Machine How to sell milling machine

[qpkegrem]

I am totally new here so I hope I am allowed to ask this. I am retiring and selling all my tools and machinery etc. I had a small manufacturing business. I have a Cincinnati Toolmaster 9" x 42" vertical milling machine (the manual says publication No M-1941) and an old Crompton Parkinson grinder (English I believe). I am not a machinist and know almost nothing about machining. My question is how and where can I sell these and what are they likely worth. I am in SW Ontario. Kijiji seems to be useless so far.....any help/advice is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Tom Kitta]

You can ask how much they are roughly worth in Ontario this group - pictures would help once you can post them. Then pp will assume they are overall in good working condition and can give you an idea of what they are worth.

Then you can post them here in classifieds section.

You also are advised to use Kijiji and Facebook as a lot of machines sell that way. If after lowering the price and waiting for a while they do not sell you can consider auctions as last resort.

 

[SomeGuy]

List them here....take offers, people here will be fair. I'd be interesting in picking up tooling, depending on what was there and condition.

Facebook Marketplace is the fastest selling place right now, Kijiji is pretty dead these days.

 

[qpkegrem]

Thank you Tom and SomeGuy....I am attaching photos....hope they give some idea. I never used these machines....my ex partner did but he is long gone. Thanks

 

[Tom Kitta]

So one of the machines is:

5" X 12" MYFORD HAND FEED PLAIN CYLINDRICAL GRINDER

This is an unusual machine - never saw small cylindrical grinder before.

The other one probably has shaper attachment at the back - hard to tell without a picture.

 

[qpkegrem]

Thanks Tom....the pictures are of the same machines ie 2 pictures of the same grinder and 2 of the same milling machine. My Myford is obviously not as good as the YouTube video one you attached.....any idea of pricing for these 2 items.

 

[mickeyf]

My observation is that sites like Kijiji and craigslist etc are very regional in who does or does not use them. Out here I find that Facebook Marketplace has the largest audience, but of very diverse people, not necessarily people looking for tools or machinery. Kijiji never seemed to do much, Craigslist a bit better. Better than those (my observation only) has been usedvictoria.com. Don't know how popular that group is in Ontario. Try usedtoronto.com, go to the bottom and see if your city is listed. You might try that. Also, there is no harm in listing on multiple sites. Many people seem to have a preferred site and never even look at the others.

 

[Mcgyver]

here of course, but I would say kijiji is the main stay in Ontario with FB making some inroads. If its not selling on kijiji, sometimes its time; you just have to wait for the guy who wants what you have. Longer if in a remote area. That or its price.

Myford grinders are well regarded, but the condition looks rough. I would say, as a grinder is for high precision work, that condition will negatively impact price a lot more than it might for a lathe or mill. Few home shops guys pursue cylindrical grinders and commercial guys are looking for tools to make money with, not projects. You would do well to search and display any tooling that comes with it. A machine fully equipped can get someone in the car, whereas bare bones, its just too expensive and time consuming assembling everything after the fact. Of course not everyone thinks like me (a shame, I know ) but I would speculate that if its a bit of project, it will be a very thin market. If there were every accessory and bit of tooling hiding in box I might be part of than thin market. maybe, but I have to stop taking on every wayward sad machine tool of good pedigree that I see.

This is an unusual machine - never saw small cylindrical grinder before.

Tom, you're going to love this little guy, a Jones Shipman 520. Fairly rare. I have the regular spindle and the internal spindle. It takes 8mm watchmaker tooling and it came out of the Mercer indicator plant in England. JS was the top the heap for grinders. There is a whole overhead belt system that came with it (not line shaft) that weighs as much as the machine. The Myford grinders come up enough in the GTA, one or two a year on kijiji I'd estimate. Unlike the lathes which were targeted mostly for home use, the grinders were industrial machines and were well regarded, still are.

 

[trlvn]

You are not going to be able to retire to a tropical island off the proceeds of these 2 machines. Just sayin'!

Scrap value of a few cents per pound sets the floor price. To the right buyer, though, each machine still appears to have value. The Toolmaster is a sizable and capable vertical mill. The grinder is specialized but there is somebody out there that could make good use of it. Both will be projects to bring back to good operating condition so the prices are going to have to reflect that.

Are the machines under power, currently? It will make a big difference to many buyers to at least see the motor turn before purchase.

What are the power requirements for each machine? If they require 575 volt, 3 phase, that will limit the number of potential buyers.

@qpkegrem when you say, Kijiji is useless, can you explain what has happened so far? The pictures you posted are pretty good but you need to have lots of pictures showing both the overall machines and details. As others have said, if you have tooling or accessories (for the mill, say a vise, chucks, collets, etc), it is really important to show that stuff. A surprising number of Kijiji users don't seem to read the text at all!

Craig

 

[qpkegrem]

I'll look over the box of tooling and accessories....unfortunately I don't know what goes with what but once I get it out I'll arrange and post it for some Idea of what is there. Thanks to all

 

[Susquatch]

Another thought.

I find that facebook marketplace, Kijiji, craigslist are received differently in different regions and different markets. Marketplace dwarfs kijiji around here for farm equipment, but the other way around near Toronto.


If I were you I'd cover all the bases.

 

[Tom Kitta]

Tom, you're going to love this little guy, a Jones Shipman 520. Fairly rare. I have the regular spindle and the internal spindle. It takes 8mm watchmaker tooling and it came out of the Mercer indicator plant in England. JS was the top the heap for grinders. There is a whole overhead belt system that came with it (not line shaft) that weighs as much as the machine. The Myford grinders come up enough in the GTA, one or two a year on kijiji I'd estimate. Unlike the lathes which were targeted mostly for home use, the grinders were industrial machines and were well regarded, still are.

I already have T&CG - but little cylindrical grinder would be cool. Technically I should be able to use my T&CG to do some cylindrical work but what I am missing is a lot of attachments for T&CG.

What I like here is the size as well - small guy, small foot print.

Besides, I still have empty floor space so I can fill it up with toys.

I paid for my T&CG around $600 on auction about 3 years ago.

Scrap price in AB is 12c per lbs.

I am sure machines are worth more then that.

I am guessing that milling machine is worth around $2000 in ON as it has an attachment ($500) at the back but is in bad shape otherwise from pictures - at least visually and is old. I think that grinder is around $500+ as it is small market & it also may be in rough shape. One has to not that it is buyer's market in ON. So selling is not easy - I mean we saw a mill in way better condition advertised for just $500 (!!!). The grinder may be worth almost scrap to way more depending on someone needing one - and there are few that "need" one.

But I am in AB so someone local should speak up. Tooling may be worth more then the machines.

 

[JReimer]

Thank you Tom and SomeGuy....I am attaching photos....hope they give some idea. I never used these machines....my ex partner did but he is long gone. Thanks

those are cool looking machines. I would love to add them to my collection but yet again its a case of all the cool stuff is in Ontario and us BC'ers are fighting high prices on whatever made it this far west. Hope they go to a good home.

 

[Dabbler]

The price for the cutter grinder will depend on a few simple things. do both motors run, and are the spindles quiet? if so, then the grinder has a good base value, rust or not. A bit of a clean up will help with the demand. I wish I were closer, and it would be easy for me to sort the accessories out for you - any nearby members have grinding experience and can give a hand?

with good spindles, I think the mill should be in the 2000$ range, and I think the grinder should be asking for about 1100$, settling for just under 1000$ You can add a little more if either has a neat box of tooling. Rotary tables and multiposition grinder attachments should be sold separately, as you get almost nothing if included.

 

[Mcgyver]

The price for the cutter grinder will depend

Did you mean cutter grinder? Its a cylindrical grinder. That's a much thinner market (imo) among home shop guys than a T&CG (I'd guess that as an older, manual grinder a sale to commercial shop is less likely). Not that it should be, they are extremely useful, but while few will have T&CG, almost none have cylindrical grinders. I've got the baby JS cylindrical grinder above for small stuff and have a T&CG with motorized work head. I use it a lot, but its still not as nice as a real cylindrical grinder.

Its work to a tenth so it has to very precise with low wear and it has to be solid. These are things a T&CG doesn't have to be, or at least to the same extent, to still be very functional (no one grinds an end mill to a tenth over a foot). That makes it a different dynamic than T&CG where one in less than great shape (not saying the OP's isn't, it just look at little tired so you'd expect wear) is still very useful. I did ground up scraping job my T&CG so it would be accurate enough for cylindrical grinding, and it performs, I can grind to a tenth.....but it is light, so you have to hold your tongue just so.

Value will depend a lot on what comes with it, and as you point out, the mechanical integrity. There is special collet adapter for it, they had some accessories including an internal grinding spindle, not sure that tailstock is right....all of that will determine (imo) whether its a lump or something to arrange transportation for

qpkegrem, if you like, post the photos of the box content here and you'll get answers on what is what

​

 

[trlvn]

Just spitballing, but...would the cylindrical grinder be of interest to model engine builders for finishing cam shafts and/or crank shafts?

Between the Hamilton Model Engineers club and the Toronto Society of Model Engineers, there are a few such builders in the area. I believe each group has a buy/sell section on their web sites. There are also a couple of forums focused on that hobby, such as:

Home Model Engine Machinist Forum

Home model engine machinists & makers forum. Model engine making forums for engine plans, castings, CAD, CNC designs, lathe, Stirling, boilers & steam.

www.homemodelenginemachinist.com

@qpkegrem What products did your company make that would have required the use of the grinder?

Craig