More lathes

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:34 am

Just cruising ebay. Here's a nice lathe:

http://cgi.ebay.com/SHELDON-METAL-LATHE ... dZViewItem

I doubt it will get any bids at $1000 -- there's not much info, no tooling, and looks fairly used. A guy who lived near enough to have a look and see how worn it is and make a reasonable offer might get lucky. It's not a brand you'd want to try and find parts for, which also should figure into the price. If I needed a lathe and everything worked on this one, I'd pay $500 for it, max. If I had $1000 and wanted to make pipes and not goof around with old lathes I'd buy a Jet 920. But if I didn't have $1000 . . . let's keep looking.

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:47 am

Here's another Sheldon in TN, another delusional seller, but you never know:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sheldon-Metal-Worki ... dZViewItem

What I'm looking for for you guys is a nice Hardinge 2nd Op lathe, or a 12 inch Craftsman/Atlas, or a SB 9C, or a Rivett 2nd Op -- lathes that will be less expensive because they don't have all the bells and whistles that a machinist needs or a hobbyist thinks he needs, but that will make pipes for years, or decades.

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:53 am

SB Workshop model, older, but would be usable. $200 already, would be a good buy at $250, seller's feedback is a little shaky though:

http://cgi.ebay.com/SOUTHBEND-9-METAL-L ... dZViewItem

Here's a more usable Craftsman:

http://cgi.ebay.com/METAL-LATHE-10-INCH ... dZViewItem

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:46 am

JHowell wrote:SB Workshop model, older, but would be usable. $200 already, would be a good buy at $250, seller's feedback is a little shaky though:

http://cgi.ebay.com/SOUTHBEND-9-METAL-L ... dZViewItem

Holy cow! If that is indeed in Wrentham, that's just down the street from my parents' house. Only about half an hour from my place. It's the first real candidate for me that I've seen in the local area here for a good long time.

Considering I'm probably going to want to add some tooling and an upgrade or two, what do you think, Jack? You mentioned $250, but it looks like one of the bidders is fairly tenacious.

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:24 pm

Hi, Kurt, I'll look closer . . .

General overall look of the machine is very good, looks like only appropriate patina, no rust. If one owner claim is true, that's excellent. Comes with a 4-jaw, that's useful. Also a steady rest, which will increase the price, as they can sell for more than $100 on their own. But then, if you don't need it, you could plan on recovering a bit of the purchase price by selling it.

It's a change gear lathe, but I see no change gears. They ought to be around somewhere, but I think I have an extra set if the seller lost them. That's only for cutting threads or for power feed, you could go a long time and not need those. It's a short bed -- those are cute, and probably more desirable as they're a little rare, and save space. The most desirable accessory would be a set of collets and a drawbar. Especially drilling, it's nice to have your hands near a small smooth spinning thing rather than a big whacky spinning thing.

For what it is, I think it's a good example based on what I can see. It's possible that the one owner ran it out of oil and scored the bearings, or dropped the back gear in while the lathe was moving and took out half the teeth, or ran the carriage to the end under power feed and bent the lead screw. Lots of things you can't tell without looking at it, but I could see how it might attract a tenacious SB collector.

I haven't run the serial number, but my guess would be 1938. Looks to me like a 9 inch Workshop 415-Y, before they went to the A/B/C models. It's a top oiler, which is fine so long as you don't mind the occasional spot of oil on your shirt. Later SBs had an enclosed, recirculating oil system with reservoirs and wicks. The top oilers are total loss, and the oil has to go somewhere.

It would be tough to put a closer estimate on its value. It would be a good deal at $250, but there really aren't any factors other than the crappy pictures and laconic description that would make it go for less than it's worth. .025" backlash, if true, is very little and indicates mere hobby use. Who knows? The tenacious bidder could just be a counterpuncher who will only go so high, or there could be a couple of big fish lurking with their sniping programs set to deliver $500 bids at the last second. You might look at completed auctions, I would expect this one to go in the $300-500 range. The bid really depends on the bidder. Me, I need another change gear 9" SB like a hole in the head, so if it were close enough to me to pick up I'd probably put a snipe in at $251 and, if I won, tell my wife, "what could I do? The late practically threw itself at me."

If I didn't have a metal lathe and this were the first thing I'd seen close enough to pick up, and if I didn't mind having a lathe slightly on the small side (3/4" through the spindle), I might be glad to have found something in working order and bid considerably higher, and plan on selling the stuff I didn't need.

I'll email a buddy of mine who knows prices and see what he says. Everybody, I think Kurt might be calling dibs on this one.

Here's a catalog that I think shows the lathe:

http://www.wswells.com/data/catalog/193 ... in_40F.pdf

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Frank · Post by **Frank** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 2:59 pm

JHowell wrote:SB Workshop model, older, but would be usable. $200 already, would be a good buy at $250, seller's feedback is a little shaky though:

http://cgi.ebay.com/SOUTHBEND-9-METAL-L ... dZViewItem

Just thought I'd mention, the guy has a reserve price on this item, not met yet.

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:01 pm

JHowell wrote:Hi, Kurt, I'll look closer . . .

Thank you, Jack. It looked mostly complete to me, and in good condition, but it's good to hear a second opinion.

I'll email a buddy of mine who knows prices and see what he says. Everybody, I think Kurt might be calling dibs on this one.

Yep. I call dibs, assuming it doesn't completely blow my budget.

The thing about this one is that it's small enough to fit my work area, and looks complete including drive, I should be able to just grab the whole thing, stick it in my pickup, and slide it right into the basement workshop. If I need to, I can bolt it to a workbench I have down there sitting empty.

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 1:38 am

Sold for $650, not to Kurt. My friend Denny guessed between $500 and $800, I'd say you don't get a better guess than that. He said it would go for more than it's worth, and I suppose I'm on the fence about that. The benchmark Asian hobby lathe is the Jet 920, which is around $1200, cheapest street price. Maybe a grand if you catch a sale, but prices have gone up in the last year. The question is not whether a new Jet is a more capable tool than the old SB, because in many respects it is, but what a guy is to do if he doesn't have $1200. It doesn't cost any more to tool an old SB for pipemaking than does a Jet, and the SB will depreciate less. Sorry you didn't get it Kurt, I think you and she would have gotten along.

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 10:51 am

Well, it went for about twice what I could afford. I really wanted that lathe, but when come up against the hard wall of finances, there's not much you can do. I might have stretched to $450 and eaten ramen noodles for a couple weeks, but when it went even beyond that, I knew it was a no-go.

I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place in that respect. I want a metal lathe for stem work and light metal machining, but I refuse to spend my budget on a cheap mini lathe like they sell at Harbor Freight. I just won't do it. And I can't afford a Jet BD920 either - if I could, I suppose I'd already have one.

One day. Maybe I'll get lucky soon.

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:59 pm

I don't know if it's helpful or not for me to post all these auctions, but I'll keep it to this thread when I see lathes that might go in the sub-$500 range:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Jet-920N-Belt-drive ... dZViewItem

It might be worth watching just to see what it goes for.

And this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lathe-Metal_W0QQite ... dZViewItem

Beats me what it is, but it's got to be 100 years old. Maybe an old Boxford or Myford, traverse handle is on the right which is usually British. Who knows, could be a museum piece or might go for a song.

JBW · Post by **JBW** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 12:16 am

JHowell wrote:And this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lathe-Metal_W0QQite ... dZViewItem

Beats me what it is, but it's got to be 100 years old. Maybe an old Boxford or Myford, traverse handle is on the right which is usually British. Who knows, could be a museum piece or might go for a song.

It looks a lot like a lathe I ran in the first shop I worked in. We used it to bore props for fishing trawlers. The latest patent date was around 1880 if I remember correctly. All the bolts were 1/2 - 12 thread. The standard 1/2 - 13 thread came in about 1900 or so from what I've been told. If it is in good condition, it would make someone a good working antique.

PS. If it is as old as "we" think, it will more than likely NOT have a hole through the spindle.

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 2:13 am

Yeah, the pictures are pretty bad, but in one of them I think I can make out a hole in the spindle nose. Might not go all the way through, I guess. Brass apron, that's a pretty antique feature, and what the spindle thread is is anyone's guess.

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 12:38 am

http://cgi.ebay.com/LOGAN-LATHE-MODEL-1 ... dZViewItem

I'd considered buying this one myself if it could be gotten for under $500. It's the same as my 922 only looks a little less worn out, has more goodies like a lever collet closer and a turret. But it's 8 hours away, I've got a horrid cold and it's *&^()* winter. If you think moving a 700# lathe is a job, try moving it in 10 degree weather.

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:17 am

Jack.. do you ever run across any of these in Pennsylvania??

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:59 am

Oh, crap, that's over near North Haven. God, I hate that area of CT.

I might as well call dibs, though. If it goes low enough, I'll suck it up and drive the pickup over there. But I'll likely lose out again to some collector or another....

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 5:06 pm

Matt -- yes, usually clear on the other side of the state. My garage and shop bear witness to the readily availability of cheap lathes in Pennsylvania. Kurt, that Logan already over $500. I saw one in CA go with no bids at $500, so I had hopes. These particular lathes seem like they go one way or the other, either they get no bids or they crack $1000. It's on the big side, anyway, doesn't sound like a good candidate for your shop.

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:06 am

http://cgi.ebay.com/Atlas-10-Lathe-with ... dZViewItem

Looks barely used. Not a heavy duty lathe and it seems like these things usually fetch more than I'd pay, but if it looks like going cheap . . .

souljer · Post by **souljer** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:14 pm

Well it looks like I'm in the market for a nice lathe and I suppose a metal lathe is the best way to go.

So if anyone knows of something local to Los Angeles I'd appreciate the help.

I sent you a PM Jack regarding a Jet wood lathe but then I found a Grizzly metal lathe farther away. I am waiting on a reply email to see if it's still available.

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:13 pm

Ah, LA, I see quite a few in California. Depends on your price range and if you can travel. It's a lot harder to find a nice metal lathe for $300 than it is for $1000, or $1500.

For instance,

http://cgi.ebay.com/LOGAN-Model-1957-La ... dZViewItem

I post lots of Logans because I'm familiar with them and watch for them. I'd guess this one will go a bit over $1K, though it would be best to look at it and see what is meant by "runs but needs work." The reserve is $1000, and there's always the chance that it doesn't make the reserve and you could make a deal. For $500 it would be worth the work to change it to single phase and do whatever it needs (probably belts, a PITA), but for $1K you might be better off with Jet 9 inch. There was one 11 inch Logan that ended with no bids at $500, but a deal I made for it when it was relisted fell through so it might not have actually existed. LA seems to be a pretty good area for machines, watch Craigslist, too.

Good luck! Be patient, keep saving, sooner or later opportunity will coincide with how much money you have.

JHowell · Post by **JHowell** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:20 pm

Not sure where Irwindale is to you, but keep an eye on these guys:

http://members.ebay.com/ws2/eBayISAPI.d ... iabletools

They have a slightly mixed reputation in the manufacturing community, but their stuff often goes cheaply.