Used lathe or mill

C Craft

C Craft

Well-Known Member
So is there such an animal, a used mill or lathe in a price range that is worth bringing home??? What do I need to think about in terms of power, 220-240V or 110-120V? What does a novice need to be looking at for wear on a used one???

This is probably a pipe dream for me but, if nothing else I feel the conversation/discussion may benefit some of us on this forum!! I am not talking about going into business and I must admit I don't often see a mill of metal lathe on craigslist!
 
Around here there's plenty.

But this place is kind of an exception. I live in the Detroit area and there's TONS of manufacturing everywhere around here. And lots of used machinery. At good prices too.

So I'm assuming it depends on where you live. If someone is in a rural farming community then manufacturing machinery would be harder to come by.

But if someone doesn't mind driving a long distance or if they'd pay a boatload in shipping, then there's deal to be had.
 
"...in a price range that is worth bringing home???"

That is a very relative statement...mainly based on your budget...and how much work you are willing to do to a machine that may need some TLC...
 
I find that you can get Bridgeports in my area 900- 2000 in decent shape. Most are 3PH though so you would either have to put a VFD on it or change out the motor an added expense. In retrospect it's not the mill itself that costs the money it's the tooling!! Same 1500 dollar machine in my area with some tooling will easily double the buy price. And like in my case I don't have the room for a Bridgeport! I've been looking for a smaller one. HF has one that is mid sized and about 1500 new! It gets decent reviews but again little to no tooling. Also if I were to get one of these I would like to see it in person! None of the HFs have them in stock.
 
I was just looking at a old knee mill in good condition. ($1500) Like Gliden07 said. Most are 3ph. You can go with a phase converter. That is what I will do. Check to see if you have a Kbid in your area.
 
The first mill I bought was a smaller JET knee mill, single phase, and it has a neck extension to get more depth. On little mills with a vise, you don't have much room. It's somewhere between a bench-top machine and a full size. It will do almost anything a knife maker would need and I picked it up for $500 with a vise, collets, endmills, and a bunch of tooling. Last summer though, I went to an auction out in the country. It was a former small machine shop and farm type auction that didn't attract the machinist crowd at all. I picked up a nice Bridgeport for $400! I looked around at the bidders like, are you kidding me? They normally go for $1500-2000, but I was the only one there that wanted it. It is 3 phase and came with a vise, but no tooling. It all comes down to being patient and being in the right place at the right time. I also have a 9x30 Enco lathe and I would not recommend small lathes. It flexes a lot, thereby making carbide tooling out of the question. I've tried a quick change tool upgrade, tried stiffening it with a couple other mods and I still don't like it. If you're making tiny parts with aluminum or brass it's ok. If you really want a lathe, I think you should hold out for at least a 14x40 and you will be much happier.
 
I do have an Old Atlas 618 very nice Little Lathe, key word here is "Little". I haven't set it up just no room in shop. I should sell it to a collector and buy the Mill, I think I would get more use out of that?
 
Your right about the area you live in Cliff, I live in the Tampa Bay area and craigslist is loaded with tools and machinery, as are auctions in the area for machine shops closing.
On the other hand...I have property in the panhandle and while I'm not surprised to not see much for tools or machinery, if I was looking for tractors or farming implements, craigslist is loaded with that stuff up there.
 
Wow I threw this out earlier today and it appears to have taken off!

Yep, it is a farm community in the area!! I don't have any room in my present set-up so it would need to be something in the smaller category.
Smallshop said:
...in a price range that is worth bringing home???"

That is a very relative statement...mainly based on your budget...and how much work you are willing to do to a machine that may need some TLC...
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Ted, I am pretty handy and could probably do most of what I need on a given machine!!

The closest I have come to a machine I saw an old and I stress old machine being sold in the neighboring town on craigslist a year or so ago! The seller did not know what brand it was but, knowing machinery. I would guess this was a mill from the early 50's or somewhere give or take ten years. The machine was huge, tall and had a huge cast base that would have taken a real good forklift to pick it up! It looked like a piece that had originally started life in factory type setting!
It appeared that it had been sitting in a not so weather tight building for quite some time. The seller did not even know if it ran! I am guessing it was something they inherited after a father or uncle passed on.

They had quite a selection of bits, heads for the machine and many other accessories. I don't think they knew anything about all of that as well! Then the accessories appeared in a later edition of Craigslist and the accessories were priced much higher but no mention of the mill after that!!
 
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i have the Grizzly 10x30. for what i use it for it’s great. i’m no machinist and i’m not trying to hold tolerances below a thousandth. i don’t need a lathe very often, but as you’ve discovered when you need a lathe there really is no good substitute for one.
 
oops- it’s actually 10x22. (G0602) i bought the lathe for light gun work as well as the eventuality of making folders. For a benchtop lathe it’s a hoss. I put an aloris style quick change toolpost on it. It’s been a lot of fun teaching myself how to turn parts.
 
OK John, now I know which lathe you've got. I couldn't figure out the 10X30 Grizzly, but the 10X22 (G0602), know that lathe well - I've got one. I've added a QCTP, DRO, and VFD drive. Boy do I like the VFD for threading operations (hate the gear changing). I've LOVE to have the Grizzly G4003G - 12" x 36" Gunsmithing Lathe so bad I can almost taste it. 1.5" spindle bore, 36" bed - yea that'd be NICE. BUT - the 10X22 does about 95% of what I need, and I can usually work around the other 5%.
 
If you keep your eyes open, deals can be found anywhere. I know people who have been given usable machine tools for just the cost of moving. I’ve seen decent lathes for well under $1k, or even guys selling a lathe and a mill for a great price. Sometimes people just want to get rid of tools, and there’s always room to negotiate.
 
KenH said:
OK John, now I know which lathe you've got. I couldn't figure out the 10X30 Grizzly, but the 10X22 (G0602), know that lathe well - I've got one. I've added a QCTP, DRO, and VFD drive. Boy do I like the VFD for threading operations (hate the gear changing). I've LOVE to have the Grizzly G4003G - 12" x 36" Gunsmithing Lathe so bad I can almost taste it. 1.5" spindle bore, 36" bed - yea that'd be NICE. BUT - the 10X22 does about 95% of what I need, and I can usually work around the other 5%.
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You took the words right out of my mouth. If there was any other lathe I wished I had it's the G4003, and only for doing things that I don't do anyway like cutting chambers on big bore rifles- but the G0602 already does way more than my ability to use it. Almost all the gun work I do centers around .22 rifles. The G0602 is likely all the lathe I'll ever need for that.
 
ARCustomKnives said:
If you keep your eyes open, deals can be found anywhere. I know people who have been given usable machine tools for just the cost of moving. I’ve seen decent lathes for well under $1k, or even guys selling a lathe and a mill for a great price. Sometimes people just want to get rid of tools, and there’s always room to negotiate.
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This is true. Unfortunately, the story of my life tends to be that opportunity and spare cash on hand almost never happen at the same time!
 
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