Help With Sheldon 10" Lathe Value.

[38Bill]

So I found a 10" Sheldon std bed (26"c to c), dual tumbler QC, post '47 lathe that came out of a high school. Rear drive mounted on a heavy duty base with chip tray. Comes with a 6" 3 jaw, two 8" 4 jaw chucks, follow rest and some other parts. Its 3 phase and can not be run at this time but I played around with it and everything seems to turn just fine. Saddle seems to be tight with no back lash but the cross feed and compound probably need new threaded nuts. The ways look great. No rust but dirty and ugly. Do you think it would be a decent buy if I could get it for $700? In the upper midwest lathes tend to be harder to come by so they cost more. PS:Tha lathe looks better in the photo than in person.

 

[Silverbullet]

I think you will be happy with the lathe. I owned a Sheldon lathe many years ago and have been sorry I sold it so many times. They were very well made and usually heavier then the south bends of the same size. The price sounds pretty good with all the extras. If the chucks are decent they would be worth that alone. A vfd may work for your three phase , I'm not up on them but what I see they work well. Good luck with her treat her right and she will turn out parts for you for more years then you will. Nice to see them once in awhile , if I had the chance to buy my old one I would . Mine had a crank to make variable speeds, plus a low range for heavy cuts .

 

[hvontres]

For 700, I would not pass it up. The three phase can be taken care of with a VFD, which would also get you infinitly variable speed. And you can probably get $100-$200 back from the extra four jaw.

 

[mws]

I have a '60s vintage 11" Sheldon. I paid $1,000 with a similar tooling/chuck compliment. I am very happy with the machine. Even lacking a taper attachment and follow rest it hasn't left me wanting very often. I also just bought a very nice SB 9A (without a QC gearbox) for $500, needs to be cleaned up but little else. I'd say $700 for a smaller 10" Sheldon is a fair deal.
Also, had VFDs been as reasonable then as now I would have kept my 3 phase motor. My single phase motor cost as much as a 2hp VFD is today. The variable speed, braking and soft start, etc are REALLY nice features.

 

[Wobbles]

I agree, $700 is a steal !! And Sheldon is a great name.

► My step father was in charge of machinery in Atlanta Public Schools and a lot of my machinery came from there. What you have to carefully look for is broken and missing parts. Schools are generally so poor they don't sell equipment unless they can't easily get it running, or can't trust it to run a full year. Put a straight edge on the ways close to the chuck and make sure 10 million small school projects haven't taken their toll. You may luck out, the issue may be with the 3 phase motor controller. Installing a 1hp single phase motor can be as cheap as $150 for everything and simplifies the wiring significantly.

► Expect to purchase a new 3-jaw. Use what they give you to get started, but don't fool yourself.

► Don't forget to get as much tooling with the machine as possible. Tool holders, cutting bits, live centers, drill chucks for the tailstock, collet holders and draw bars, 4-jaw chuck, tool posts, center supports, collets, etc, etc. Anything you can beg or get them to throw in is important. Each one of those items is saving you ~$100 down the road.

Hope this helps.