# I bought a lathe, mill, and a bandsaw, how did I do?



## WSMkid (Feb 11, 2018)

After graduating from PSU in May I have been keeping my eyes pealed for things to get my shop out fitted (should be breaking ground in a week or two). My mother gave me the word that a widow and her son in-law were looking to sell her late husbands "shop stuff". In the mid 90's this gentleman got into machining. He was knowing for buying "the best" and then changing hobbies after a few years. (Hobbies started with vw dune buggies then to machining,rc plains,golf, and ending with PC video games)
These machines were stored in his old filling station (located in my home town in SE Kansas) that his son in-law was building into a wood shop and decided he had no use for them. 

The machines them selves: 

Mill:
7x42 2J head Bridgeport with a 6" vice, set (complete from what I can tell) of R8 collets and a few end mills and drill bits. 
I believe the mill to be a 1971 or 1972 model, 1-1/2 (or 2,I forget) hp 3 phase. 
 The table looks to be very clean with only one mark from a drill bit (that I could see). The ways feel tight, x axis has ~30thu of backlash that needs to be taken out. The ways on the knee are a bit worring to me as they have some surface rust that I was able to wipe clean.  It should work for me after some love. 

Lathe:
I was a little disappointed with the lathe. I had been looking at getting a 12 or 13x from grizzly when my shop was built so I had some standards/ expectations. 
 It is a (EDIT!! Sheldon!) 10 or 11 X42 (I think, documentation on these are iffy) it came with the usual 3 and 4 jaw chucks and a back plate. It is one with the optional "powered stand" that houses the motor and a set of v belts in the cabinet. It looks to be in "ok" shape. The carriage has a load of backlash but the cross slide felt nice. It has one indexable turning tool but I suspect more to be found. I believe the date is between 1940 and 1942. 1-1/2hp 120V (iirc)

Bandsaw:
The more I look at the monster the more I'm impressed. It is a Kalamazoo with what I guess to be 12" cutting capabilities and runs an 1-1/2" blade. It has hydraulic down feed,coolant system and a 3speed v-belt drive. It looks to be a 2hp, 220 1ph

"Stuff":

A cabinet with mix tooling including:
A 3 set of mic's (1,2,3") us brand but I can't remember the name. 
A set of adjustable reamers. 
A step clamp set for the mill. 

As  mentioned, he was also into flying. 

Included with the above:

 -What looks to be a virgin os .60 glow two stroke plain engine. 
-what looks to be a virgin ys120 4-stroke glow engine. (Receipt in box is dated 3-7-1992 iirc for $549.95) 
-two cone starters (to start engine) one NIB
-a fueling station with an electric fuel pump (spare pump floating around)
-a start box with a lawn mower battery and cubbies for "stufff"
-approx. 25 new props most 10"
-a hand full of big RC servos
-30 lbs of various plain stuff.   

He is also letting me keep the mill Lathe and saw in his shop until I can get down there with my dad's skidsteer and take them to my dads stop for storage until my shop in complete. 

I wrote the check three weeks ago but this is the first time I've "had time" to write about it on there to ask every ones thoughts. 
I'm currently nursing a bottle of blue gatorade recovering from a long night of Crown induced socializing. 

I believe I will start a new thread asking advice on my shop/toolroom/house. 

Advice on any of the above (reconditioning of machines spelling, grammar checking apps for ISO)is greatly welcome.

Edit: price for the lot was $2250. 

GJ

Edit edit: I was also give three Futaba radios. Guessing they are early 90's


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## abby (Feb 11, 2018)

You didn't say what you paid so can't comment on "how did I do" but you did ask for advice on spelling so ........you keep your eyes peeled , not pealed.
Good luck with your purchase though !
Dan.


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## WSMkid (Feb 11, 2018)

Dan, 

I gave $2250 for the lot. 

I need to find a word type of app or use my work computer before/after work.  

Thank you for your reply.

GJ


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## Hopper (Feb 12, 2018)

Sounds like a good pile of gear to fill your new workshop/house with. Lots o' fun.


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## kvom (Feb 12, 2018)

Pics or it didn't happen

th_wwp


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## WSMkid (Feb 12, 2018)

Hopper,
I hope it all turns out well. Time will tell. I expect it to be a year before I'm making chips on anything worth noting.
Kvom,
I don&#8217;t have pics do to my phone dying both times I was there looking them over.


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## kwoodhands (Feb 14, 2018)

You did well, $2250.00 is a lot less then I would have thought you paid. The Logan lathe may be better than the Grizzly lathe you wanted. Sounds like you have a good head start on machining after your shop is built.
mike


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## WSMkid (Feb 16, 2018)

Mike, thank you,
Time will tell if it's any better. If I can get some of the back lash out of it I bet I can make it work. 
It's kind of a strange size, it's really long but has a small (6"?) 3 jaw on it. It stands tall but looks like a skeleton compared to other lathes of this swing. 

GJ.


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## rlukens (Feb 16, 2018)

WSMkid said:


> Mike, thank you,
> Time will tell if it's any better. If I can get some of the back lash out of it I bet I can make it work.
> It's kind of a strange size, it's really long but has a small (6"?) 3 jaw on it. It stands tall but looks like a skeleton compared to other lathes of this swing.
> 
> GJ.



I think the Logan lathe might be the steal of the deal. You say it has a 6" chuck. Maybe you could swing a larger diameter with a different chuck? The thru hole will be a hint. 
I'd look that lathe over hard and determine it's condition. Backlash is no problem. If the ways are worn near the chuck you can have the bed ground and/or scraped. You didn't say if it has a quick change gear box, but even those can be retrofitted. 
But I get carried away, with the shop you're building you may be better off replacing it. I've just made a lot of chips with those old "tool room" lathes.


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## WSMkid (Feb 16, 2018)

Gentlemen!! I have made a major mistake!! 

The lathe is a Sheldon!! 

I was reading some of the above posts and something dissent feel right about Logan (name of my niece). 

I've attached the only pic I have of the lathe. It is the name plate above the change gears. 

View attachment IMG_1758.jpg


GJ


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## WSMkid (Feb 16, 2018)

Rlukens, I'm unsure of any of the dims on the lathe. It has an odd dual v belt drive that allows for 8 (?) speeds and very rapid change between them. 

Off the top of my head it does have a quick change gear box for threading and feed. Left and right feed. Amazingly to me it even has power cross feed! Although it does have a threaded chuck. (Would like to have a foot break like my fathers 16x56)

http://www.lathes.co.uk/sheldon/page2.html

According to this link it is either an 11" or 12" with the "u" style powered stand. 
The first picture shown under the "Sheldon 11" & 12" lathe" tab (hopefully the link above) is the only picture I've been able to find of my type of lathe with the "V" style tailstock end legs. I'm still thinking mine is a longer option than the one shown. 

Perhaps I can get them to my parents place next weekend and get a better look at them. 

GJ


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## BillH (Feb 18, 2018)

2250? You did better than me!


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## Wizard69 (Feb 18, 2018)

WSMkid said:


> Mike, thank you,
> Time will tell if it's any better. If I can get some of the back lash out of it I bet I can make it work.


No time needed, you have made an incredible deal. Sell off some of that RC stiff and you will be out of pocket far less than $2000. 


> It's kind of a strange size, it's really long but has a small (6"?) 3 jaw on it. It stands tall but looks like a skeleton compared to other lathes of this swing.
> 
> GJ.




Im not sure what you mean by the above, but small lathes of that era, targeting home users where often on the light side.  Nothing bad as it made the lathe affordable.   More importantly these old lathe where usually well built.  I say usually because during WW2 companies where instructed to cut corners in many way to meet short term production demands.    For example you will find WW2 built lathes with the spindle running in cast iron.   

Also don't get too wrapped up in backlash.   Manual machines will all have some, id only worry about it on critical axis.  

By the way if your shop doesn't have 3 phase power, VFD's can allow you to run 3 phase machines and give you a few extra with the upgrade.


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## WSMkid (Feb 18, 2018)

BillH thank you for stopping by, what kind of a deal did you get?

Wizard, same to you. 
I'm reluctant to sell off the rc stuff incase I decide to get that far into flying down the road. I would hate to sell this stuff now and the. Kick my self for "needing" to buy a ~$400 motor. I guess in theory I would just build one out of barstock and have it add that much more fun to the whole experience. "shrug"

I guess what I mean by "strange looking" is that this lathe has almost double the bed length of other machines in its class. 

Weather permitting I should be able to move these to my parents shop next weekend. 

Does any one have any expectancies with these older Sheldon lathes?

GJ


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## WSMkid (Feb 19, 2018)

Gentlemen I ask your advice,

First I am looking for information on proper lifting technics for the lathe and mill. I don't believe this mill has an i bolt to lift from like my fathers. I've also heard mixed information on lifting lathes. Any advice welcome. 


Also, what would you use to help preserve these machines once I get them moved to there temp location? 

My thought is a good helping of cheep, non-detergent 30w motor oil over all critical surfaces.  Input on this is also welcome. 

Thank you for stopping by.

GJ


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## rlukens (Feb 19, 2018)

WSMkid said:


> First I am looking for information on proper lifting technics for the lathe and mill. I
> Also, what would you use to help preserve these machines once I get them moved to there temp location?
> GJ



I've moved a knee mill and a decent sized lathe with an engine hoist and nylon slings. Just be sure you keep the lifting points above the center of gravity, otherwise, have a couple of helpers handy to keep the machine fro flipping over.
Depending on current condition, I wouldn't get to carried away with "rust protection". 30 wt oil will be a ***** to clean up. I'd be more inclined to spay them down with a 50/50 mixture of ATF and kerosene or ATF and acetone. This will act as a penetrating oil and a protectorant.


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## WSMkid (Feb 19, 2018)

rlukens said:


> I've moved a knee mill and a decent sized lathe with an engine hoist and nylon slings. Just be sure you keep the lifting points above the center of gravity, otherwise, have a couple of helpers handy to keep the machine fro flipping over.
> 
> Depending on current condition, I wouldn't get to carried away with "rust protection". 30 wt oil will be a ***** to clean up. I'd be more inclined to spay them down with a 50/50 mixture of ATF and kerosene or ATF and acetone. This will act as a penetrating oil and a protectorant.





Rlukens, thanks again for stopping by. My assumption was as long as I was around the upper slide (the name escapes me) of the mill I would be ok. The lathe has me a little more freaked out. I can just see one of the cast legs breaking off of it if someone carelessly throws a strap over the bed to strap it down. 

Good call on the 30w, although atf worries me due to the friction modifiers in it. Also I despise the smell of atf (tied for first with 90w and hydraulic oil). 

I suspect straight diesel would evaporate over time so it's probably not the best option either. 

I will do some research on atf. 

Thank you 

GJ


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## grapegro (Feb 20, 2018)

Hello GJ, I have found pure synthetic motor oil to be long lsting and rust preventative as well as a good all round lubricant. All my equipment gets this treatment, living 3 kilometers from the ocean creates a big problem with rust until I found this lubricant.  Norm


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## BillH (Feb 21, 2018)

WSMkid said:


> BillH thank you for stopping by, what kind of a deal did you get?
> 
> Wizard, same to you.
> I'm reluctant to sell off the rc stuff incase I decide to get that far into flying down the road. I would hate to sell this stuff now and the. Kick my self for "needing" to buy a ~$400 motor. I guess in theory I would just build one out of barstock and have it add that much more fun to the whole experience. "shrug"
> ...





Deal? Tampa can be a hard place to find good deals on machine tools. 2,000$ for a used clapped out Bridgeport that I made workable again, and just bought a new PM1236 lathe with DRO. I should of bought a new Bridgeport clone to begin with. Will need to scrape my X/Y and make new gibs on the Bridgeport to get full range of motion back on Y. 
Overly happy with my new lathe, but again, spent 5000$ with the added tooling, shipping, and DRO.


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## rlukens (Feb 21, 2018)

BillH said:


> Deal? Tampa can be a hard place to find good deals on machine tools.



Kid, are you near Tampa? I'm just south and willing to help.
Russ


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## BillH (Feb 21, 2018)

Im in Spring Hill


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## WSMkid (Feb 24, 2018)

My dad brother in-law and I got all my stuff moved today. Attached should be a few pictures after a few hours of cleaning. I will comment on things tonight. 


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V vice that came on the mill V
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## WSMkid (Feb 26, 2018)

Happy Monday to all. I'm sitting here with an ungarnished "old fashioned" and figuared this would be a good time to share my findings of these machines. 
"Sip"

Let's start with the mill. 
Perhaps in better shap than I thought with the exception on the slot someone installed in the table with a 1/2" end mill. The vise was sitting on top of it so I had no clue it was there. O well. 
The base has some pretty wild surface rust on it. About all of the paint is chipping off. All axis's are smooth. 
I'm happy. 
"Sip"

The lathe is a little rough. The switch is mounted in just about the worst location. The switch itself need to be internally explored. It has trouble making contact in the forward position. 
My measurements lead me to believe that this is a 13x42. It has the 4 speed,dual belt drive with a back gear. Rpm range is 50-1600(iirc). As shown in the pictures it has a quick change gear box of the lead screw. As mentioned before, power cross feed. 
"Sip"
It has the original 110 motor but in the hour or so I ran it lubing things up it made a few pretty good squalls. I can get a 1-1/2 hp 3ph U.S. motor from work for around $200 so if I have any problems with the 1940's motor, options have been discussed. 
"Sip"
The ways right under the chuck are pretty chewed up. Looks as if the chuck has come unscrewed a few times. 
Speaking of Chuck, the three jaw currently on the machine looks to be mounted to a homemade backing plate.  I say this because it has 3, 1/2" bolts running completely threw the chuck with the heads landing in between the jaws. I didn't not get a chance to look at the 4 jaw. Looks to have a lot of surface rust and be around 8" dia. 

Once everything is set up in my shop I think I will bore out some of the gears that run the lead screw and give them some bushings, they are pretty loose on there shafts. 
"Sip"

The bandsaw. Don't really know anymore about it now that I did a few weeks ago. It is a lot bigger than I though. Coolent take is water tight, looks as it will need new pluming but that is small potatoes. I'm under the impression my father is envious of it. 
"Sip"

If your still reading we shall move on to the mix of tooling. 

It looks that the step block clap set is %95 complete, it is missing two of the second from smallest step block. There are two or thee handfuls of mix drill bits but no where near a new set. A fair mix of end mills. A bunch ranging from 1/2"-3/4" and some with 4" flutes. A couple new smaller end mills. One of witch is a 1/2" ball endmill. Don't tell me that wasn't pricy in the mid 80's!! A few small <1/4" end mills. 
A few woodruff cutters. 

Three different size of number stamp sets. 

A 1/2" Jacobs chuck for the lathe.
Another 1/2" Jacobs for the mill. 
A very nice boring head. I've not looked up the brand up it looks quality. 
View attachment IMG_1781.jpg
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The set of mic's shown. Looks to be good. 

Over all I'm happy with everything. It's getting me more excited to get my shop done. 

Thank you for stopping by. After so long of just watching builds it's pretty cool to be able to have something to share. 

Have a good week,

GJ


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## James Barker (Aug 13, 2022)

well it certainly sounds to me like you got extremely lucky in the fact that you had no idea of what condition those machines were in and paid several thousand dollars out on the hopes it was a goodly deal and based purely upon hearsay regarding an older gentleman's spending habits. (think: "I've got this antique car thats worth alot of money for sale, it used a little oil but it ran when it was parked..... 30yrs ago) What if you had done this deal and those machines wound up to be pieces of rubbish? It is my suggestion that you do some more/better homework and digging for manuals and lubrication practices of these machines instead of asking for what you hope to be enabling remarks here. Best of luck to you
regards
Jim


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## stevehuckss396 (Aug 13, 2022)

I don't see anything in the photos that can't be repaired or vastly improved with some new or rebuilt parts and lots of elbow grease.

Make sure it was the motor making the "good squalls" before you buy a motor. Might be a loose bushing on a shaft or spindle bearing. Remove any belt off the motor and see if the shaft is loose. Simple bearing or bushing might do the trick.

Those two machines repaired will be way better than some brand new Chinese junk.


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## James Barker (Aug 14, 2022)

you are much too kind Steve......


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## krypto (Aug 14, 2022)

Why so much interest in a 4 year old thread?  WSMKID hasn't logged into the forum for over 2 years...


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## william_b_noble (Aug 15, 2022)

I strongly suggest you visit the vintage machinery website.


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