Opportunity for Lathe and Mill Buy

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An older gentleman living on our old ranch compound passed away two weeks ago and his grandson is getting ready to sell items from the estate.  He was a self taught engineer and man of many skills, including gunsmithing.  He also was one who kept his equipment in good condition but didn't pay much attention to outside appearance.  In fact, his shop was open air under a metal roof.  Not a major problem for TX save for periods of high humidity.  I doubt if either machine has seen much use, given the user, especially in the last few years.  The other neighbors have known him and his wife for at least 30 years.Anyway I have identified the lathe as a Central Machinery/Grizzly/Shop Fox M1112, same as below except for badging.  There seem tobe a lot of good reviews on the internet for this model.http://toolsandmore.us/shop-fox-m111...ith-lathe.aspxIt appears to be complete, but has a lot of built up grime, oil, chips, and light surface rust.The controls all appear to be free.  I plan to haul it so my place where I can hook it to 220v.  Unfortunately all the silk screened dataplates are faded and unreadable so I can only assume it is 220v.  there are  manuals online I can download tho.  The tooling and gears, etc, all seem to be there. The mill is a Central Machinery bench model #42827, about a 7x30 table, radial head, and a really chunky motor with aluminum cooling fins.  The vertical column is about six inches in dia.  However, it has a 120v plug on the power cord, so I am not sure what I am dealing with, probably 120/240v..  I haven't been able to find any info on it; likewise the data plates have faded away, and I haven't been able to find the exact same model on the internet.  All I can say is that it is pretty massive.  I've plugged the mill in, and everything seems to work on it. It looks a little like this except that the table is fixed and the head moves up and down on  rack and pinion.  http://kbctoolsandmachinery.com/product/show/6-380-002.It looks like current new value on the lathe is around $3000 and the mill, maybe $1500-$200+.  I'd love to send pics but my Hughesnet satellite internet connection isn't fast enough.I am thinking of offering  $900 for the lathe and $500 for the mill at the most, cleaning them up, and taking the chance they are all in working order.Anyone here familiar with either of these two machines?Steve in Central TX
Reply:Offer him $1200 CASH and they will most likely be yours.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:No. Start at $900, THEN go up if needed. Come on Zap.........200amp Air Liquide MIG, Hypertherm Plasma, Harris torches, Optrel helmet, Makita angle grinders, Pre-China Delta chop saw and belt sander, Miller leathers, shop made jigs etc, North- welders backpack.
Reply:Hi, at first I thought you were describing a mill/drill, (your reference to the 6" round column) which are a POS type machine, but on opening the link the mill is more of a knee mill with the swivelling top part....seems to be a nice job if the price is right, the lathe is really cool too.I would have expected to pay at least $5k for the two.....second hand too, provided they have all their original equipment.Ian.Last edited by puddytat; 08-31-2012 at 04:58 AM.
Reply:Gt the two for $1200 with a woodworking bandsaw and scroll saw plus lots of small stuff, mainly tools.  'Course I have been helping the grandson sort out and haul things off It appears that most of te stuff is there with the lathe except that there is no faceplate or four jaw chuck,  The steady rests, keys, gears, plus the usual cutters are all there.  The mill works fine but I haven't plugged the lathe in yet.  Just before he passed away, the PO said it worked.  Bothhave more of a coating of dried oil and greas on the outside and when I cleaned it off in test spots, the ways, etc came clean and shiny.Been wondering what cleaning abrasives and chemicals some of you guys have used.  I am going to start ou with penetrating oil, WD 40, a commercial degreaser, progressively finer grits of silicon carbide paper and emery cloth, and finally diamond stones for the ways and tops.  Anything I missed?I have never restored a mill or metal lathe but have done high end woodworking per equipment, tractor engines, and the like.  I am anticipating that all the bearings will be in good condition since the lathe is advertised as an extremely accurate gunsmith lathe.Steve in Central TX
Reply:Absolutely no abrasives - NO sil carbide, NO emery.  Do not attack the ways with diamond.  If you must, use a fairly fine grade of steel wool. You can use that with stuff like Evaporust or Oxalic acid to slowly work loose minor surface rust.  First off, use some paint thinner or kerosene to get rid of gunky oil.  Use some Simple Green or something similar if you need, but don't hose it down with anything water-based."USMCPOP" First-born son: KIA  Iraq 1/26/05Syncrowave 250 w/ Coolmate 3Dialarc 250, Idealarc 250SP-175 +Firepower TIG 160S (gave the TA 161 STL to the son)Lincwelder AC180C (1952)Victor & Smith O/A torchesMiller spot welder
Reply:The ways on the lathe look to be in good shape and I didn't use anything more than WD40 and elbow grease on what I have cleaned so far.  The three jaw chuck needs a cleanuponthe circumference and the tailstock it frozen at the moment.The mill table is a bit of a mess however and abrasives seem to be in order.  I do see a bit of nicking here and there on the lathe ways I will need to take out.I will try to take pix though Hughesnet usually fails me when I try send themThanks for the advice!Steve
Reply:I just bought the Grizzly version of the lathe earlier this year.  It's a decent lathe but pretty much typical of the Chinese made equipment.  Quality is no where up to a Southbend or similar made lathe, but it's a lot cheaper!  I guess you get what you pay for.  In your case, you got it at a real good price.  It has the D-5 camlock mount for the chuck which is not real common.  Had to change the headstock oil a couple of times before I stopped seeing a lot of "glitter" in the oil.  You can take the headstock cover off (six allen head bolts) and look right into the gearbox and oil.  I could see all the "glitter" laying on the bottom of the case.  The compound is not as sturdy/heavy as I would of liked to see so just be careful if you decide to take any deep cuts or do use a parting tool on a big piece of steel.  The tail stock has a lever that locks the spindle in place.  Make sure it's not engaged.
Reply:I haven't started on the lathe yet though I continue to read the online gunsmithing posts that it has a lot of redeeming qualities in spite of questionable parentage and being born on the wrong side of the ocean.  I have the spindle lock completely out of the tail stock and have been putting penetrating oil down the hole.  Got it to start moving this morning.I have been spending my time on the mill mostly.  I have been using a heavy wood chisel to scrape the crud off the table then going to Simple Green, Crud Cutter, Goo Gone, and minerals pirits to clean off the residue.  It is getting there and is in serviceable condition.  The micro adjust for the spindle is locked up unless I am doing something wrong.  The spindle moves up and down freely and the spindle lock in the center of the spindle crank does what it is supposed to but apparently not moving the mechanism enough to enage the microadjust.Used Evaporust on the mill table and seemed to do the job.  The rust is gone but there is some staining but no putting on the table from the rust.  It has a couple of small dings and a spot where it might have beenused as a welding table but seemingly no major issues.  ditto with the ways.  I coated the exposed surfaces with Boeshield and the hidden areas like the ways with a film of synthetic white aircraft grease.   A the moment I am working on the column.  It looks to be mostly just drying up grease on the lower 75% but the last 6" or so appear to have rust.  The thing is sitting on a home made stand at present that puts the bed at chest height and I haven't climbedona ladder to inspect the top of the machine The spindle shaft appeas to have rust on it.  I have an old bank safe stand up on its side that I plan to use as a base once I finish the major stuff on the mill. From what I have read on the mill, it is discontinued but still supported.  I have seen them on Ebay from $800 - $1200.  Apparently it isn't much in favor because of the round shaft and radial head.  I guess it has tobe retrammed whenever he head is moved up or down.More later.  I am working outside in  hot TX sun so I am fighting my solvents and cleaners evaporating quickly.Steve
Reply:Don't grease the ways.  It will trap abrasive crud. Use way oil or at least some non-detergent 30 weight and flush it out often. For small dings, you can use a very fine, hard abrasive stone like an Arkansas stone to pass over the table.  If it "hangs" on a ding, you polish down the raised edge of the crater.  Some use a short piece of a file that has been stroked on a stone to "dull" it.  The theory is that it will only cut small things that are sticking up."USMCPOP" First-born son: KIA  Iraq 1/26/05Syncrowave 250 w/ Coolmate 3Dialarc 250, Idealarc 250SP-175 +Firepower TIG 160S (gave the TA 161 STL to the son)Lincwelder AC180C (1952)Victor & Smith O/A torchesMiller spot welder
Reply:Originally Posted by OldendumDon't grease the ways.  It will trap abrasive crud. Use way oil or at least some non-detergent 30 weight and flush it out often. For small dings, you can use a very fine, hard abrasive stone like an Arkansas stone to pass over the table.  If it "hangs" on a ding, you polish down the raised edge of the crater.  Some use a short piece of a file that has been stroked on a stone to "dull" it.  The theory is that it will only cut small things that are sticking up.
Reply:No scraping, no abrasives, as has been said before. Stone only high spots till they are level and that's it. Don't overdo it! All you want to do is remove any raised spots and that's it.I have heard the Chinese vs American discussion 100's of times. Reality is the BEST machine is the one YOU can use to make what YOU need to with it. NelsonHobby-Machinist.com - The Friendly Machinist Forum®My toys: South Bend Heavy 10L Lathe (1973)Burke #4 Milling Machine (1946)Van Norman #12 Milling Machine (1942)South Bend 14" Drill Press