Is this a good deal????

[cuemaker]

Clausing-colchester 12 x 36
Mid 60's Dont have model number yet.

3jaw chuck and collet closer (no collets)
It takes 5c collets
$1300

Havent seen it. Dealer says it was in some type of schools machine shop and has sat for 10yrs. There is no rust and the machine runs.

According to him ways are beautifull.

1. I know nothing about these lathes. Did some research but need to know if good deal.

2. I dont know what spindle bore a 5c is.

Please feel free to ask any questions that might help me. Have to move quickly.

[BillH]

I'd buy it although the price seams a tad questionable.
5c bore, that means 5c collet chucks will fit right into the bore of the spindle, a very nice feature.

[This message has been edited by BillH (edited 01-05-2005).]

[cuemaker]

if it fits 5c collets, is the spindle bore at least 1.375??

[cuemaker]

He also said it was a gear head lathe also, if that helps

[BillH]

Go down there and look at it. I do not know, the biggest lathe I ever used is my South Bend 9" model C with a 3/4" spindle bore(I think).
Look up the specs on 5c collets, will answer your question.

[JCHannum]

That could be a good buy. It is a good name, parts should be readily available. If possible, inspect under power, and run at all speeds and feeds, in both drections. Noisy or damaged gears will show up.

5C collet closer should be indicative if 1-3/8" spindle bore.

The price is reasonable for a dealer, you might try to beat him up for collets or other tooling rather than haggle over dollars.

[cuemaker]

JC Thank you.

He isnt a dealer. He is a farmer that has his own machine shop that picked up these lathes.

For 1700 I could have also gotten a taper bar, steady and follow rest. For what i want to do with the lathe, i dont need those things. The 3jaw chuck and collet attachment I want.

[cuemaker]

Its a 6hr drive to go see it. Want to be pretty sure its worth the drive before I head out.

[dsergison]

believe me, you want the attachments.

w/o them it's like a neutered dog. good to you but not to anyone else. you'll use them someday, or it'll really up the resale value. pity to not take them now.

[cuemaker]

hmm, good point.

I just dont the value of these things.

[ACF]

I believe JC is correct, a 1.375 In. hole is the minimum size to fit a 5c collet. If the lathe was in good shape I'd buy it with all the attachments, $1700 doesn't sound to bad to me!!

Chris

[DR]

As another poster mentioned, check it carefully. If it's got a bad gear in the headstock you don't even want to ask how much the replacement will cost.

If it's okay, $1300 is a good price. They're nice lathes, I've had an 11" Colchester for years.

[cuemaker]

all I know how to do in checking a lathe is run it all the speeds, listening for whinning or excessive noise (which is subjective)

Look at the ways, looking for ridges, missing chuncks etc.

Move the carriage back and forth checking for binding. Lift up on the carriage, see if it lifts up.

Obviously check for missing gears or broken gears.

Anything else?

[cuemaker]

Forget, I found 9 pages on how to buy a used lathe.

If anybody knows something specific about a clausing colchester, please speak up

[3 Phase Lightbulb]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by cuemaker:
Clausing-colchester 12 x 36
Mid 60's Dont have model number yet.

3jaw chuck and collet closer (no collets)
It takes 5c collets
$1300

Havent seen it. Dealer says it was in some type of schools machine shop and has sat for 10yrs. There is no rust and the machine runs.

According to him ways are beautifull.

1. I know nothing about these lathes. Did some research but need to know if good deal.

2. I dont know what spindle bore a 5c is.

Please feel free to ask any questions that might help me. Have to move quickly.</font>

I have a Clausing 14" x 48" (Model 6913) 3HP 3Ph lathe w/5C collets, 3 and 4 jaw chucks, Taper, Steady rest, Variable speed, and I love it. I just added a digital readout to it the other day too.



-3Ph