To buy or not to buy (Atlas 101.28910)

I got really lucky (from a craigslist add someone posted here) and picked up my SouthBend 13" lathe for $1000. It is much nicer than my Atlas 12" lathe... but my Atlas doesn't have the quick change gear box... or any threading gears at all. It was a 7 hour round trip to pick up the SouthBend lathe and took me a while to figure out how to unload it... but it was definitely worth all the effort!

$2250 is too much in my opinion!

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My biggest disappointment in my Atlas 12" was not being able to single point thread on it. Adding a quick change gear box to my Atlas would cost almost what I paid for the SouthBend.
 
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to be honest that Atinon and mill are unlikely to still be for sale. Fingers crossed they are, but when you see stuff like that you need to jump on it and go buy it. Worry about the details later :) Even $2.5-3k for all that would be a good deal, especially if there is tooling thrown in. If you do get the chance to see it, take a couple of pocket fulls of bills.
 
Mike, how do you like that Southbend? I've seen a couple come up for sale, there is a decent one for sale that is about the same kind of trip for me, 8hrs or so. People seem quite proud of those as well.

Matt, I emailed that guy about the Atinon yesterday within a couple of hours of that listing being posted. He responded last night with a phone number, I've texted him but no response. He's only available during the week, I'll have to figure out a way to get free and down there. Hopefully someone else hasn't pounced on it yet.
 
I got my wishing hat on for you :)

Had a similar situation with my mill - saw it on CL, emailed the guy and heard nothing back. I thought it had gone, so moped around for a bit, then get a text from him asking when I want to come get it. He held it for me until the weekend when I hired a drop deck trailer from Sunbelt and picked it up. He'd just bought a Tormach and needed the space in his garage. Usually if you come across as genuine and don't appear to be a flake (and if the seller doesn't appear to be either), people will usually be pretty accomodating if it means they make the sale.
 
I appreciate it! I try to be as genuine as I can when replying to ads. Just about everyone I've spoken with so far has seemed put off or bothered by me trying to buy their machine. I've done a lot of deals and sold a fair a mount on Craigslist and Ebay. I try to treat those buyers as I would for any other client I cater to in my professional life. Oh well, hopefully this guy gets back to me this morning.

There is one heck of a deal on a machine up in the northeast. There is more tooling included in the deal than I have space for! I've asked if he'd be interested in shipping it. Fingers crossed
 
that's pretty much all we can do, right? If the Austin one falls through, mmcmdl's lathe (that the one you're referring to?) would be worth pursuing. Check out the Fastenal ship to store service - I sent a small Atlas 618 crated up from WA to MD for $200, so a large Atlas may be $500 or so.
 
TexasPyro said:
Mike, how do you like that Southbend? I've seen a couple come up for sale, there is a decent one for sale that is about the same kind of trip for me, 8hrs or so. People seem quite proud of those as well.
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TP, I love my SouthBend! Everything is bulkier and tighter on the SouthBend than the Atlas even though the Atlas has almost no time at all on it and the SouthBend spent a good amount of it's life in a High School shop. It is easier to make accurate small parts on the SouthBend than it is to make them on the Atlas. The extra bulk and rigidity of the SB makes me feel like I am fighting the lathe less. My SB 13 has a powered lead screw which my Atlas does not. My SB also has power cross feed which is not an option on an Atlas... I love having power cross feed, it make a much more consistent finish than moving the cross slide manually. I would definitely recommend a SouthBend 13 (In good condition) over an Atlas 12. When I was new that (In good Condition) was the difficult part for me to figure out.

The SB is triple or more the weight of the Atlas which made it a lot more difficult to move. That extra weight and mass is what makes it a much nicer lathe though. I can brute force move the Atlas without a ton of difficulty... there is no brute force moving the SouthBend.
 
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Mike,

All Atlas lathes made since 1932 except for a few 9" and 10" and Craftsman 12" sold stripped down without threading capabilities in the mid and late 1930's have power on the lead screw. Most sold since 1938 and all sold since 1946 have power cross feed. Most sold since 1950 have QCGB's. The SB 13 is a different class machine than the late Atlas 12, and new probably sold for 5x to 10X or more than what the Atlas did. What model number is your Atlas 12?

Apparently your 101.07403 (which is technically a Craftsman 12", not an Atlas) has no gears installed to run the lead screw. Which explains why it has no powered longitudinal nor cross feed. The complete lathe came with both functions working.
 
The 3996 is currently ( no pun intended ) 440 3 phase . I have to re-wire it down to 220 and hook up the VFD to it in April and get her under power . I'm not in any hurry so it's not going anywhere soon , and it's too darn cold out in the garage .
 
mattthemuppet2 said:
to be honest that Atinon and mill are unlikely to still be for sale. Fingers crossed they are, but when you see stuff like that you need to jump on it and go buy it. Worry about the details later :) Even $2.5-3k for all that would be a good deal, especially if there is tooling thrown in. If you do get the chance to see it, take a couple of pocket fulls of bills.
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Seller emailed me back yesterday afternoon. We agreed on $2k for the lathe and the mill provided they're in working order upon inspection. He doesnt know anything about them, sounds like he is selling for a widow. I sent him $100 to consider them sold, he's only available during the week and only until 2pm, its going to be next week before I can get down there. I figure if I get down there and the stuff is garbage, I'm only out $100 and some time. I'm not sure I'll take the mill, I've got to figure out where I can put it. Good problem to have I suppose.

I really appreciate everyone's feedback, being the new guy asking a lot of what I can imagine to be extremely repetitive questions can get old. Lots of other forums I'm a part of aren't so friendly, for that I thank yall.
 
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