Buying a Used Machine - What to look for so you get a good one.

DON"T PAY GOOD WORKING MACHINE PRICES FOR SCRAP METAL!

THAT could have been the name of this thread :) I love the fact there are so many here keeping these old machines from being scrapped along with the leader of the pack Richard King. With it the knowledge to use, maintain, repair and rebuild. But there are so many different motives outside preying on the good motives. But we tend to share our crazy scores but not our pigs in a poke. Cjtoombs thread on his 1875 Ames planer will teach a lot how that same machine went from working price to a price where the dedicated like he, can afford to restore a piece of history. But it took a lot of patience and skill on his part.

eBay has helped and hindered like Mark's example of his lathe. I've been threatened more than once with the "well, I could get more for it if I parted it out". My reaction has been "don't threaten me with a good time" as more often than not they fold. We both know what the thing is worth. I because I've done my homework and he because he knows the major amount of work he's going to put out for his mistake of getting into the machine in the first place. And there is no guarantee he's not going expend a bunch of effort and get a fraction in return and still going to be stuck with a frame he can't get rid of. I hate to dicker so if it's a fair price I never try to screw the price down. But I always go in with I'm just shopping and am prepared to walk no matter how the seller wants to make me feel guilty for "wasting his time".

When I was young I always drove fixer uppers and got adept at spotting those that could drive while I fixed what came up. My machines have followed that rule. Not perfect, not collectors machines, low prices because they were not perfect, but not so bad they couldn't be fixed and their problems were in the realm of what I could repair. It can be a tricky hodgepodge of price vs condition vs present utility.
 
THAT could have been the name of this thread :) I love the fact there are so many here keeping these old machines from being scrapped along with the leader of the pack Richard King. With it the knowledge to use, maintain, repair and rebuild. But there are so many different motives outside preying on the good motives. But we tend to share our crazy scores but not our pigs in a poke. Cjtoombs thread on his 1875 Ames planer will teach a lot how that same machine went from working price to a price where the dedicated like he, can afford to restore a piece of history. But it took a lot of patience and skill on his part.

eBay has helped and hindered like Mark's example of his lathe. I've been threatened more than once with the "well, I could get more for it if I parted it out". My reaction has been "don't threaten me with a good time" as more often than not they fold. We both know what the thing is worth. I because I've done my homework and he because he knows the major amount of work he's going to put out for his mistake of getting into the machine in the first place. And there is no guarantee he's not going expend a bunch of effort and get a fraction in return and still going to be stuck with a frame he can't get rid of. I hate to dicker so if it's a fair price I never try to screw the price down. But I always go in with I'm just shopping and am prepared to walk no matter how the seller wants to make me feel guilty for "wasting his time".

When I was young I always drove fixer uppers and got adept at spotting those that could drive while I fixed what came up. My machines have followed that rule. Not perfect, not collectors machines, low prices because they were not perfect, but not so bad they couldn't be fixed and their problems were in the realm of what I could repair. It can be a tricky hodgepodge of price vs condition vs present utility.
Well said, C-bag!
 
Nelson put the 3 Machine Rebuilding and testing machine books inside the Reconditioning forum. The G. Sleshinger book it the one many of modern spec sheets were copied from. It is an old book, but as the Edward Connelly book are Great Books. New CNC machines basic way systems are the same when it comes to the way Geometry. The Sleshinger book shows the alignment test and the spec's.
 
Buy a machine based on knowledge; of those around you and own hands-on experience. This isn't a guarantee of success; I cannot appraise how to qualify the intuition required. Compare how hard you worked for that $x,000 to handing it over, poof it's gone. There's a bare difference between new or used too, customer support has been known to be unsatisfactory more than once.
I've acquired a respectable variety of machine tools and equipment, not quite a hundred tons. Every one pre-owned, some needed attention sure. And most are flea-bay and craigslist.
So, when you find this, as example, where is your money?
 
Back
Top