I need a value for this SB by the end of the day please.

It's up for auction in a city an hour away from me tomorrow morning. No further info than what is in the picture and no chance of getting any more info than what is in the picture except that it has been called a South Bend Metal Lathe and I am in Arizona, halfway between he!! and nowhere.

So based on that can I get a guestimate please? I'm going to the auction anyhow but it's a cash-only auction so I need a vague idea of how much $ I should take or if I should even bother bidding on the lathe but should save my meager dolklars for other items. (I've got a 13x30 Leblond in the workshop but wanted something small for the living room) (and no - that's not a joke - I've currently got my little Record woodturning lathe set up between the couch and the front door.)

I have to hit the road Saturday morning about 7 to make it there so I guess this thread will self destruct at 7:01.

thanks
Joe

Looks like a 9" change gear lathe. With no gears or steady rest it maybe worth $400-$500 depending on how the ways look.

The gears and all may be in the green tool box behind the lathe. I have had the exact same machine for over 50 years and I use it almost every day lately. It's a light machine and, consequently, it takes a long time to do a big job, but I've done some pretty good sized stuff on mine. As to value, probably $500 would be tops at an auction if the bed is OK. It's an auction so it could be a steal or it might open at more than it's worth. Ya never know.

Well I went and sat through 5.5 hours of trash lots full of Salvation Army rejects just to see what this lathe went for. It was so bad, I didn't even bid on anything on the 22' long trailer full of "tools" and I am a confirmed toolaholic.

I've only been to one auctioneer that was slower than this guy. I had nothing else to do so I figured I'd wait it out just to be able to report back to you guys what it went for. I'm glad I did because I also found that it wasn't the most honest of auctions and I figure I learned that lesson cheap (for the price of gas). I won't be making that drive ever again. I left right after the lathe was done, he still had 1.5-2 hours of the real trashiest of trash to go through.

So - he tried to open the bidding at 500 got no takers, opened at 250 and eventually the lathe "sold" for $400, $441 with tax. In a more honest setting I think it would have topped out at 325.

It was, according to the plate on the headstock cover, a model C9-10. The cross-slide and compound had play, but nothing that seemed too bad. I didn't put a straightedge to the bed but it looked clean and straight - no obvious wear and nothing too shiny to indicate someone might have tried to cheat a bit. Something did look off on the cross-slide, as if there might be something missing (now that I think of it, I didn't see a dial).

The toolbox held 8-10 gears, another banjo with a couple of gears, a 4-jaw chuck and a drill-chuck for the tailstock as well as the broken leather belt. No steady rest or follower rest.
I don't know if the motor was any good - it was covered in grime and the plug was cut off.

And that is my auction report.

[
<So - he tried to open the bidding at 500 got no takers, opened at 250 and eventually the lathe "sold" for $400, $441 with tax. In a more honest setting I think it <would have topped out at 325.

<And that is my auction report.[/QUOTE]>




So you did very well...you still have funds for a lathe and you have a good idea what your still looking for and what someone else was willing to pay . you are a " more learned man"i wouldn't consider buying any machine that i couldn't run under power before i bought it.....any thin else is a " Pig in a poke" unless there are extraordinary circumstances or an iron clad warrantee.

Find the report an this forum about ' What to look for when buying a lathe" if you have not yet done so its clear and concise and you will do well. travel is the killer in this sport... shipping costs are murder.... find friends in different areas taht can , at least Eyball a prospect for you. You will likely need to plan a road trip to the N.east or west coast or greta lakes area if machinery is rare in the South west as i suspect it might be.
Good luck and if someone in th ePhiladelphia can be your eyes....you now have a friend there.
joe larsen