Lathe available in west Michigan

[DharmaBum]

Saw an ad in the local classifieds on Friday. Don't know this guy, work with him, etc, but thought I'd post this here in case anyone wants this thing! Talked to him on the phone and he sounded like a straight shooter. Lathe is a 1952 South Bend 10". He said it's in good qorking condition, but includes no tooling, and also is missing the lead and feed gearbox. He said you can do a lot without the lead and feed, but parts for South Bends are pretty common so you can probably find something to work. Said it weighs about 400-500 pounds. He's asking $350, said "I just want to get rid of it" when I asked him if he was pretty solid on the price, so I assume that means there's some latitude in bargaining. Don't know if this is a good deal or not, etc etc. It's in Zeeland, MI, which is right next to Holland on the west coast of the state. It's about 3 hours from Detroit, Chicago, northern Indiana. 4 hours or so from central Illinois.

The guy's website is www.towersunlimited.com, if you want to email him or get in touch with him. And, he doesn't know I'm posting this, I'm not getting a commission or anything, etc. Just thought I'd share the lead with folks I like!

 

[Anglepoise]

We have been discussing this actual lathe and seller over on bladeforums.com and the opinion seems that it will cost way to much to get in running order.

I suspect it has been a 'parts machine', used to keep a bunch of similar lathes in service.

 

[DharmaBum]

Forget it, just got an email from the seller and he sold it on Friday night, same day as it went in the paper! Hopefully didn't get anyone's hopes up. He said he's in the market for a bigger lathe right now, and has one with all the tooling and accessories, but didn't specify what model. He said he uses it all day everyday, but when he finds a replacement he'll be selling it, so I told him to drop me an email when he does so...

 

[ABTOMAT]

Unless you had a clapped-out parts donor this machine would be expensive to get going. The geartrain and leadscrew are probably some of hardest parts to find for it.

 

[DharmaBum]

The other lathe he has is an Enco model 110-2010 11"X 30" from 1982. he said that one is discountinued, but won't be selling it until he gets a replacement for it. Glad I passed on the South Bend!