I'm thinking of bidding on a lathe , what do you think it is worth ?

[Fivetide]

Hi , I will need a lathe for some parts I'm thinking of doing knobs mainly some very small gears perhaps and the odd 1/16 scale wheel .. i dont want a huge lathe or pay alot if I can help I have seen this one on ebay

Lathe

its close to where I live and so not a problem picking it up I've been looking a while and this seems like a good deal so far.. what would you guys pay for it ?

And I think bidding has two 'd's lol

[irving2008]

It's a 1930's Grayson, poss as late as 1940's. The tricky bit about buying an old lathe like that is you have no idea how worn it is. You can expect some backlash in the cross slide and feed screws, and some wear on the bed. If you're lucky the spindle bearings will still be usable. Dont go more than £75 - £100, maybe £150 in really good nick. If you can, go look at it before you buy. Remember you can pick up a good secndhand modern 'Chinese' lathe for £200-£300

[Fivetide]

It's a 1930's Grayson, poss as late as 1940's. The tricky bit about buying an old lathe like that is you have no idea how worn it is. You can expect some backlash in the cross slide and feed screws, and some wear on the bed. If you're lucky the spindle bearings will still be usable. Dont go more than £75 - £100, maybe £150 in really good nick. If you can, go look at it before you buy. Remember you can pick up a good secndhand modern 'Chinese' lathe for £200-£300

As usual irving sound advice .. what I could really do with is a micro lathe , in all honesty looking at it now it looks a little to big for what I need, but looking at the price of micro lathes on ebay and it’s as expensive or not more expensive to buy say a Clarke hobby.. Don’t know what to do .. anyway if I get it “dirt” cheap say £60 then I can see if I can make room for it. Factor in £10 for fuel .. as well.

[Web Goblin]

There is a micro lathe here : Advert - For Sale - Axminster/Sieg C1 Micro-lathe

[Peter.]

There is a micro lathe here : Advert - For Sale - Axminster/Sieg C1 Micro-lathe

Yep, and right on his doorstep. The Grayson will have more power and capacity but £250 for that Sieg is a good price especially with the extra bits.

[Fivetide]

thanks Peter I have emailed the seller fingers crossed :)

[Fivetide]

Made contact going to see it tomorrow hopefully good shout :)

[Peter.]

Someone's just posted a compound slide on there for £25 now too :)

[Fivetide]

Well I saw and fell in love, Phil the guy who sold it has mad aload of improvements, its light enough to get on and off my bench when I dont use it , quiet and small.. sounds like my ideal women :) !
Paid £250 and didnt barter , he through in aload of tools, gears and like i said the improvments, he had stripped the chuck and lubed it, some ally and brass bars.. I think its a bargain.. but what do I know ?

[Jonathan]

Well I saw and fell in love, Phil the guy who sold it has mad aload of improvements

What sort of improvements, like I did ?

its light enough to get on and off my bench when I dont use it

Yeah, and light enough to try and tip over if you put a big motor on it and get the acceleration settings wrong!