Found a dinosaur

I am thinking your guess is as good as mine as far as the condition of the ways. What I found when purchasing my first mill; trying to separate the duds from the gems was very difficult due to my lack of experience. I went by how the table moved when the gibs were tightened. If the OP is able to evaluate the ways and they are in good condition I would not flinch at paying $2K for it. I certainly do not have the ability to access the ways good or bad from the provided photos.
yea, I agree, I was just trying to say, that they didn't look bad.. which is what I thought you were saying. To me, there was no way of knowing... so I agree.. but the lack of oil didn't mean anything..
 
I'd offer $2500 for both. All he can do is say no. Not a lot on offer in CO, and what there is is generally priced pretty high. Then again I paid $1500 for my 9000# Gorton horizontal mill with vertical head, and a ton of tooling, but I think that is the exception to the rule. That would be a great machine if your limited on space, and I doubt it ever saw any heavy commercial use, because of it's size. Mike
 
Wire the switch in on the first one so you can run it. Maybe there’s a reason it’s not hooked up.

I’m always suspect of something that’s just “a simple repair” if it was that easy why didn’t the seller do it so it would be a working machine.

That said, if the first one is serviceable $2500 would be reasonable for both (you do want both) if that’s the mill you want, but you’re closing in on the cost of a new one with similar capability.

Not the same but for reference here’s the HF copy of a similar machine.


Also if you have the space Bridgeport clones often go for similar money. Yes, maybe not in your town but if I were spending that much I’d be willing to travel for a deal on a good machine.

John
 
$2000 is a fair-ish price for the complete mill. If it ran so you could actually see that everything works then it is not out of line for a cosmetically rough but fully functional 8520 with power feed. I'd be concerned that you can't run it. If it really just needs a plug wired up, then why didn't the seller spend $20 and 15 minutes to do that?

These are popular small mills because they are easy to move and easily fit into a small garage or basement shop. When in good shape they often sell quickly at $2500.

It is comparable in size / general capacity to a PM25 or Grizzly G0704, as well as the HF mill posted above.
 
The size of the 8520 is perfect for us hobby folks.

For $2,000 I would expect a nice mill with tooling in an 8520.
 
Not adding anything other than some references for rebuilding these mills. I'd recommend doing a search on this forum for "8520 restoration" and read through those threads. I'd be leery buying a mill without hearing it run. You'll find lots of references on the web regarding rebuilding the head (replacing bearings) which must be a weak point if so many people have had to replace them. Read over Fred's restoration below and assume you will have to go through the same work if you don't hear it run. Some about planning for the worst so you're not surprised. If all it needs is a wire/plug to the wall, grab a length of cord and wire it up.

They are a nice sized mill for small shops, easily moved with an engine hoist. I have a similar sized mill (Jet JVM-830). The biggest problem I've run into with my Jet is lack of distance between the spindle and table (~12"). That 12" goes away fast when you stick a vise on the table, a drill chuck in the spindle with a jobber-length drill bit and some work in the vise. I ended up making a 5" riser which has worked really well. There's a link below to an idea for a 4" one.

Bruce




20160812_065303.jpg
 

Attachments

  • Freds - Rebuilding the 8520 head.pdf
    2.8 MB · Views: 7
Last edited:
I would always buy old American iron over new imported equipment.
No matter what it is, a house, a car, a machine, a motorcycle, new or used everything needs something.
I would not spend over 2000.00 for the pair if I wanted them.
 
Back
Top