[Deals] Thoughts On This Mini Lathe/mill Deal?

TS3g

TS3g

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Hello! I'm a newbie to the machining world and am on the market for a lathe primarily, but have an interest in a mill as well (because why not have both right?). I haven't had any luck finding used machines that fit my needs/desires in my area (Central Kansas), or even some of surrounding states, but I did come across this ad on Craigslist today. I can't post links yet (not enough posts), but here's the description:

For sale is both a 7x12 Cummins Metal Lathe and a Vertical mill and all tooling. There is a long list of tooling included. The lathe has both three and four jaw chucks, face plate, steady rest, follower rest, quick change toolpost and threading gears. The mill has a boring bar, vise, set of parallels, R8 collets, center drill set, edge finder set, 1-2-3 blocks, clamp kit, etc.

This mill is unusual for a mini-mill in that is uses standard R8 tooling. Most of the tooling for both is new and looks to have had little use.

I will not separate, all will be sold in one lot. $1000.00
Click to expand...

The mill is actually a Homier Speedway Series mini mill, so virtually identical to the HF 44991. The machines appear to have some slight surface rust on the beds and stuff, but other than that, appear to be in near near perfect condition. The pictures show the tooling from the description, and it all appears to be correct as well.

The machines are smaller than I ultimately want, but I don't have the space or power for bigger machines, nor do I have much machining experience, so I'm thinking they would be a good way to get my feet wet in the machining world. Plus, I also have plans to turn a mini lathe into a Mittler Bros Ultimate Tubing Notcher clone, only without the $4,500 price tag, so even when do I eventually upgrade, I have a plan for the mini lathe regardless.

So am I crazy or does this sound like a decent deal? When I get my 5 posts in, I'll post the ad link. Thanks for looking.
 
Unless the mill is a Taig, or it's type, (really small) it doesn't sound bad. You very probably couldn't duplicate it with new equipment. Take advantage of the resale market if you can.
 
You could buy both the mill and lathe at HF for $1000 with a coupon, but it sounds like a fair amount of tooling included. To tool up a lathe and mill would cost waaaaaay more than $1000 bucks, even for just basic stuff. consider that a basic 3" chuck will set you back $75-$100, a vise is $150, Collet set $50-$100, clamp kit $60... you can see that it is probably a good deal. While they are not big "American Iron" you can get a lot done with the little machines. I have a HF 7x12 lathe that I am in the process of making a number of upgrades to. I would confirm that they are both running, the control boards on the lathes are prone to blowing up on occasion. If they run and the tooling is as described I would say go for it. I of course would try to negotiate a little bit, particularly if the person selling is not familiar with machine tools. Check out http://littlemachineshop.com for lots of information on both machines as well as what the tooling costs new.
 
Well I took the time to add up all the tooling that I can see in the pics, and it looks like it would be around $600-$700, assuming it Grizzly/LittleMachineShop quality, so not bad. The line, "Most of the tooling for both is new and looks to have had little use" makes me think the seller isn't the original owner, and the machines clearly haven't been used in a while. I'm going to hit them up and verify they are working and try to talk to them down a little bit, especially since I'd have to drive ~3hrs each way. Thanks for the feedback!
 
That's not a bad deal at all. Here in TX that lathe would bring $350 bare, and the mill about $450. The tooling makes it a good deal.

A couple years ago I sold a similar package - Much nicer lathe, same mill, all excellent, and a nice maple-top bench, fully tooled, including a cool dividing head, for $1500. I'd say your deal is comparable.

I'd ask for a $100 discount to cover your gas, and offer to pay via Paypal (add the 3%) to make sure you don't make the drive for nothing. You can also pre-pay part or all, with the understanding that it would be replaced with cash on delivery, with the seller reversing the PP tansaction.
 
I'd pass myself. I don't see $1000 there. Those aren't big enough to do much & will probably have you wishing you saved your money for something biger. Most of the Grizzly machines will run on you house power.

If I actually wanted that size & wanted it really bad I'd give $500 at most. All of those tools look bottom of the barrel & haven't been used by someone knowing what they was doing.

With a bigger machine to learn on you would be less likely to break it.
 
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