Dangit. Not a steal or deal.

[shred]

Found out by accident a guy had a Clausing 12x36 lathe stashed away in a barn. Cabinet stand, tools, bits, etc Hasn't been used in years. Probably only wants a few hundred $ for it, doesn't have a clue what it is.. I go to see it, looks pretty good, under a small pile of junk.. blow off the dust.. not much surface rust, it's the high-end model I want.. until I get up closer.. and see the keyway in the leadscrew is blown out for 6", and the ways sag .005" or more up by the chuck.. aw cr@p... I guess I don't need to clean the garage out tonight.. At least I got some decent BBQ for my trip.

 

[Bogstandard]

Shred,
It is usually the case with machines that have been used on a farm.
Farmers do things to get them going again, nothing accurate needed, just wack it out and weld it on. So their machinery usually is in the same sort of state.

I could have cried when I used to visit a farm that my wife used to work at. Dirt floor in an open outhouse, machines standing on lumps of dunnage, rusty due to only occasional use and total neglect. Not a pretty sight.

John

 

[rake60]

My oldest boy works for a small glass plant that is only 1/4 mile from my house.
Many years ago they used to machine their own molds there.
They have an old lathe that hasn't been used in years.
I've have shown a minor interest is.

Since that time, they've needed a few things made very quickly.

(When the glass is already molten in the furnace, there's no time to wait for a
Next Day Air delivery.)

We'll just take our time and see where that may lead.

Rick

 

[shred]

Yeah, I had hopes for the Clausing since the guy hadn't ever turned it on and he wasn't much of a farmer, more of a car restorer, but alas it had been used hard long before he got hold of it.

Rick, here's a story I don't remember if I posted here yet-- I was in South America a few weeks ago and got a tour of a cast-iron foundry. Back in the toolroom where they make the molds, along with a bunch of bigger lathes (and a couple shapers) was a nice old 10" South Bend with taper attachment and all the rest. The owner said his dad bought it new in the 40's and it had been there in occasional use ever since. I tried to convince him to ship it up to the States with his next batch of dutch ovens, but he wasn't going for it..