Are Good Used Lathes Like Unicorns?

Something you may want to think about.
In my case, I saw an add on Craigslist for a Clausing lathe at a machinery dealer in Sacramento.
I went down to check it out. I didn't by it because it was worn out.
I did find several lathes that interested me.
I asked about one in particular, got the price and a little bit of the history. It is a Clausing Colchester 15X50, made in England around 1975.
I went home and thought about it. They also had 3 LeBlond lathes that came from the same community college.
I went back with some measuring/inspection equipment. I pulled off the head cover and went through my inspection process. We ran it, put it through the speeds, auto feeds etc.
I ended up buying the 15X50 and have been very happy with it. This was two years ago.
This same machinery dealer had hundreds of machine tools for wood and metal.
Just another option to consider.
 
I went through the same experience as others here when searching for a lathe. I knew I wanted a substantial lathe in the 13" - 15" range. I looked for almost two years to find something I wanted fairly close to home. It seemed that anything I was really interested in was for sale in Southern California. I finally decided I was going to have to travel to get what I wanted. I found three lathes for sale at the same time, all of which would have been satisfactory. I contacted all of the sellers to make arrangements to see the machines and made the trip (500 miles one way). I ended up purchasing a very nice Graziano SAG14 lathe for less than 1/3 the price of one of the new Asian machines. It was a lot of effort to get it, but I've never regretted buying it. Sometimes you just have to put in a little extra work to get what you want.
Ted
 
I casually looked for a lathe for a couple years. When I decided I was ready to buy the lathe I had been watching for a couple months was still for sale. I bought a 1953 American Pacemaker 14x30 with a Newall DRO. It has quite a bit of backlash in the cross slide and compound. The DRO and a dial indicator take care of that. The rest works really well. I'm happy with my purchase. It's a 5000 pound beast that will outlast me. I have been to a few dealers. They have always had nice lathes for sale for somewhat reasonable prices. If you are limiting your search to individuals, you may be missing out on what the dealers have. Also, watch the machinery auctions.
 
It took me a couple of years to find my Monarch 16x54 lathe. I was checking Craig's list and E-Bay pretty regularly. I woke up around noon that day (I was working nights) and fixed breakfast and played on the computer. I checked Craig's list and there it was. The unicorn. The ad had been up only a few hours. I called the seller (thank goodness the ad listed a phone number) and he said there were buyers coming from everywhere and first one he gets it. He wouldn't take a deposit to reserve. Map Quest said it was a 2 hour drive to the seller from my place. So now it is 1:30 and I have to be at work at 4. I called my supervisor and told him I was taking a couple of hours of vacation time at the front end of my shift. I jumped in my truck and stopped by the ATM on the way and grabbed 500 dollars (the most you can withdraw at one time). I got there first and it was still there. It was not hooked up to power so I couldn't run it. All I could do was the basic checks on it. Seller wanted full payment and wouldn't accept just a deposit. Never had to do that before buying other equipment, but his rules. I had to Paypal him the rest of the money. I took a chance on it and glad I did. I came back a couple of weeks later with a bigger truck and trailer and hauled it home. Moral of the story is be ready to jump in your vehicle and have cash ready when something pops up.
 
Old lathes in great condition are everywhere . Know what you're going after and hit the auctions . It helps if you have the cash in hand . Lathes and mills tend to find me rather me find them , guess I have a reputation as being able to move stuff quickly around the area . As Aukai knows , I'll most likely end up with some major equipment in the very near future . Not that I need it , but I can move it along quickly and get paid for my time .
 
My experience has been almost the opposite of most members posting. Keep in mind the availability and price of machines is a function of where you live and who you know. Here in the rust belt good machines are still widely available and at bargain basement prices compared to the south and west coast. Job shops and dedicated high production facilities are still prolific.

Back in the late 1980's and through the 90's were rough times for these businesses. The powers that be thought we were turning from a production economy to a service economy. As such many of the high schools and technical schools dropped their training programs. That resulted in a ton of middle to high end machinery coming on the market. For over 15 years the market was flooded and machines were selling for pennies on the dollar.

As time went on local shops were having an extremely hard time finding qualified employees to replace the retiring baby boomers. The light went on for many of the school districts and technical colleges. In most municipalities they started to partner and kids interested in the trade could take classes at the tech school. It freed up space and resources at the high schools and bolstered the enrollment at the tech schools.

Now we have a generation of CNC trained machinists heading to shops primarily equipped with manual machines. Again the light goes on for the job shops and production facilities. They start upgrading to more modern machines once again putting the now obsolete manual machines on the market. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of good quality mills and lathes on the market for affordable prices.

Having been in the business for over 35 years creates valuable contacts. In the last 5 years I've turned down at least as many machines as I currently have in the shop. I've passed on Tree, Bridge[port, Web, and Cincinnati brand mills, Clausing, South Bend, Leblonde, and Bardon's & Oliver lathes. I've also passed on other types of machines like surface grinders, bandsaws, shears, and tool grinders.

A friend that owns a small fabricating shop just picked up a nicely equipped 13" Clausing in excellent condition and a nicely equipped South Bend Heavy 10 for peanuts. I was surprised he bought them because he just let loose of a 16" Leblonde, a Tree 2URV, and a 13" Bardon's & Oliver turret lathe due to lack of space. His response was that he bought them rather than see the other shop scrap them out. Even if he never uses them I'm sure he'll find them a good home.
 
cathead said:
Looking at the new machines similar in size to what I have I see the new stuff is pretty light weight in comparison. My old
Monarch weighs at least 6000 pounds and a new lathe in 1640 category is about a third of that. I would gain the ability
to machine a more accurate cylindrical surface possibly and do metric threading but would lose rigidity for sure. Even a worn
machine can do good work if one knows it's limitations. The Monarch has served me well and has seen a lot of improvements
so it gets to sit where it is for years to come. If someone stole my Monarch(not likely) I would find another one to replace it. :grin:
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To be fair, the "premium" Taiwan 1640/1660's are over 3,000lbs but point taken on weight. The "old iron" is now a new Haas CNC with weight to match.
 
projectnut said:
Here in the rust belt good machines are still widely available and at bargain basement prices compared to the south and west coast. Job shops and dedicated high production facilities are still prolific.
Click to expand...
Now you're just messing with us "machinery desert" people.
 
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