[Deals] Working surface grinder make offer..how much?

[Denisj]

Hi all. I just walked into a shop today to buy some tooling and the guy offered me a very nice Brown & Sharpe surface grinder. The movements are smooth and without play. The motor operation is silent and the mag base works great. The caveat is he said make offer and I had no idea what to say. After offering him $500 he looked at me like I was crazy. I asked him to give me a number and of course he gave me nothing. I have no idea what I would use this thing for but I have a feeling now that I'm slowly getting up to speed with my lathe and my Mill that I might need a surface grinder one day? Most all of the work I do involves classic motorcycle restoration and I find myself working with brass and aluminum on a regular basis but rarely Steel. Maybe this would be a good tool when it comes time to make crankshafts? I would love to know what you guys think something like this should be worth and how much I should offer him. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[benmychree]

I think your offer was not outrageous, this is a grinder without power feed, and an older model and next to no parts support, The power feed models bring about twice that, and lots of times less than that.

 

[MontanaLon]

Surface grinders frequently go for a little bit more than scrap price. I think it has more to do with surface grinding being a whole magnitude higher precision than a home shop hobbyist needs or wants to tackle than anything else. There just isn't as much demand as there is for lathes and mills.

 

[Denisj]

I have been looking into it and it seems like I could use one for some really special operations. I like the idea of cylindrical grinding crank pins and camshaft bearing surfaces which would keep me from doing that on my nice lathe. Maybe I can convince him to let it go with the Optical comparator for $600.

 

[rjs44032]

Location is a factor. Here in NE Ohio, I purchased my Sanford MG-618 for $150. And the guy delivered it for $50. Sure it needs some TLC. But has one shot oil system and came with a 6 x 12 Eclipse chuck.

So I agree that your offer is not out of bounds. Still depends on location though.

Best Regards,
Bob

 

[Chuck K]

The surface grinder isn't going to be of much use for crank pins. I have one but it doesn't get used all that much. I think you're offer was more than generous.

 

[Joeman77]

Good find on a nice looking old grinder. I've got an old manual grinder (different manufacturer but similar) that comes in really handy on occasion.
The problem with these situations comes from the idea that the guy knows what he spent on it, especially if he bought it new and even if it's not been used for quite a while it was still big bucks back in the day! Nobody wants to take a beating on their stuff.
Just my 2 cents worth!

 

[middle.road]

In the last ten years down here I've seen them go for a little as $300/ea for a couple of tool room grade machines in fine condition to $1200 for a clapped piece of junk.
Prices have been all over the place.
$500 for a 2B strikes me as very reasonable.

 

[projectnut]

Checking through the "sold" listings on eBay most older (and tired looking) manual grinders seem to be going for around $800.00. The larger automatics go anywhere from $1,200.00 to more than $8,000.00. In our area there are currently several listed on Craigslist. The nicer manuals are listed in the $800.00 to $1,000.00 range, while the poorer looking ones are listed in the $500.00 range.

Like anything else the price is dependent on location, demand, and condition. Being in the rust belt the prices in our area seem to generally be lower than in areas with less manufacturing or more demand for used equipment. Back in 1012 I purchased a Sanford MG 612 manual grinder. It was in excellent condition and came with several assorted wheels. The price at that time was slightly more than what you offered for the Brown & Sharpe.

Before making a purchase I would check in out thoroughly. If the ways are worn, the spindle bearings need replacement, or there are problems with the motor, repairs could easily run more than double the cost of the machine. As for factory support, most of the "maintenance" components are off the shelf. Motors can be rebuilt or reconditioned, but it's not cheap. About the only things that aren't available these days are castings, table parts, and ways. On many machines the ways are replaceable, but you'll have to either make them, or have them made. Again not cheap.

This is the grinder I purchased for about the same price as you offered. It looked exactly like this when I purchased it. It didn't require any cleaning, reconditioning, or new parts.

 

[Choiliefan]

I'd read that plate above the spindle carefully.
This machine may have a plain bearing spindle which in good condition is superior to the ball bearing types.
It would be a good idea to test grind something if possible.
$400-600 seems reasonable but only if it works well and gives a smooth not ripply finish.