My new to me milling machine

[oxford]

I have finally got a milling machine of my own. Some might remember me picking up a P&W lathe a little while back. I got it with the hopes of trading it for a vertical mill. Well the deal went down yesterday, it was a straight trade, the lathe for the mill. I think both of us are happy with the trade.

For a reminder, here is the lathe I traded.



And here is the milling machine I got for it. Overall it looks like a pretty nice machine with not a whole lot of wear on it. I am going to take the tables off of it and clean out any chips and old oil and make sure the one shot lube is working and all the lines are clear. As it stands I have $400 total into the mill. $100 of that was something I gave to the boss for opening up the doors at work to use the overhead gantry crane to lift the machines off and do the trade. I probably didn't have to give him anything but it was money well spent for an un-eventful swap.

[DannyW]

One side of the party is laughing out loud right now on what a deal they got.
I just don't think it's you. Sorry.

I'm desperate too for a mill, but I fear that this "trade" is somewhat "uneven".

Kind regards,

Danny

[oxford]

One side of the party is laughing out loud right now on what a deal they got.
I just don't think it's you. Sorry.

I'm desperate too for a mill, but I fear that this "trade" is somewhat "uneven".

Kind regards,

Danny

That's funny, I am very happy with the deal. When I had the lathe for sale I couldn't find anyone to buy it for anything near what a decent mill would cost. The guy I got it from couldn't either, it was going to get pushed outside and headed to the scrap yard if I didn't take it.

[Deus Machina]

Maybe it's not the best mill, but I don't know them from Adam. Heck, I was always happy with my cheap Sieg machines. If it does what you need it to well, that's what matters.
Things like this always depend on your supply and the market.

The best trades are when both sides feel like they took the other for a ride.

[quadrod]

The XLO has a larger quill than a bridgeport and has more mass. I like mine very much and also have a bare belt and gear box. You will like it alot.

[Rosco-P]

That's funny, I am very happy with the deal. When I had the lathe for sale I couldn't find anyone to buy it for anything near what a decent mill would cost. The guy I got it from couldn't either, it was going to get pushed outside and headed to the scrap yard if I didn't take it.

"couldn't find anyone to buy it.........", what were the offers? The tire kickers must have no idea what an accurate and capable machine a P&W toolroom lathe is. Not many of these machine still around.

[oxford]

While I will agree that the P&W was a top of the line machine there are a couple of issues when trying to sell them and other lathes in the same class. First is parts support, there isn't any and good luck trying to find something used. Next is its age, manufacturing places don't want them because they are old and again no parts support, that means you have to market towards a home shop. There are not that many people in there home shops that can handle a 4500 pound lathe and power up a 7.5hp 3 phase motor. I could have sold many southbend heavy 10's in a heart beat for what I would have took for the lathe, FWIW I had it for sale with an asking price of $1800. There also wasn't any tooling or accessories with the lathe, and while that is not a deal breaker, if you don't already have tooling and chucks to fit it, it is quite a cost to tool a lathe with an 18.5" swing. Shipping alone on the chucks would cost a lot.

If I would have had the space to keep it I would have but it would have taken up a good chunk of my 20x20 garage for a machine that who knows how often it would have got used. I also have a Clausing 5900 lathe that suits me for most I do and I also have access to larger swing lathes if need be. I passed this lathe up a couple of years ago when I was offered it for most of the same reasons I stated above and I didn't have a lathe at the time.

[Bill Pace]

I can see very well where you are coming from ox and I think you did GOOD, that should make a very nice mill - and you will use it often, whereas before the swap....

[doctor demo]

It seems there is never anybody selling when I'm trying to buy, and if I'm trying to sell something I seem to always have the wrong model or size or everybody wants it for free.

I think it is great that You were able to put a deal together that worked to everyone's benefit.

Steve

[WhatTheFlux!]

I traded a 10EE lathe that was significantly better than the one I have for a DiAcro press-brake, one of the small ones. In the end I got the tool I need, and the other person did as well.

Direct swap, no questions asked. All that matters is both parties are satisfied. If you try to attach a dollar value and monetary worth to everything you will be very unhappy. This is not the first time I swapped something I knew to be of greater value for something of lesser value that I really wanted or needed.

I'm happy, the other party is happy. Life goes on.

[BigMike782]

You turned a tool you did not need into a tool you wanted and both parties are happy with the deal.......sounds like the best deal to me.

[LKeithR]

You turned a tool you did not need into a tool you wanted and both parties are happy with the deal.......sounds like the best deal to me.

Yup...what he said.

XLO is a good, robust, Canadian made machine--usually quite desirable...

[MaxHeadRoom]

I converted a couple to CNC, with a VFD on the spindle and got rid of the vari-speed, it still has the 1:1 and 6:1 G.B. I used a 1:1 timing belt to replace the vari-speed.
XLO also recommended changing to ATF for the G.B.
I have a manual in PDF, there is also a few sources out there for it.
Max.

[Yow Ling]

Seems like a good deal to me, I think your boss could have been a bit more generous with his time, but if it meant you could do the swap easier all good. I suppose its always a bit of a risk buying an old machine, I would have taken the lathe in a heartbeat, but would have to pay money because Im keeping my mill

[jep24601]

I posted a gallery of lathes that were on my local Craigslist and having seen all those lathes and reviewed the milling machines posted there too, I can assure you that the milling machine is worth more than the lathe.