What is a collector and why are they despised by many???

Billy,
put me on the watchmaker's lathe hunt list too. I really don't want to have to build one, but I have started the plans for one.
 
42 said:
Billy,
put me on the watchmaker's lathe hunt list too. I really don't want to have to build one, but I have started the plans for one.
Click to expand...

Go to the NAWCC marts, (www.nawcc.org) and you can pick one up cheaper. Online, they go for silly prices.
I can let you know the locations in your area if you want.

I have been working on one when working with my clock repair mentor. Last Saturday, I used his to polish pivots on a clock we are working on. It really is a very simple contraption. We use collets to hold the arbors, and a pivot file to polish and burnish the pivots.

Personally, I have a small Sherline to do that at home, but I am being mentored by an experienced clock repairman.
Also, I will give you guys a heads up- the NAWCC School of Horology is closing. They may put their lathes up for auction.
Check the site.

:tiphat:Nelson
 
If you look, and I mean look really hard there are deals out there. My daughter buys hobby lathes and parts them out on Ebay. She has a three year old daughter and has managed to be a single stay at home mom for the last year and a half doing this. We check all of the government auction sites, Craigs List and the local classified daily for lathes. She also has an ad in Craigs list to buy lathes and lathe parts, which has netted three or four mini lathes a Rockwell 10" and an Atlas 10". She can buy a Atlas 6" lathe for $150.00 and part it out for over a thousand bucks. She now has an Ebay store and sells all kinds of items. She is also helping a gentlemen liquidate a prototype machine shop. This opportunity came from the Craigs List ad. I guess my point is, there are deals out there but you must be looking and ready to move when they present themselves. Also it is not just collectors, there are people making work where there was none. I wish one of the "collectors" had been around when my Levin watchmakers lathe only went for $200.00. Good Luck
 
I think collectors are great
without them everything would just be gone as scrap
I look at old steam ship engines they are huge and what i'd like to see is the tools that built them they are all gone probably shot at each other in world wars
i have a sears 109 lathe long bed on of the few long beds
this thing is useless as a metal lathe but i keep it hoping to find someone who wants it for the fact it old and was for hobby use i found all the change gears on ebay and spent hundreds on it but I would give it away to a collector If I was assured it would not be parted out on ebay or scrapped or even worse yet broken by giving it to a kid to play with
we need collectors to see history
steve
 
Not that many machinery collectors unless they are secret collectors and who ever heard of that. Go searching around the internet ie Google "metal lathe collection" and the only one I found that was a collection was a museum www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/oldmachines.htm after page one it just gets far fetched. metal working machinery collection" not much either.

Now try "auto collection" or "autograph collection" you can easily see how collectors drive those prices up. even fishing rod collections brings you to see some collections. license plate collection" what a bunch. Yet every machinery collector stays in the closet and don't want anyone to know his dirty little secret? Heck there are more "ear wax collection" than machinery collections!

So my unempirical research leads me to prognosticate that the cost of earwax will rise and machinery prices plummet! due to collector pressure.

Steve
 
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Many years ago when I first started making my way in the world, I became a "collector" of vintage machinery for the simple reason that I could not afford new machines. Comparing the price of my used South Bend 10K lathe to the newest South Bend 10K, that is probably still a true statement.
 
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