NOS 16" Hendey

Glenn Brooks

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Here is an unbelievable 16 x 8' Hendey belt drive Lathe that recently came up for sale in an estate sale here in
Seattle. Made in 1929, then run in a training school until,retired and restored by the old timer who recently passed away. Apparently this lathe is completely restored- having been ground and scraped by the owner.

I briefly checked under the tailstock and could feel NO wear patterns or edges developing from use. Seeing this lathe is like stepping into a time machine and going back to when it was new, fresh out of the factory, set up in a local job shop. Once in a life time experience.

They also are offering a Hendy Camelback drill press! Same condition!

Fortunately for me, the estate sale guy who is disposing of all the equipment and household possessions has priced the lathe way beyond what I would pay - currently sits at $10,000, with all attachments. So there it sits.



Glenn
 
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That's beautiful.
SWEET looking, but not a sweet deal. That's way out of line.
There's not a need for a 10k old lathe.
 
Jeff, yup. The estate sale company really has no idea about machine tools, or regional differences in prices. To be fair, I guess his job is to represent the wishes of the family, not the buyers. He's just trying to maximize return to the estate. Their price is way over the top for what a hobbyist might pay- but so is the lathe. Very close to being one of a kind. Maybe the best condition,of any old lathe I've ever seen. I have a feeling the price will come down as they get closer to selling off the house. I just hope they don't call in the scraper in desperation at the last moment.

The old Camelback drill press seems to be very negotiable - maybe $300-400 at this point. I already have a nice old Canedy -Otto, same size, or would have made an offer.

Glenn
 
If you want the lathe write a firm offer and give it to the person doing the sale.

Many of these guys liquidate the estate for a flat fee plus a percentage and many times family gets greedy and sets unreasonable prices so this is common.

If the home is going to be sold the lathe needs to go.

When push goes to shove and time is short then a written offer is better than none.

We picked up our SB14.5 under similar stance as the liquidator priced too high combined with remote location resulted in no sale so we were called and we got the deal of the month...lathe with much tooling and accessories for $200.00

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TQ60, yeah that's a good suggestion. I really don't need another lathe. Already have four. Rebuilt two, one awaits, one needs to be sold... three are definitely keepers because of excellent to NOS condition. But this old Hendey would be a masterpiece to have available. So far I have passed on making an offer. They are having a final blow out sale on Friday. Might go poke my head in the door just to see what the temperature in the room is like...

Glenn
 
Take a wad of 20 dollar bills as it looks like more.

Show up mid day to look and watch for the homeowner or family as they usually will show up last day to see how it is going.

Spend time "mining" asking to look in boxes or corners and start building a pile.

As the day gets shorter the seller will likely be standing someplace talking about the sale and general things and that is when you walk up and ask about your "pile price" and be sure it is a pile of odd things so they may just state a price or just offer something as they are too busy to price it and end of sale may not sell otherwise..

If that goes well ask about the lathe ..general questions and about offers etc.

Their tone will tell you how desperate they ate and they may have a stack of written offers as they often do that.

Pull out your wad and make your offer and if the price was driven by seller and family not knowing then it may go.

This is the fun part of such sales.

Our favorite company knows us and just hives us a pile pice before we make the pile....

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Glenn, I would have liked to make that trip just to see that beauty, but had my sons over for a house siding party.
I would get a rough idea of the weight, calculate the value in scrap (minus some labor for scrapping maybe) and come up with a base value. Then add in a comfortable fudge factor to make the estate folks see the wisdom in not scrapping the dearly departed's long labor of love.
That calculation might come up too low... So if it does, just take it up to a reasonable number that you'd still be happy to part with. Write that number down with your name and number, seal it in an envelope and tell the executor that you are an experienced lathe purveyor and that if they do not sell it at their "collector" price, you'd be willing to purchase it at what you believe to be fair market value.

It might even help them to see the calculations... Scrap minus labor/transport = $XX (or Negative $xx in today's scrap prices)... Maybe a few pages of similar lathes and prices.
It looks like a beauty and we'd all hate to see it disappear into a pot.
Did you make it over there for the Friday prices?
 
Mike,yes I did visit on Friday. same price as the week before. disappointed. the other items I was looking at had somehow sold in between times. So went home empty handed.

I mulled over leaving a written offer. But realistically, would never use this lathe to its capacity. And Still have a primo NOS SB 9 to put back into service produced in 1925. And a 1942 Van Norman 12 to restore. So Lots to do without adding more equipment. I think somebody would be real happy with this lathe for $3000 or thereabouts. $1500 or $2000 would be better - a great deal actually. But that's a long way from what the family thinks it's worth. Usually over time the price shrinks. But someone else will have to chase the rainbow on this one.
Glenn
 
Apparently still for sale at $7k, at least as of Friday on Seattle CL.
 
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