Is this a good deal? Logan 9" for 1000$

[strantor]

I posted a want ad on Craigslist saying I want a lathe for <1000$. This guy who lives 255 miles from me sends me pictures of a super nice looking Logan 9", but for all I know, I'm looking at a polished turd. I've posted this question on another forum and gotten a myriad of responses from "get it now" to "I wouldn't touch it with a 10ft pole." Just curious what you guys have to say about it. I want to make sure it's on the up-and-up to the maximum extent possible, because it's going to cost me almost 200$ in gas money just to go lay hands on it. Even if I get there and see it in person, I probably won't know what I'm looking at, aside from obvious damage.

seller says:

has quick change gearbox..brand new motor.... brand new drum switch.... new belts... new bearings.... new bushings.... I have way over 1000 dollars in it but I need the room.

Some bullet points sent in by users from the other forum:

Pros:

• The shop looks clean and well maintained
• The lathe looks clean and well maintained
• If it turns out to be crap, I can probably still sell it for what I paid for it

Cons:

• expensive to get parts for it
• doesn't come with any tooling
• could be a polished turd
• the obligatory "I can get lathes twice that good for half the price with truckloads of tooling included"
• too small
• under powered
• no QC chart - this is a sign of other bad things
• ...

I have been searching craigslist and ebay for months and this is the best *looking* lathe for the money that I've seen within a 500 mile radius. Lathes are not as common around here as they are up north, and usually cost more.

Thanks for looking.

 

[Starlight Tools]

Stantor

One good thing about a Logan lathe is that Scott Logan from Logan Actuator is still selling parts and backing up the machines that his family produced. When I had my Logan, 9B28-61, 9 x 28 with a plain change gearbox, I ordered in parts from Scott, even though the lathe was made in 1958 ish. Not so sure that I will ever be able to get parts for my 14x40 Taiwan lathe in 10 years, let alone 50 years from now.

For the record, when I sold the Logan, I got well over 1000 for it, and it was not painted and pretty like that one and it was shipped over 10 hours drive away to Vancouver from Nelson. But it came with almost every attachment that you would need to "just add metal" and start turning.

Looking at that lathe, I think you would be getting a nice machine, provided of course that it has not just had a "spray paint overhual"

Walter

 

[Starlight Tools]

Oh and the motor looks to be about the size that Logan recommended for this machine, and if you do get the lathe, contact Scott and get the manual, if it is not included with the lathe.

Walter

 

[Pacer]

I have a good impression of the lathe --

Im retired and my hobby/joy is finding this type machine and bringing it back to something close to its original condition - and this is what I strive to have a lathe look like when I finish. This is not an ebay paint job, I can see a lot of work has been put into it. When I run my ads, I try to go into as much detail about repairs as I can, and then on the phone call I again try to describe all the work I've done. From the looks of the lathe I would think the owner would be glad to share the repairs he has made.

Now, as to this particular lathe - Logan enjoys a good name among HSM'ers - the 9" is considered on the 'light' side comparing to SB, Clausing Atlas, etc, with this model having the desirable features of full gearbox with power feed on horizontal and cross. Inquire about accessories, (only the 3 jaw is shown) 4 jaw, steady rest, cutting tools, drill chuck, etc (chucks, tool posts, cutting tools, etc are common to many other lathes and are usually available) Having said that, the $1000 price is a good price - not quite a gloat, but a good price.

If you think this size lathe will suit your need, I think it is wall worth a look see.

This is a machine desert up here also (NW La) and when one comes up they usually go fast...
This is a Clausing (similar to the Logan) that I rebuilt earlier this year and sold on CL the first day for $1800
Also a SB Heavy 10 I rebuilt ans sold for $2500 on the first day

 

[strantor]

I'm liking the feedback here....

I am most likely going to go snatch this thing up later on this week.

(an no, I won't point the finger at any of you if it turns out badly)

Thanks for the input everybody!

 

[george wilson]

You or someone asked about the 9"lathe on another forum. Though the lathe is nicely painted,the ways are pretty dinged up. This lathe was painted,but apparently no real work was done to insure its accuracy. Without being there in person,it's hard to see if the ways are decent enough to give accurate performance. And,CAN you get the missing thread chart from Logan Actuator? If not,you can spend many hours on scrap bars of metal figuring out which thread you get from what settings on the levers,writing down and organizing the results. The small group of levers should be labeled ABCD,etc. The ones with more hole selection 12345,etc.. Then,go from there. After you find out all the settings' data,make a nice brass thread chart and install it. This is doable of you don't mind the time.

The MAIN question is: Is the bed worn,are the headstock bearings o.k.,and is the tailstock worn too low,or pointing down hill from being slid. These questions can only be answered by someone with instruments who knows what he's doing. Also,clamp shut the half nuts and see how much sideways play the carriage gives. The half nuts and the leadscrew can be worn,too,though it isn't so important if you're not cutting LONG screw threads,like in making a replacement for the crossfeed screw in a lathe.

TIGHTEN the clamp on the tailstock quill,and MAKE SURE it does securely clamp the quill. Old lathes can get worn so that the tailstock's holes get enlarged,quill gets worn,and cannot be clamped tight. Then,you are in trouble trying to turn long work accurately and without chatter.

MAKE SURE there are no gears with missing teeth on the back gears,or in any other gears. Look carefully at the gear teeth for teeth that look thin,wallowed out,or extremely polished. As the lathe is clean,this will be easily done. Most often,the back gears in the headstock may have been broken from trying to beat a too tight chuck loose by some gorilla. Place a block of wood under the chuck or spindle and with a crow bar,see if there is any perceptible movement in vertical direction when you add a LITTLE pressure. I've seen the chuck on a CLEAN 16" South Bend lift 1/8" doing this. The stupid mechanics had asked me to come over and see why their lathe WOULD NOT make smooth turnings!!! I don'y think anyone ever had oiled the bearings(which were cast iron directly into the headstock casting rather than separate,and replaceable ones made of bronze like on later models). The lathe was pretty worthless. Fixing it would have cost more than it was worth,let alone whatever the ways were like. It would have taken line boring,making custom bronze bearings,and a new,or reground spindle to fix just that 1 problem. Beyond the usual home shop's abilities.

Finally,the 9" lathe is simply a pretty light lathe,as is the 9" South Bend,so fairly light cuts only should be taken to get good accuracy,even if the machine is perfect. The bed on these light machines will flex under too much of a cut.

 

[ScotFxd]

The threading chart should be in the Logan manual you can buy from Scott Logan.

 

[Alan Douglas]

The old chart was probably corroded so the owner was intending to get a new one but never did. I don't know if it's the same as the one on my 11" 955 (it looks right) but someone could take a photo or at least copy the numbers.

Looks like a very careful paint job; even the screw heads are clean.

The leadscrew shouldn't be too worn, as it's not used for the power feeds, only for threading. And I don't see a thread dial.

 

[AR1911]

I had one just about like that. Mine was a 9x17, this one is 9x28.
It's an excellent lathe if the ways are good. They can be dinged and still be good.
Logans use tapered bearings on the spindle, so unless they are noisy they are generally good.
George Wilson's advice is good.
Parts for Logan's aren't thick on the ground like SB parts. It's usually ebay or Scott Logan, and Scott's prices are honest, but sometimes high for a hobbyist.


FWIW, I sold 9x17 (9B-17-1) to a guy in East Texas for $1200 2 years ago. that price included a bench and all the common tooling, QCTP etc.
I now have a 9" South Bend, but I'd trade it for a Logan like that one, all else being equal.

 

[strantor]

And I don't see a thread dial.

Holy carp! How did I miss that? Actually I think I caught it before, but brain farted and attributed that fault to another lathe I was looking at.

I've heard it's not too hard to make one. I don't know the particulars of how they work, but I assume that the number on the dial corresponds to the position of the lead screw; is that correct? is there anything more to it? I'm thinking I could accomplish an electronic thread "dial" using a proximity switch and a digital counter display (which I already have).

Thanks for the catch!