Fair value for a VN#12?

T

transplant_wi

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I am considering this for my first mill and would really appreciate any recommendations you can offer. The mill is within a reasonable distance of my shop, and not all that many appear in my neck of the woods. The seller told me it was running at another location, but then moved it, so I would not be able to inspect it under power :(

The machine looks clean, it has the arbor support and the seller tells me the feed drive has no known issues. It includes a few end mills and a set of collets. He is asking $1500 - is that a fair price? Should I expect/need it to have one or more long, horizontal arbors if I an likely to only do light milling? I like the look and capabilities of the #12, but perhaps should wait for the right BP to came along?

I only have single phase at present and would also have to build a RPC to get 3 phase to feed it and any friends that might join it in future.

Thanks again!

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I bought two of these and parted one out.

I paid $400 for one and $300 for the other. Both needed extensive work. The first was 1942 vintage, the second 1946.

Yours appears to be in damn fine shape cosmetically. I would need more pictures, year (or serial number), and to know if it is operational, see table, closeups of the machine. My gut says $1500 - WAY TOO HIGH, at least around here. There was a guy on LI asking $1000 and no one took it. I offered $400 and he went down to $600- it was a 1949 machine in good shape.

You need all the tooling you can get- VN #12 tooling is scarce- they get $150 for an arbor!

It has TWO motors - spindle and feed. You can use 2 VFD's (there is info on this site on how someone did that). A RPC will work well too.

For my money- a VN #12 is cheaper than a BP, sturdier, and much more versatile (the head can be used in horizontal or vertical form).

I haven't seen Lane around our forum lately- I would love to see HIS opinion, because he knows his stuff (unlike me).


Nelson
 
Thanks Nelson,

I thought the arbors would get pricey! I appreciate your feedback on the price.

What is this 'LI' you referred to?

Transplant_WI
 
Long Island, not far from me at all. Still, at 1800 pounds, the VN can be a handful to move and break down into pieces.

Nelson
 
Fred,

They pay that on Ebay for original or shop made. Some lady on Ebay is selling the cutter head for $500. It's outrageous.

The machine is probably propped on 4x4 for easy moving with a forklift or pallet jack, which implies to me that it isn't being used. I'm 6'2" and I don't need it propped.


Nelson
 
The seller recently moved it, so it is not hooked-up for a test-drive. I figured it the blocks allowed him to slip a dolly under it.

So...if I only wanted to do light horizontal milling, is the absence of long arbors a problem?

How much less would you pay if you cannot test-drive a machine?

Thanks again!
 
Depending on location (shipping cost) $700 tops.

Nelson
 
Shipping is not really an issue, but it is far enough away to be a minor pain, on top of the hassle of the move itself. It looks like I need to politely extend an offer and wait and see what happens. I can afford to wait for the right mill to come along, although I get the impression that my choices in WI are going to be more limited than further east.
 
The absolute best way to move that thing is with a tow truck. Sling it around the overarm and tow it into the truck, then have the driver set it down in your shop, or close by.

1800 pounds is a piece of cake for those guys.

I used a pallet jack to get it off a box truck with liftgate, and it was sheer hell manuevering it. It's worse if it is on a pallet and the pallet interferes with the lift gate (which happened).
Also, any impefections in the street or sidewalk become a real pain. I had to use a piece of plywood to get it up the apron of my driveway.

I would make an offer $600- see what he says. Then decide what it is worth to you and if it is clean and runnable enough to make it worth your while.


Nelson
 
I agree on the offer amount or perhaps a bit higher, but it's going to upset him at less than half the asking price.

I have a skidsteer, and if I can bring the mill home on a trailer we can get it into the bucket (or better yet, borrow my neighbor's with the forks) and get it into the garage. There is a slight (half inch) step up from the apron to the garage floor, and I can see that it could be tricky with a pallet truck. I won't worry too much about the logistics until I get further with the sale - the seller might well tell me to Foxtrot Oscar ;)

I'll keep the forum updated.
 
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