What you can buy for $1400 - Tool Gloat: Mills and Drills!

[Fasttrack]

Well I made a big purchase today. I checked scrap prices and, after putting the machines on a scale, I reckon I got $1750 in scrap iron for $1400, at the very worst. At the very best, my brother-in-law and I are the new owners of some nice equipment.

I bought the following two pieces:

A Kearney Trecker 2D rotary head mill in excellent condition. Mr. Oder on the PM has informed me that it was one of 15 finished in Feb. of 1957. It has been, I believe, professionally rebuilt not too long ago as there is still frosting on the longitudinal ways and the knee-to-column ways. This is very precise, regular frosting that is very shallow and you can see scrape marks on the knee-to-column ways. I suppose, based on the pattern, that this would be produced by something akin to a Biax power scraper. All the features work beautifully, from the built in air compressor (the taller motor featured in the third photo) and coolant pump (the shorter) to the rotary head feature. It has rapid traverse for the knee and power on all axis. It came with a working DRO and the power bracket to drive a rotary table or dividing head. Note in the fourth picture the built in step in order to change the CVT. There is also a hand-hold cast into the top. The spindle speeds are "infinitely" variable from 250 to 4000 rpm. All of this for only $500! Very many thanks to Mr. Hunt from the PM forum who passed along this deal.





Not that this is neccessary with a DRO - but how cool is this? They've got pockets for DIs and a track for gauge blocks!




You know it's a man's mill when you need a step up to get to the belts :-D

[Fasttrack]

Next up in my lineup - An Avey drill press. I don't know anything about it and if anyone can tell me about Avey, I would be delighted. I expect it is a UK brand since the motor is 50 hertz (2 hp). Anyhow, it was $300 and I'm not even sure if it is in good working order or not. The table feels sloppy on the ways. The gib may just need to be snugged up or it could be more serious, but drill presses are fairly simple and I figured I could get it working. The gearing seemed ok when spun by hand (not much of a test, I know). This came from a good family friend and he said it was working when taken out of service, so we'll see! Ugly color though ...






The table is in remarkably good condition - no holes/dings etc...

[Fasttrack]

Then my brother-in-law's machines...

We picked up this Milwaukee 2H for a wopping $100. I think it is useable, especially for the rough sort of work he wants to do with it. It made me sad to see it, however. It is clearly beyond my skill to rebuild "properly" as someone appears to have taken a grinder to the ways. Overall, it is in rough shape but 100 bucks is less than scrap value so if it doesn't work out it may be parted out and then sold to the junk man.




It's also missing some handwheels...




Here's a novel shot - taken from atop the drill press table. Not too often you get to look down on these machines ...

[Fasttrack]

Last one - The beast!

This machine scared the snot out of me trying to get it loaded. Talk about top heavy ...

It is a Footburt Hammond knuckle drill built in 1938. It is listed as a "sensitive" drilling machine and was used extensively for tapping. It has motor-reverse trip dogs and came with a quick change chuck and tap head. Pretty slick set up. Needs some cleaning and a good, thorough inspection. Cost: 500

This thing is HUGE! The base is 4' by 6' and stands 7' tall.






(That boot measures 14" long)


Hopefully these images give you an idea how the knuckle works ...

(Ok - I'm done. I can't help posting excessive numbers of machine tool pictures - I appologize for those of you on dial-up connections)

[lakeside53]

let me be the first to say it.

YOU SUCK!


Envy is such as terrible emotion...

[hardtail]

Well bought a fridge today for $1350 after I got back from holidays and threw 200 lbs of stinkin rottin food in the garbage........BUT how can that really compare to K&T's.......LOL

I have had my sincere and apprehensive appreciation both for PM at times but I'll be the first one to say John Oder is one of the finest individuals that constantly gives back to the trade.........the man is an icon in my books.........great score FT.......smile.......oh and U SUCK........LOL

[BadDog]

You should come to an auction around here. A petty decent 1.5hp 2J went for $1000, a VERY nice W&S #3 with lots of tooling for $100 (and a table loaded with several hundred pounds more tooling for another $50). And the part that sickens my heart, a nice Van Norman for $400, and me with a vastly blown shop budget plus no place to put it! <sniff> And 2 very nice and very well tooled screw machines for $900 each (several clapped out but still very functional versions versions went for between $50 and $100 or so). Or a tooled up (17"?) Leblond dual drive for (I think?) $1500 or so. Times they be bad...

But I did snag a 9" Optical Comparator for $5, and a decent set of 0.500 to 0.750 pins for $25.

[DR]

Fasttrack,

You need to get out a bit more.....

While what you bought appears to very nice machinery, this type stuff goes unsold at auctions all the time because nobody wants to meet the $25 minimum bid openings.

In other words, it has very little demand in the world of manufacturing where CNC machines are the standard of comparison.

But, after it's all said and done, you're the final judge on the machine's usefulness. If you have a need that's all that matters.

[JCHannum]

That looks like a good day's work to me. All look like good, serviceable machines.

Worth, value and usefulness are all very different, and will depend on the individual buyer's needs. I go to many industrial auctions and see both ends of the spectrum with these older machines. They usually do go for low prices, and end up being junked as the market is limited. However, occasionally, a couple of bidders will have a need for one and then the price can go surprisingly high particularly for a machine as nice as the K&T appears to be.

Many industrial auctions will not permit the buyer to remove large machines unless he is suitably bonded and insured. This means a machinery mover must be hired to remove the machine and either haul it, or just set it on his truck or trailer. It can cost several hundred dollars at a minimum just to move a small lathe or B'port sized milling machine.

Auction machines are a pig in a poke, they might need repairs or be missing an unobtainable part making the low initial cost quite high in the end.

[Greg Q]

By coincidence there is an Avey twin head drill on Australian eBay right now. The pictures include the data plate which says "Avey-Cinncinatti Ohio"

item 300316415361

Greg