Takisawa TSL-800D Lathe - $3,800 (hayward / castro valley, CA)

I'm wondering if this is a good deal. There are very few pictures of vital areas that are not shown.
 
In short, no. There's no mention of the change gears, the importance of which will depend upon your use, but needs to figure into the price regardless. No mention of collets, follow rest, or extra tooling. That's a small chuck and you'll spend $$$ on a good new one. The place appears to be an equipment reseller, so all the good bits will have been separated. An odd thing in the picture is what appears to be wood around the rear of the chuck, not sure what that's about, maybe a deflector for chips? I agree that their choice of picture angles is strange, like the person taking them doesn't know what a lathe is. Or maybe it's too close to the wall to get in there, but you'd think they would have moved it there with the front out, but who knows.

I looked at one for $3K in similar condition and ended up with it for half that, though keep in mind that moving it can run the price right back up again. The best deals are always to be had buying straight from the previous owner instead of a reseller, although the reseller may be more helpful in loading it.
 
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I have this same lathe, and KB58 nailed it. For sure you can do better on the price, using the points above to negotiate with. It's a 2500 pound lathe, above the class of lathes frequently talked about here. The spindle is an A1-5, somewhat more rare, as is the lathe. Having said that, after purchasing mine it turns out another guy a few miles away has one also, and loaned me his 4 jaw chuck. Small and friendly world!

I added a DRO, 1 micron resolution on the X axis is a must. It's a big step up from my 10" Logan, which was a nice lathe, and overall I would say the Takisawa cuts steel like the Logan cuts aluminum. Turning down a big chunk of steel is no longer an afternoon project, and I have to say parting off does not make me panic and reach for the hacksaw anymore.

I use a CXA size QCTP.
 
I KNEW I had seen one of these recently. ;)

This one appears to have a D1 spindle. Nice lathes, but definitely priced at the upper end, leaving plenty of room for negotiation. If good condition, I'd gladly trade my Heavy 10.
 
:) Good point about the spindle. That would be a plus. I have a full stack of change gears, but have never had to do anything that wasn't covered with the standard gears and the QC gear box.
 
Thank you guys for the insight, I have a very tight space, and when something special pops up I dream. A metal working machine that is already here is an easy sell, so mine would not be hard to move.
 
I looked at one of these several months ago. A very nice lathe - and priced accordingly. Around here, it was high, but then we don't live in equipment paradise. so that wasn't unanticipated. The deal breaker for me was it only came with one set of change gears on it, and from examining the pictures, they were not even the base set. The seller had no idea what they were. Winegrower alerted me to look out for that. He was right. I seem to recollect a set of change gears for this lathe was prohibitively expensive. Nice lathe, but I passed on it for that reason. Glad I did.

Regards
 
Well for anyone considering one of these lathes, with no change gears, adding an electronic lead screw is around $300. You may be able to drive the asking price way down due to the missing gears, such that it might end up well in your favor, ending up with a "free" ELS.

In my case, the seller was a machine shop that was moving and at the same time, switching to CNC equipment, so they were a motivated seller. Used equipment places, maybe not so much. That said, I know they're somewhat rare and if so in your area, yes, prices will be higher regardless. Of course the opposite also applies, that if and when you sell it, it'll go for more. See, it can always be justified...
 
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Something to keep in mind
 
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