Machining Tools

[JeepDVLZ45]

We have a friend of the family who went into the nursing home a few years backZ. He has a some machining equipment. Ed’s wife has been slowly cleaning the house for the past 2 or 3 years now (Ed was a bit of a hoarder) with the help of my in-laws.

There is a lathe and drillpress in the basement that is next on the chopping block.

Looking to see what they are worth. There are boxes upon boxes on tools/accessories for both of these (literally almost 60 pics worth of boxes, a lot of which is brand new stuff still in the oil soaked cloth and with the wax? on the ends for protection.

Everything is in perfect working order. Ed was a bit of a collector, but was meticulous about his equipment (just unorganized).

Don’t know if these should go for $200 or $10,000

after some google searches, it looks like the Lathe is $2200-$4000 and the press is ~ $250?

[markdem]

Im no expert, but i have a similar model lathe (9C] so ill tell you what i paid for mine: $1000. Plus $1000 worth of tooling. Plus having to make a table/stand

However, what you have there is the 9A which is the deluxe version with the quick change gearbox and i think it also has a clutch. I would value this around $1500 to $2000.

like i said, i spent an extra $1000 on tooling. Post up a picture of the accessories. You could double the value of the lathe.

i love my south bend 9a. South bend is no longer in business, but their machines were so popular that you can still buy new replacement parts from ebay. If you can fit it in your house, you might consider taking it home with you

I dont know anything about the drill press but it has a nice cross-slide on it which is probably worth a couple hundred

[JeepDVLZ45]

Thanks Mark. The thought has crossed my mind a few times. They’ll both fit in my house, I’d just have to get them in when my wife wasn’t home

I have no idea what I’d do with a lathe…may just rescue it until I know someone who wants it.

I really want the press an slide though…I KNOW I’d use it

[Shaftski]

that cross slide probably worth 300 or so at least. that thing is beefy.

south bend pricing can be all over the place, condition is key. if the gears and bed are in great shape you easily have 1500 there.

tooling ...condition and wear will dictate price.

[DocsMachine]

Markdem has a pretty fair estimate, I'd say. Part of it is the location- if that same setup where on the west coast, it'd be worth 20-25% more, and up here in Alaska, more like 50% more.

(That's not a proper "clutch", by the way, it's a belt-tension lever.)

If you want a small home-shop lathe, you might have trouble finding a better example. BUT... if you do, try and find all the major tooling for it. Chucks, chuck keys, toolposts, cutters, wrenches, etc. I can see a rack of tailstock centers and chucks on the rack on the wall, there's toolpost wrenches on the table under the carriage, I'd wager that red chest of drawers and the wooden machinists' chest, have more tooling (micrometers and the like) and if the lady is amenable, see if you can get some of the loose bar stock and raw materials.

Ditto the drill press. If there's a supply of drill bits, see if you can get those, make sure you get the chuck key, there's two other drill press vises hanging on the wall behind it, etc.

Doc.

[JeepDVLZ45]

Thanks everyone. I have a pretty good idea what we can sell it for (or what so can offer for it)

If I can believe my father-in-law, the equipment is in pretty good shape…and as far as the tools/accessories,…there is a metric **** ton of it. A lot of it is brand new in packaging.

It would all be included, the woman is in her mid- 80s and doesn’t go into the basement anymore. My in-laws have been helping her clean the house out for the past 2 years ( all day, 2 weekends a month)

They sell what they can and give away or throw out the rest. She would be 100% amenable to me taking the raw materials as well.

I’m very tempted to grab it all, get it home and then have someone who knows what they’re doing help me go through it. Just gotta convince my wife that it’s a good idea 😂

[AnarchicArctic]

That’s a great idea

[DocsMachine]

Just keep in mind that you can never have too many machine tools.

(Eight lathes, four mills, and counting... )

Doc.

[markdem]

#28: clutch

[DocsMachine]

Oh that clutch. Sorry, the phrasing threw me- "even has a clutch", on a lathe with power feed, is like saying your car "even has a steering wheel".

Basically every lathe with a power traverse- and almost everything has it these days- has a clutch mechanism to engage the feed. When you phrased it as "even has a..." as if it were somewhat rare, made me think you meant a headstock or spindle clutch. The kind of thing you'd see on larger industrial lathes.

Doc.