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Some ideas on it's worth.

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Robsmith

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Hello folks. A friend is selling his fathers lathe , for a bit of extra money for his mum. Tonight he sent me three pics. It's a Hercus 6" machine. And according to Steve. "It has lots of tools with it and two chucks" The pics aren't too descriptive. Taken by a non machinist ha ha .
I'm just curious as to what everyone thinks what it's worth ? The lathe is located in Singleton, N.S.W Australia. It will be moved to Maitland, N.S.W
Resized_2_1.jpg Resized_2_2.jpg Thanks, Rob.
 
It’s a close copy of a south bend model a. You could google some prices on them. Here in UK I would guess £400 ( worn out or lucky buy) to about double that. Boxford copies of the same thing, which look a little more modern and have a more rigid headstock, seem to go for a little more - perhaps up to 1500 for a really clean under-drive version. Nice looking thing - I’d be interested, gearbox is handy and with a big chuck you can hold large-ish stock. Hope that is useful.

oh - are you sure 6”? I would expect it to be nominally 9” (in American speak) and in practice a little larger.
 
I agree it looks like a South Bend 9A. If it's in decent condition and reasonably equipped it would bring ~$1000 here in the US.
 
It’s a close copy of a south bend model a. You could google some prices on them. Here in UK I would guess £400 ( worn out or lucky buy) to about double that. Boxford copies of the same thing, which look a little more modern and have a more rigid headstock, seem to go for a little more - perhaps up to 1500 for a really clean under-drive version. Nice looking thing - I’d be interested, gearbox is handy and with a big chuck you can hold large-ish stock. Hope that is useful.

oh - are you sure 6”? I would expect it to be nominally 9” (in American speak) and in practice a little larger.
Yes it was a typo ... It is a 9"
 
It is a Hercus, an Australian copy of the South Bend lathe. A fairly early version with adjustable cast iron head bearings my best guess made about 1950. Has a gearbox which is good. In reasonable OK condition is worth a minimum of $1000, possibly more. You can get an idea of prices on eBay and Gumtree. Don't get confused by higher prices for the later versions with improved bearings etc.

Hope this helps. They are quite collectable so sell reasonably quickly.
 
There was a similar one in the local scrap yard recently ! Waiting for dropping into the grinder to go for smelting.
 
Here is USA in would be around $300 , It does has quick change threading which is a plus.

You do find these old lathes going for a song ... once in a while. But I've never been at the right place at the right time. Generally anything with "Southbend" on it - even "a copy of a Southbend" - will go for more like $1000 in my area.
 
Hello folks. A friend is selling his fathers lathe , for a bit of extra money for his mum. Tonight he sent me three pics. It's a Hercus 6" machine. And according to Steve. "It has lots of tools with it and two chucks" The pics aren't too descriptive. Taken by a non machinist ha ha .
I'm just curious as to what everyone thinks what it's worth ? The lathe is located in Singleton, N.S.W Australia. It will be moved to Maitland, N.S.W
View attachment 123528 View attachment 123529 Thanks, Rob.
If you could get better photos, especially of the ways, I could give a better answer. With all the rust, of course, whomever gets it, there will be lots of work cleaning it up. Also, knowing exactly what tools come with it, would give a better idea. I notice inthe background there are some rusty collets. The odd thing is, that the two pics make it look like two differnet lathes, the one rusty and the other nice grey painted. Without knowing more about it, I might give 300$US but if I knew more, I might give more.
 
If you could get better photos, especially of the ways, I could give a better answer. With all the rust, of course, whomever gets it, there will be lots of work cleaning it up. Also, knowing exactly what tools come with it, would give a better idea. I notice inthe background there are some rusty collets. The odd thing is, that the two pics make it look like two differnet lathes, the one rusty and the other nice grey painted. Without knowing more about it, I might give 300$US but if I knew more, I might give more.
It's one lathe ... the owner has no idea. .. He has to remove it from his mothers place as she is moving out. He is going to take it to his place and clean it up a bit. He is not mechanically inclined. I spoke with him today. He's not too keen to do much work but keen on a good price. ( yep that sort of person) I asked him to take more pics. when it's back at his place. I'll tell him what to take pics of. Thanks.
 
In all honesty, it is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Start high and be open to offers then negotiate.
 
It's one lathe ... the owner has no idea. .. He has to remove it from his mothers place as she is moving out. He is going to take it to his place and clean it up a bit. He is not mechanically inclined. I spoke with him today. He's not too keen to do much work but keen on a good price. ( yep that sort of person) I asked him to take more pics. when it's back at his place. I'll tell him what to take pics of. Thanks.

Might want to caution him that overly aggressive cleaning can reduce its value. WD40, steel wool, and lots of elbow grease are all that I would apply to remove the rust, and only down to the working surface. If there are pits, they just have to remain. Think of them as fortuitous oil pockets!
 
$500 would be a fair price for it "as is".
For NSW it might be a fair price, as I believe Australia might have a supply problem for lathes, but here in the USA there are many lathes for sale, which drops the price. Of course, you may be speaking of $AU not $US. But in $US, I would be inclined to 300$US. I wojuld be too suspicious of a non-machinist not understanding what he has. The description "many tools" is absolutely meaningless as written--we all know that we must have a written description or better yet, photos of those "many tools". Usually we all want the top $$ that we can get but non-maachinist, not understanding the quality, good or bad shape of the machine, the number of items to be sold with it, and all the details yet still trying to get top $$, may lead to some angry customer. Well, machinist have engraved on their brains : "Caveat Emptor"
 
Might want to caution him that overly aggressive cleaning can reduce its value. WD40, steel wool, and lots of elbow grease are all that I would apply to remove the rust, and only down to the working surface. If there are pits, they just have to remain. Think of them as fortuitous oil pockets!
I told him to hit it with a degreaser, pressure wash it , then coat it with Lanox ( a lanolin based sealer) He's a lazy bugger. That would be a lot of work for him . ha ha ha
 
For NSW it might be a fair price, as I believe Australia might have a supply problem for lathes, but here in the USA there are many lathes for sale, which drops the price. Of course, you may be speaking of $AU not $US. But in $US, I would be inclined to 300$US. I wojuld be too suspicious of a non-machinist not understanding what he has. The description "many tools" is absolutely meaningless as written--we all know that we must have a written description or better yet, photos of those "many tools". Usually we all want the top $$ that we can get but non-maachinist, not understanding the quality, good or bad shape of the machine, the number of items to be sold with it, and all the details yet still trying to get top $$, may lead to some angry customer. Well, machinist have engraved on their brains : "Caveat Emptor"
Well noted. He asked me to give him a hand unloading it. I'll have a look and take some pics then.
 

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