tanks for $300 the first day i listed them. Those tanks are pricey otherwise and so are 16 bandsaws


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## Surprman

I got this nearly unused HF 4x6 bandsaw for $50.  (Picture is what it looked like off my truck). Needed a new blade (bought a $35 bimetal) and only a little TLC/adjustments and it worked perfectly.  Much better on my arms 
than the saws-all I had been using!


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## jere m

alloy said:


> Jim needs to go get this.  $50 for a CNC mill.
> 
> http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/tls/5335558520.html



I emailed him, small discrepancy... its $50,000


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## alloy

Wow, that's what I call a typo.

Didn't he read his own ad?????   I always read mine over.  Especially if I post it from my phone with the stupid predictive text correction.


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## Andre

Looked at a craigslist ad for a small lathe (Atlas 10" I passed on) but picked out lots of other tooling he kinda had for sale. Left with nothing, he called me back around a year later to give the stuff to me. He was moving and just wanted it gone.

Federal snap indicating micrometer 
Starrett 1-2" tenths reading micrometer
Ideal tool test indicator
small and large V block
Lots of small endmills, three carbide
30, 45* angle blocks
Federal tenths dial indicator
and finally a sine plate and metric gauge blocks.


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## JimDawson

jere m said:


> I emailed him, small discrepancy... its $50,000



I'd have to say the guy's nuts   It ain't worth that much.


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## Scruffy

A 16 in cinn shaper, vise included, which had been completely gone over when it was reassembled in a basement.  Price was free.
  Sb 9a. 50.00 I kept the du more tool post grinder than sold the lathe.
 The most used is the 16 by 54 American pacemaker lathe 2. 3 jaw chucks, 1-  4 jaw chuck, 2 ax loris ca tool post , drill chuck. 2. Live centers. 2500.00 loaded on my trailer.
Thanks scruffy


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## Ulma Doctor

Scruffy, you dog... the cinn is worthy of braggin rites on it's own


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## gr8legs

Regarding the $50 cnc mill, when you put a number into the price box when composing a Craigslist ad it automatically concatenates at a comma character - so listing at 50,000 ends up as $50. Happens all the time. I've given up emailing to tell advertisers about their typos as they just seem annoyed. Oh well.

And yes, that mill is not worth 50K but a seller can dream.

Stu


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## Scruffy

Ulna. Doctor  if you have ever moved a 3500 lb shaper up a very steep,narrow 1940's stair case ,makes it more valuable.  Every thing was going great--- until it would not go thru the door at the top of the staircase.
Thanks ron


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## mattthemuppet2

I've been really lucky since I started machining, although being a dumpster diver helps. Got a bunch of old tooling the machine shop at my last job was throwing out, plus scrap etc which I eventually sold for $300-400 or so, paid for a delivery of heating oil. Then they threw out an old Walker Turner 15in drill press and a Enerpac 10t bench press (didn't work). Nearly killed me getting those in the car (Ford Focus wagon) and then the DP got stuck so I had to dismantle it in situ  The DP worked fine and has ever since, the Enerpac needed new cylinder seals and works fine - one day I'll do the seals in the handle too as they leak a bit. Saved me a fair bit of money in car repairs. Also had a friend give me an old jewelers style lathe which I fitted out and got enough money to buy an Atlas 618. And all that doesn't count the many generosities I've had from members of the machining community who have given me or traded me really useful and appreciated tools.

And last, but not least, the Craftsman 101.07301 that JimD gave me which I stripped and repainted and is now on it its way to my wife's cousin in Virginia.

All of those are such amazing scores from my point of view that I don't get (too) jealous when other people post up theirs


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## tpic402

Kennedy top,middle bottom and side box full of mics (inside,outside,depth),indicators of all types,drills, adapters and  mounts of all types. Fellow lost his job as machinist and could not hold another because of alcohol, he wanted $300 I gave him $600


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## tpic402

Oh I forgot one, Darex e-90 end mill grinder never even used, Traded for front and rear brake job on a guys truck and he supplied the parts


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## alloy

I guess I should list a few of my other scores.

Jet GHB1340  lathe  $750
Bridgeport step pulley mill   $1300
Blake co-ax indicator  $75
Wilton 4" bullet vise  $20
Milwaukee porta band $25
Milwaukee deep cut porta band $50
Skat Blast Sand Blasting cabinet with dust collector  $150


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## 4GSR

When I was about sixteen years old, a neighbor of ours back then, tuned me in on a place where he got me a Sunnen hone and a Imperial compound tilt rotary table that came out of NASA.  Wrote him a check for $30 for the two.  Still have the rotary table.  My wife and kid will have to bury me with it and many of my other tools some day.


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## olcopper

It is my sad duty and obligation to inform you all of the following information;
You aren't ever going to have enough tools
Your shop will always be too small
You will always have more projects than you will ever get to
If you ever own a lathe or mill, you will find you absolutely can't do without one
You will always wonder why everybody doesn't have one


I'm in the process of tripling the size of my shop, I'm not even finished and it's already too small
olcopper


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## tq60

And as yiu bust butt to clean out a spot for the project to get started you stumble upon another estate sale and fill that spot with things yiu did not need but could not leave...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk


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## TOOLMASTER

I don't know where to start...had some funny ones......."I'll give you 20 bucks for this box of rubber bumpers"....."oh no, i have to get at least 25 cents each'   so he counts them out.... "14.50" .....

"ahhh ok here ya go"....


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## randyjaco

I was at a yard sale a few years ago.  I found a nice wooden box marked $10. It was heavier than I expected.  I looked inside and found a 12" Starrett machinist level in like new condition.  I took the open box to the lady and she said "that will be 10 bucks". I happily handed her a 10 spot.
Randy


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## FOMOGO

Gunrunner you need to order a set of these for the Z axis hand crank. Bill did you just spit coffee on your monitor? :rofl:

View attachment 253356


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## master of none

I needed some tap and die so I was looking on Craigslist and found this and was about 15min away,I don't get good deals very often it seems like I just give good deals,not very good at selling or buying stuff. Now if I can find a metric set for around the same price.almost forgot it's a craftsman set and never used .And I forgot I got it for $30.00.


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## Ripthorn

My best too score came when I responded to a CL ad for a Grizzly 4x6.  They were asking $120.  I showed up and it was an older widow whose husband passed unexpectedly and left a whole basement shop full of tools.  When I went down there, I made some expression about how impressive it was and she said "You know what this stuff is?" I said yes.  She asked if a 9x20 lathe with tons of tooling was worth around $200 and a delta 14" bandsaw with huge Baldor DC motor was worth $100.  I told her that she had a lot of very valuable stuff and told her I would love to come back and help get things sorted, described, and priced.  I just thought that if it were my wife, I would want someone to help out.  You know the old saying "My greatest fear is that when I die, my wife will sell all my tools for what I told her they cost".

Long story short, I spent several evenings helping out around there, and each time they insisted I take a few boxes of stuff with me.  She refused to take my money.  She would ask "are you happy with those items?" and I would say "absolutely" and she would say "then we're both happy, and that's all that matters."  So when all was said and done, I paid a total of $160 and got my first little metal lathe, a small CNC milling machine, a Kennedy tool box, and tons of hand tools like files, taps, dies, reamers, counterbores, dial indicators, calipers, drills, stock, etc.  I got more or less fully equipped for next to nothing because I wanted to help someone out.  Turns out I made a couple of really great friends out of it, which is worth more than the tools.  Her biggest concern was that the tools get used, and use them I do!


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## amsoilman

Avey #1 drill press in great condition .  It was in the basement of a Estate Sale  About 100 years old and very tight      25.00


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## sd624

Bought this today at an auction for 180.00. By far my best score.


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## TOOLMASTER

Scored 4 of these for 20 bucks today at a garage sale.( i just about crapped wen he said 5 each).cleaned up real nice...right into my studio they went.. ;-)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/112099-REG/Matthews_756140_Century_C_Turtle_Base.html


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## ARKnack

Surprman said:


> I got this nearly unused HF 4x6 bandsaw for $50.  (Picture is what it looked like off my truck). Needed a new blade (bought a $35 bimetal) and only a little TLC/adjustments and it worked perfectly.  Much better on my arms
> than the saws-all I had been using!
> 
> View attachment 115538



I did a little better on mine. $25 at a garage sale. Dayton brand but it looks like harbor freight model. Just got a Moore #1 jig borer with tooling for $50 at a auction this spring.


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## Nogoingback

I bought a  Woden bench vise (made in England) for 11 bucks at a garage sale.  Much better quality than the usual stuff out there.


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## uncle harry

I scored a Harrison M300 lathe 13" swing 40" between centers late 70's or early 80's vintage. It came with back splash, 1 Aloris AXA TP with 7 holders, an off shore BXA TP, another back splash that appears to fit a smaller harrison lathe, and a sheet metal accessory shelf. All of these items cost me $1800.00 delivered.  They came from a liquidation at the Excalibur plant in Milwaukee, Wi.  Another score was a Bridgeport knock off (Pilgrim....most likely Tiawan) variable speed head mill for $1400.00 with longitudinal power feed also delivered. Finally I received a 12" 90:1 ratio rotary table missing the hand wheel and graduated dial delivered for free.


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## Kernbigo

a dumore 3/4 hp tool post grinder for $5


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## alloy

Not sure if this is my best, but for$19 it's close to the top 

Who says there are no good garage sales in winter.  We had snow and ice and I was the only one there.  

Got a full coffee can of hole saws up to 4-1/2", set of craftsman nut drivers, and 5 silver and demming style drills.


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## hman

Shucks, Alloy - that's less then 50¢ a "piece."  GREAT score!


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## alloy

Yeah pretty happy with them.  I got the hole saws first and when she said $12 I went looking for more.

 I already used the 3/4" drill bit today.  Kinda dull, but I can fix that.


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## Rick Berk

About 3 years ago a friend called, wanting to sell at auction 2 rifles any wondered what he should ask for them, I decided to meet him at the auction the next morning to look at what he had, they were selling about 50 gun that day so my wife and I sit down and watched them sell, later the auctioneer said they would be selling the tool in the next building when the guns were done, I jumped up and went looking at the tools, came back to my wife and said were not leaving till the tools are gone, what's back there you need (AN EMMERT PATTERN MAKERS VISE). About 2:30 in the afternoon the auction helper tried to pick up the vise and set it on a farm wagon for bidding. The auctioneer started with $200-$100 then $50 then where do you want to start boys, I held up 5 fingers and he said 50 dollars- I said NO 5 dollars-then another bid 7.50, another bid 10.00 then I bid $12.50 and won the vise. Paid the clerk $13.38, backed the van to the door and my wife and I carried the 87 lb hunk of iron home, I had wanted one since my Navy days in the shipyard but they were always out of my price range, I immediately got on ebay and found them going for $1100.00, this one was the U6 and had no damage, I cleaned and primed and painted with PPG Concept and now I look at it wishing I had the strength to mount and use it. Someday I hope.


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## Silverbullet

May not be the best but last week I found an outfit on eBay selling the milling machine clamping and bolts set in the wooden base tee nuts , joined nuts all sizes of rods for $6.21 plus $5.00 shipping , now there 5/8 but ill use them . I've never seen Teco sets that cheap of any size. YUPP buy it now  also got a size oo die head and a half dozen cutter sets $25.00 + $3.85 shipping I have been trying to stay away from eBay I could go broke in no time.


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## schor

Hard to say which one was the best. Maybe my th54 atlas lathe I got for free, but I've also scored quite a few other deals.


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## pineyfolks

I bought a Bridgeport quill-master head for $30.00.I was watching an internet auction and nobody had bid on it so at the last few minutes I placed a bid expecting it to get rejected but I got it.


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## 428Bird

A complete Holbrook C16 with collets and both rests for 150.00. Still needs a little work to run, but she's coming along nicely.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S7 using Tapatalk.


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## Glenn Brooks

Iam real happy with a $600 1925 South Bend 9" x48" lathe I bought off Craigslist last year. I paid the guy a couple of hundred below asking, mostly because the lathe still has the original scraping along the bed and is in nearly perfect condition - having been stored in a warm garage for the past 50 or 60 years by the family of the original owner.  The one and only owner/operator used it mostly for wood turning.  Also it came with the original paper work when purchased new - for three installments of $50/ plus interest, and the factory inspection card, specifying tolerances before it was shipped.

Still shows the original japaning finish on all the cast surfaces, and original paint of the SB speeds and feeds plate on the QCTP.  When I brought it home, the bed was still covered with sawdust and machine oil - makes a great preservative incidentally.  The chuck spins around two and a half times with a flick of the wrist. Amazing. 

 I was looking for  a new lathe, with minimum wear,  but couldn't afford the price of a NEW one.  So this is right up there as my best tool deal, and is only 97 or so years old.


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## master of none

That is simply beautiful ,I would be afraid to use it that I might scratch it or take some paint off,once in a life time find ,good luck with it.


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## EmilioG

Can't beat anything here but I've scored quite a few  nice tools over the last few years.  Before and after photos of a Nice Mitutoyo mic stand for $30.
It's the older Made In Japan model.  It was very dirty in the listing but I knew it was just oil and grease and that there was a shiny new stand underneath.


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## cjtoombs

I suppose I may have a different definition of a tool score than some.  I have bought a number of tools at what I consider "below market" prices.  I've also bought plenty more that I will loose money on if I ever sell them.  But the most memorable ones have been the tools that I bought that I got a good deal on and that I use way more than I thought I would.  I got a HF 12" disc sander that had been a display model for 75 (I think at the time it was normally about 125) and I've use it extensively.  Another one that stands out is an antique Craftsman/King Sealy 3 wheel bandsaw I picked up at an antique shop for $45.  It had been slowed down for metal use, but I had to re-do the drive on it because it was so poorly done to begin with.  Including several Lenox Die-Master bi-metal blades I bought for it, I have about $250 in it and I use it nearly every time I go into the shop.  Those are the kinds of tools that you think "How did I ever manage before I got this?".


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## jmarkwolf

Probably my best score was the 1967 Series 1, 9 x 42 with a 12in knee, J-head Bridgeport below. Found it in a Pawn Shop in Ypsilanti, Michigan. They didn't have a 3-phase hook up so I couldn't run it. They wanted $1200, I talked them down to $900.

The power down feed was non-functional and it was missing some clutch parts, all easily remedied. Had minimal backlash and chrome ways. I cleaned it up and put a DRO on it and it's been a good machine.

Have no idea how it came to be in a Pawn shop.


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## savarin

Nowhere in the category of previous posters but still a nice surprise.
I was away for three days down South to escape some of the heat and drought and when I came back I found this posted under the door of the shop.


It was a bit damp as there had been a torrential rain storm (been waiting on these for weeks)
and when I opened it up there was this inside


No note, nothing, they look brand new never been used.
After much thought as to who may have owned them previously I called and found I was correct. Thank you very much John.
Now to a question, they feel a little can I use the word "ratchety" when compressing the ends.
Would they benefit from some thin oil such as sewing machine oil??


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## Charles Spencer

I got a set of those and noticed the same thing.  I disassembled, cleaned, deburred, and oiled them.  They work more smoothly now.


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## Ebel440

One of the posts above reminded me that I got my craftsman/ king sealy bandsaw for 25$ with the motor and a stand. Mines the 12" one and The only time I've thought about replacing it was to get the bigger version.


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## scoopydo

I guess it pays to have older friends. One friend passed away a few years ago and his wife gave me a SB 9A 54" Lathe with all his tooling. It's in fair shape and undergoing a rebuild. Another friend passed and his daughter didn't want any of his metal working stuff so she gave me a Jet 10x24 Lathe like new and an Araboga-Mastener round column mill drill along with a Kennedy box full of Starrett stuff. The last one to go was an old friend who left me in his will a 1917 15" SB 8' lathe in amazing condition for it's age. There are a lot of things I've bought as well but don't come close to these. I dearly miss all of them we had many good times. These things will always remind me of some great friends.

George


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## A618fan2

This is a fun post!  Before I retired I was more likely to pay market price for tools - I had money, but no time.  Now the situation is reversed so, generally speaking, I don't buy unless the quality is high and the price is low.  As a result, my shop has literally become a "bargain basement." So, high on the list was the flea market Stanley #2 plane for $5.  Recently, a Tapmatic 3R at auction for $5.  A roached out (now serviceable) Porter Cable CN2 2X48 Belt grinder for $13. Lots of micrometers, calipers and measuring stuff $1-$9.  A Kennedy stack (12 drawers total) for $140.  An 18" Parks/Craftsman bandsaw at auction for $80.  The mill and accessories in my avatar for $350 (although there was another $400 in parts and many hours, etc to make it right). And lots of hand and power woodworking tools too numerous to mention.  

John


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## Waterlooboy2hp

I have found more great deals on tools over the past 50+ years, than I can count. I will just go with the one I ran across a few weeks ago on E-bay.  For the past 2 years, I have kept a search link on E-bay, to the no longer made and illusive NOS U6 Jacobs 6a-6b drill chuck replacement jaw kits.  Early on, I would check often. In the 2 separate kits, that did turn up, my $45.00 bid was not enough. Checking often got old over time. It got down to about once a month.

 A few weeks ago, I checked again, after a month.  I could not believe what I was seeing. Listing was on its 3ed day and had a buy it now of $25.95, free shipping and also make an offer.  Figured I would offer $20.00 and if rejected, I could always do the buy it now, which was still a super deal for a U6 jaw kit.  My offer was accepted and I thought nothing more about it. I should have read the add more closely.  When the package arrived in the mail, there were two U6 jaw kits.

I then recalled seeing the word Pair in the ad, but thought the seller was referring to the 2 parts of the split ring in the kit. Felt a bit bad about offering the $20.00, but I`ll get over it. ----- John


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## British Steel

[/QUOTE]


428Bird said:


> A complete Holbrook C16 with collets and both rests for 150.00. Still needs a little work to run, but she's coming along nicely.


 
As we in England say, "Jammy Git..." - my C13 (collets but no rests, 3 and 4 jaw Pratt Burnerd chucks, Dickson QCTP) cost me £327, roughly $500, and my best score so far!

Dave H. (the other one)


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## rcflier

A 6" vise is overkill for a RF45 style mill. A 4" is more appropiate for that size mill & IMO 5" max. I have a 5" GMT vise on my PM45 & it's slightly too big. Not enough Y axis travel to make use of the 5" full capacity. Better to save your money rather than getting something too big & most importantly the weight. I take my vise of the table quite often, a 6" is still light enough for me to be carried by hand but I'm glad I have a 5". I also have a 4" vise as well. I prefer the 5" though.

But those GMT 6" Premium vises are pretty nice. I'd love to have one but don't need one on my current mill. But if you plan on upgrading to a full size knee mill in the future than the 6" will be perfect.


Here's what the 5" looks like on my mill.




I couldn't even complete this cut without my bellows & DRO scale getting in the way. Not enough Y travel & the 5" vise is not even maxed out.




Here's what a 6" vise looks like on another PM45 (gt40's)
View attachment 253544


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## jpfabricator

Today's score, a 12" 4 jaw with camlocks that will fit my Monarch!


For the price of toting it to the truck! (Free!!!)
Two of the worm screws are split, but that can be repaired.





Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk


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## hman

Good grief!  What gorilla mechanic did you get this from??????  Lucky for you, there aren't any pieces missing from the worm screws.  And I sincerely hope the scroll is in OK shape!


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