11" x 36" Rockwell/Delta Engine Lathe 120V single phase - $2,900 (Costa Mesa, CA)

This is one of those that would be too much $$ except there’s been a lot done and it has good features and tooling. The only big thing it’s missing is a 4jaw.
 
Even without the 4 jaw I think it's in a reasonable price range. It has tons of highly desirable accessories, and appears to be in decent shape. If interested I would still do a close inspection, run it, and do a few cuts. If you're really interested in a 4 jaw chuck I would attempt to negotiate the price down a couple hundred bucks. There are several 6", 8", and 10" 4 jaw chucks with L00 mounts listed on eBay in the $200.00 range.
 
It does seem like a fair deal, but in researching it I’ve learned a lot. It has some rare items like taper attachment, steady rest and collet closer. But there are some things that can make it salvage like somebody blowing the backgears and some other interesting things. The fact that most of these lathes have no support is kinda scary. Relying on eBay for your parts is a mixed bag at best. It’s what I worry about with the UniDrill and my Atlas7b. Old Iron is wonderful until it breaks.
 
Support is a somewhat relative term. Machine manufacturers do design and produce most major castings and other components specific to their particular designs. Most of the mechanical parts like motors, gears, shafts, bearings, etc. are generally off the shelf items. They often assign their own part numbers, but the reality is that they purchase them from companies like Browning, Fafnir, Timken, Rexnord, and others.

My Sheldon 1960's era MW-56-P was bought as a basket case by the previous owner and literally had no factory support. Being in the machine building business he was able to source all the gears, bearings, pulleys, and other components to fully rebuild the lathe itself. He was even able to contact a company to regrind the bed and cross slide ways.

When I purchased the machine the only thing that needed some attention was the Worthington infinite variable speed drive. I completely disassembled the drive and was able to source bearings, bushings, belts and all the other components needed to bring it back to original condition.

The electrical components are either Furnas or Cutler Hammer. While they are all currently in good condition they are nearly 60 years old. I was able to find spare contact points, switches, and other wear components on eBay at bargain basement prices. Should any of these components fail in the future they can be replaced literally in minutes.

I doubt that I have as much in this totally rebuilt machine as the seller is asking for the Rockwell machine. It's as accurate as it was when it left the factory in 1960, and will in all probability outlast me.

It might be obvious that I'm a believer in old industrial iron. Almost all the machines in my shop are older industrial machines purchased from shops or schools as they were either upgrading to CNC equipment, downsizing, or closing due to owner retirement. Most were in like new condition and purchased for pennies on the dollar. If you have the where with all to assess and restore older industrial equipment you can get high quality machinery for far less cost than buying new import hobby grade machines
 
If you have the where with all to assess and restore older industrial equipment you can get high quality machinery for far less cost than buying new import hobby grade machines
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That’s where doing a search on the net and really digging into it is helpful. Because knowing what to look for and what the machine’s weakness is helps to be able truly assess what your looking at.

Case in point is a Clausing 5914 locally that he wants $2500 for and casually says it has an oil leak, but in “excellent” shape. Turns out that can be a real pain as the leak is likely in the hydraulic speed control. Its dirty and messy and I would think hard to evaluate. But is supposedly a better machine than the Rockwell. But it has other weaknesses too. I get that there are things like gears, bearing and belts that are shelf parts but a majority of all machines are proprietary, that’s why there are different makers. And with the Rockwell it’s not disputed if you blow the backgears it’s best to part it out. A noob like me could get caught on some detail like that.

Speaking of Sheldon IIRC there was a 12x28 with steady, 3+4jw and I think a collet closer on factory bench under drive in dirty but promising condition for $800. Not knowing much about Sheldon I did some research and some soul searching and it was gone. 3mo later it’s back, stripped of its chucks,steady and collet closer and partially taken apart for $1800. Needless to say that was sad. I’m starting to see that more and more with hobby class machines here, like Atlas, Logan, South Bend. And these butchers trying to off the donors with none of the accessories and I’ve even seen one with no tailstock.
 
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