anyone know about clausing 100's or 4800's?

[lbhsbz]

Thanks for the info guys. Clausings seem to be pretty rare where I'm located (AZ) but then again, that's true with most light duty machine equipment. Almost the only non-industrial stuff I've seen locally is Craftsman/atlas, but at least I can hunt around and if I find a deal that's worth the hassle and cost of shipping I can pursue it with a little more confidence.

Just out of curiousity, do you know the price range that a halfway decent 4800 (I've heard that they're more desirable than the 100's) would be expected to fetch?... Assume no tooling or bench would be included to make it easy. I've seen a few for under $750, but they were halfway across the nation from me so I didn't even bother asking about them.

I think I sold mine for $800.....just what I paid for it. If you have the room and the budget...get something bigger. You can find Chicom 13x40 lathes in the $1200-$1800 range and they are 5 times the lathe that the 4800 is...even though they're kinda junk. If you've got nothing but time, get the 4800.....if you like to get stuff done in a timely fashion, look for something heavier. Machine tools can be judged by their weight for the most part. I pushed the 4800 around my garage by myself, with no rollers. My engine hoist will barely pick up one end of my Cadillac...the performance of the machines are proportional to the weight.

[hal9000]

Thanks for the info guys. Clausings seem to be pretty rare where I'm located (AZ) but then again, that's true with most light duty machine equipment. Almost the only non-industrial stuff I've seen locally is Craftsman/atlas, but at least I can hunt around and if I find a deal that's worth the hassle and cost of shipping I can pursue it with a little more confidence.

Just out of curiousity, do you know the price range that a halfway decent 4800 (I've heard that they're more desirable than the 100's) would be expected to fetch?... Assume no tooling or bench would be included to make it easy. I've seen a few for under $750, but they were halfway across the nation from me so I didn't even bother asking about them.

[lbhsbz]

I had one for about 3 years. It was a step up from my HF mini lathe and my Atlas flat way lathe...and I made some nice parts on it....but it's still a fairly light duty machine.

On mine, someone had added a vari-drive that worked off of some chain driven jack shaft...worked pretty slick. Also, the sliding gear had no accomodation for a detent of any sort, so you'd have to keep pulling it or pushing it into engagement every 30 seconds while power feeding because it would work it's way to the neutral position. It had it's quirks....and no graduated dials anywhere...they were all gone, so I'd have to set up indicators when I was doing more than decorative work. I've had an import 13x40 machine (POS) and now I have a Cadillac 14x40, and of course there is no comparison between the last 2 and the 4800, but it makes a good light duty machine....Clausing still stocks parts for it too.

[Mike Burdick]

I have one like Bill's - it's a very nice lathe! The clutch also has one more feature that Bill didn't mention...when pushed in the opposite direction it engages a spindle brake.

[Bill Pace]

So, this is a Clausing 100 that I found and rebuild last year. I had never been around Clausings and I was very impressed with the quality of it. I found the 100 series lathe, like others in this size/market came in 3 variations. This one is the top line, it has a clutch, and the quick change gear box, with power feed. Other models didnt have the clutch feature (the handle with the black ball on top) and some were 'change gear' and no gear box or power feed. Needless to say the model shown here is much desirable ...

While researching the Clausings, I discovered that it is a very well respected name and put out some nice machines - would imagine that one of them would be quite a step above the Craftsman/Atlas.

Other lathes you might run across in this general size worth considering are the Sheldons (very nice lathes in the 10-11 & 13" sizes) also the Logan, and of course the South Bends.

[hal9000]

So in my spare time, I'm shopping around for an upgrade for my old babbitt bearing Craftsman 12x36 lathe. I had intended to find another newer craftsman/atlas unit just so I could hold onto my tooling and accessories, but I've stumbled across one or two Clausing 100's and one Clausing 4800. Just by looking at photos and reading the description on the UK website, they appear to be a tad heavier duty than the atlas units... I'm wondering if anybody has first hand experience with one and can give me their impression of them. How are they in terms of rigidity, quality, and parts availability?

Having another option to shop for might make finding a replacement a bit easier....

Thanks all
Scott