Clausing 8520 Mill in Grand Junction CO

rock_breaker

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Son in Law saw this on Colorado Western Slope Craigslist. In the pictures the machine looks great and is priced at $2500. The ad was still there at 8:00 pm Monday Jan 8, 2018
Do these machines have an MT3 taper in the spindle?
Can this be altered to accept R-8 collets?
If the Spindle head is rotated how difficult is it to get it perpendicular to the table again?
I have an Enco round column mill/drill and mostly one ended milling cutters, would these work in the 8520?
Can the power feed (x direction) on the Enco be mounted on the 8520.
The advertised rotation speeds have a wider range especially in higher RPM than the Enco is this an advantage?
Your feedback will help me in deciding to start bargaining.
Thanks in advance for your feedback
Ray
 
Son in Law saw this on Colorado Western Slope Craigslist. In the pictures the machine looks great and is priced at $2500. The ad was still there at 8:00 pm Monday Jan 8, 2018 That's on the high end around here. So there probably is some wiggle room. If I remember correctly, I paid 1500 and it came with nothing. Right after I bought mine one came up for 1800 with rotary table, with vise, with cutters, then he lowered it to 1500. Wish I had bought that one instead. It looked in better condition too.

Do these machines have an MT3 taper in the spindle? MT2
Can this be altered to accept R-8 collets? Not enough meat in my opinion to do it.
If the Spindle head is rotated how difficult is it to get it perpendicular to the table again? It's a pain, as there is no way to sneak up on it. It's not driven by a gear, so you hit it with a mallet, and keep moving it. Then you hope that tightening it doesn't move it.

I have an Enco round column mill/drill and mostly one ended milling cutters, would these work in the 8520? Yes.
Can the power feed (x direction) on the Enco be mounted on the 8520. Don't know
The advertised rotation speeds have a wider range especially in higher RPM than the Enco is this an advantage? That depends on the size cutter you use.
Your feedback will help me in deciding to start bargaining.
Thanks in advance for your feedback
Ray

See red responses inline.
 
Woodchucker
Thank you for your responses. My early on thinking is that I would have to get a morse taper for each size of end mill ( 5/16 through 5/8 by 16ths) and a 3/4 to mount most of my stuff. In reading your responses I could be trading one set of problems for a different set-- definitely has me thinking.
Thanks again
Ray
 
That 8520 has been advertized for some time.
Around here they should sell at 1200 or less.
The seller probably wont deal or it would be gone.
 
Spindle is either MT2 or BS9 Taper. As far as I know it cannot be modified to R8. Tramming the head is not difficult nor is it time consuming. Yes, your cutters will wok up to 1/2 dia. shank. You need adapters to use larger ones.The power feed may need modification. The higher speed range is to your advantage.
Now the last part, IMHO the 2500 price tag is too high. I would place it at 1800 top end.
I own an 8520, they are a sweet machine. They are greatly sought after for home shops.

"Billy G"
 
Now the last part, IMHO the 2500 price tag is too high. I would place it at 1800 top end.
I own an 8520, they are a sweet machine. They are greatly sought after for home shops

I am with Bill on both fronts -- I would ad this thought regarding the price.

I have yet to see anyone badmouth the 8520 here or anywhere else; rather, you read glowing reviews, see amazing rebuild threads and hear, "I never new what a real cut was until I first used my 8520." Of course, there is the occasional snarl about the MT2 collet's inferiority, but few and largely countered with another glowing attribute of these mills.

For those selling an 8520/30, a quick search yields the same info. Add to that an ebay search and the price points regularly found make sense; we proud, enthusiastic owners have tilted the marketplace.

From my observation, the same can be said for a number of other machines "sought after for home shops." An incomplete list:
Atlas MF, MFB, MFC horizontal mill
Atlas 7B shaper
Burke Millrite MV, MVN, MVI mill
Rockwell 21-100 mill

There is an MFB currently for sale on Ebay for $2700. It is in absurdly good shape for its age. 42 people are currently watching (including me.) I happened to start chasing it when it was on CL near me. When I called during the 10th hour (including the night!), it was gone. Selling price then $400. I am still watching....
 
In the west, that seems to be the asking range. I've even seen higher and they usually don't stay on CL long. This was the mill I initially wanted, but when I saw the price difference between the Clausing and a full size mill, I ended up with a Bridgeport clone (Jet slightly used).
 
This mill was on craigslist well over a year ago. I did talk to him via email--he was not interested in any bargaining at the time (actually kind of rude sounding) Maybe ready to move it now?
 
Low offers by email from people who have not looked at the item are not often well received. Go look at the item, decide what it is worth to you, pay no attention to the asking price, and then if the item is something you want, make an offer, explain how you got there, and stick firm to it. Be perceived as a serious buyer, not as a tire kicker. If there is push back. write your offer down on paper with your name, contact information, and a date that the offer expires (perhaps one week?), with an added "or until I find something else." Hand it to the seller, be courteous and upbeat, shake hands, and walk away. Wait for the call. It often works.
 
What Bill says is GOOD,SOUND advice, if the seller does indeed have a sense of reality, then you have a descent chance of walking away with the machine that you want, if not, the seller is wanting more then it’s worth to you.
 
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