Since joining and diligently searching used lathes it seems about 3/4 do not have a complement of ?basic? tooling. Where did that tooling go? Worn out? Transferred to other equipment? On Craigslist and ebay many lathes will have one chuck, no tailstock chuck, drawers of rusty bits, incomplete cross slide etc. Is the tooling somewhat interchangable accross US and accross asian machines? Does a seller sell a stripper so price can be low?? Many warnings in the forum that tooling can cost as much as the basic lathe. So should a person figure a stripped US lathe needs that much value again for tooling, if it is even available? Thanks.
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Why are many used lathes without tooling?
- Thread starter visenfile
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- Mar 20, 2014
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- 106
Tooling is so expensive and gets such a low resale used usually the machine is replaced and the tooling stays. I have one machine that the tooling has already cost me double the machine's cost and it still drinks tooling money every month.
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Andre
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Tooling is worth boatloads, and when they come with a lathe it makes the lathe look overpriced when it is not.
My new South Bend 13" lathe came with:
Collet setup (draw tube, collet nose and nose puller/thread protector) $100
Set of 2A collets from 1/8" to 11/16" by 1/16ths $100
Cushman 3 jaw chuck $200
Aloris AXA toolpost with a set of 5 holders $650
Lantern TP W/holders (original) $50
Faceplate $50
South Bend (skinner) 4 jaw $250
Steady rest $100
Jacobs drill chuck and 3 dead centers $200
PB jar full of brazed carbide tooling $200
Full change gear set (has QCGB, no idea why they are there unless it was converted later) ($400 if pieced out on ebay)
Assorted misc. tooling $50
So that easily makes up the $850 that the lathe sold for, not including the lathe itself!
If the lathe was pieced out he could've gotten probably 3-4 grand from it all.
My new South Bend 13" lathe came with:
Collet setup (draw tube, collet nose and nose puller/thread protector) $100
Set of 2A collets from 1/8" to 11/16" by 1/16ths $100
Cushman 3 jaw chuck $200
Aloris AXA toolpost with a set of 5 holders $650
Lantern TP W/holders (original) $50
Faceplate $50
South Bend (skinner) 4 jaw $250
Steady rest $100
Jacobs drill chuck and 3 dead centers $200
PB jar full of brazed carbide tooling $200
Full change gear set (has QCGB, no idea why they are there unless it was converted later) ($400 if pieced out on ebay)
Assorted misc. tooling $50
So that easily makes up the $850 that the lathe sold for, not including the lathe itself!
If the lathe was pieced out he could've gotten probably 3-4 grand from it all.
And something to consider:
There are folks that go around to estate sales and auctions... and buy packages...
Then part them out and sell them online...
They make a tidy living doing this.
If it were me... I would only buy a machine from the guy (gal?) that actually used it in the shop, or the estate of the same person.
There are folks that go around to estate sales and auctions... and buy packages...
Then part them out and sell them online...
They make a tidy living doing this.
If it were me... I would only buy a machine from the guy (gal?) that actually used it in the shop, or the estate of the same person.
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- Nov 27, 2012
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- 7,912
Depends on the type of seller. Those who don't know much about machining or just want something to be gone will include everything (tooling). Those who are more knowledgeable know that tooling is worth value & will sell it separately.
Then there are those who are upgrading will tend to keep whatever tooling they can. Like me, when the time comes to upgrade, none of my tooling will go with the lathe or mill unless I can't use them. Even the QCTP, chucks, etc, I'll buy replacements for the sale if I have to.
Then there are those who are upgrading will tend to keep whatever tooling they can. Like me, when the time comes to upgrade, none of my tooling will go with the lathe or mill unless I can't use them. Even the QCTP, chucks, etc, I'll buy replacements for the sale if I have to.
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2014
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- 39
Dark...that's too funny, I've done the same thing. My first mill was a VM-1 and was a Morse Taper 1. (yep, not a typo).
For some reason, greed I suppose, I still have the boring bar head. Takes minimum of two adapters to use it on just about anything, don't use it anymore, but I still got it!!
ondering:
Scotty
For some reason, greed I suppose, I still have the boring bar head. Takes minimum of two adapters to use it on just about anything, don't use it anymore, but I still got it!!
ondering:Scotty
Like most have noted sellers can get more money for tooling.
Most of the lathes I have used must have been bought at auction(s). Some have several chucks and other tooling that fit that one lathe.
Most new machines can be ordered to the buyer's specifications. Specially if the buyer has a dedicated purpose for the lathe including tooling for production.
I agree, the lack of tooling will fall into 2-groups. The person who is upgrading his machine and has use of the old tooling and the reseller who is trying to make the most profit he can.
When I bought my mill, I saw it on a craigs list ad with a asking price in the mid $4,000. It wasn't in my budget so I didn't even call the "surplus machine dealer". About a year later it pops back on at $2,700. I go and look at the machine, it is a VanNorman 22l stuffed in the middle of all kinds of machines; no tooling. I gave the guy my card and told him to call me when he is serious about selling.
In the mean time I drive by the place every couple of months just to see what else they have. When looking around I found a tool cabinet with all of the Van Norman tooling, A and B arbor support, (when these go on ebay they sell for $400+) 4-(horizontal) arbors, a bunch of NMTB 50 end mill holders, 3 (empty) shell mill holders and 1-8", 1-3" and 1-2-1/2" mounted face mills. Plus a bunch of miscellaneous stuff. I offered $800 for the mill, cabinet and all tooling. It was countered at $2,300 and I left. Over the next many months I'd stop in to look around and pull out my $800 for the mill and tooling. He finally said he would do $1,800 so I asked to see it running. The mill was pulled out of the middle of a mess of equipment and a fellow wired it up (3-phase). He started it, spindle went OK (better than expected ) but the feeds wouldn't work, they had a loud clacking noise. He goes to talk to the boss, I go and talk to the boss, we settle on $900 and $100 delivery. Wired it up to my RPC and the feeds work fine, looked in the manuals (yes, all manuals were in the cabinet) and it describes the feed noise, and states that the feed motor is running backwards and to recheck the connections.
When buying used machines, you have to buy when the deal comes along but that doesn't mean to accept the sellers offering. If it is a home shop person look around for suitable tooling and be firm but not unreasonable. If it's a reseller like in my case, the seller didn't have a clue that he bought the cabinet full of tooling that went with the mill, it was just part of a large lot that he got at an auction. Look around, you never know what you will find.
Sometimes to get the deal, you can't be in a hurry and be willing to loose the purchase, to someone else who values the equipment more than you do.
Mike
When I bought my mill, I saw it on a craigs list ad with a asking price in the mid $4,000. It wasn't in my budget so I didn't even call the "surplus machine dealer". About a year later it pops back on at $2,700. I go and look at the machine, it is a VanNorman 22l stuffed in the middle of all kinds of machines; no tooling. I gave the guy my card and told him to call me when he is serious about selling.
In the mean time I drive by the place every couple of months just to see what else they have. When looking around I found a tool cabinet with all of the Van Norman tooling, A and B arbor support, (when these go on ebay they sell for $400+) 4-(horizontal) arbors, a bunch of NMTB 50 end mill holders, 3 (empty) shell mill holders and 1-8", 1-3" and 1-2-1/2" mounted face mills. Plus a bunch of miscellaneous stuff. I offered $800 for the mill, cabinet and all tooling. It was countered at $2,300 and I left. Over the next many months I'd stop in to look around and pull out my $800 for the mill and tooling. He finally said he would do $1,800 so I asked to see it running. The mill was pulled out of the middle of a mess of equipment and a fellow wired it up (3-phase). He started it, spindle went OK (better than expected ) but the feeds wouldn't work, they had a loud clacking noise. He goes to talk to the boss, I go and talk to the boss, we settle on $900 and $100 delivery. Wired it up to my RPC and the feeds work fine, looked in the manuals (yes, all manuals were in the cabinet) and it describes the feed noise, and states that the feed motor is running backwards and to recheck the connections.
When buying used machines, you have to buy when the deal comes along but that doesn't mean to accept the sellers offering. If it is a home shop person look around for suitable tooling and be firm but not unreasonable. If it's a reseller like in my case, the seller didn't have a clue that he bought the cabinet full of tooling that went with the mill, it was just part of a large lot that he got at an auction. Look around, you never know what you will find.
Sometimes to get the deal, you can't be in a hurry and be willing to loose the purchase, to someone else who values the equipment more than you do.
Mike