Mazak Ace lathe, $9000, Toronto ON

[Stuart Samuel]

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Not a deal at that price, but I’m interested. I’ve been on the hunt for a larger lathe for a while, and I like Japanese ones from that era.

 

[Stuart Samuel]

I messaged the seller this morning, no reply yet.

Does anyone recognize what’s going on with the chuck mounting system in this screenshot?

 

[Darren]

Thats an L series spindle nose. Ive had a couple of them, and much prefer the D series camlock.

 

[Stuart Samuel]

Yep, that was my suspicion. :/
Thanks Darren!

 

[Ian Moss]

I have an L0 spindle and it works very well. This is probably an L1, but it may be larger.

 

[Dabbler]

It has been posted for over a year, but only dropped 1K$.

One should inquire about voltage, and horsepower. 575v would significantly reduce the value. For sure it will be 3 phase.
A good picture of the thread chart would help in establishing the fair value.

I have Dx spindles, but I wouldn't have disqualified a Lx spindle if it was in good condition. Good condition is fairly rare with L series spindles; Partly because they predate the D series, so they've seen more wear, and partly the larger taper seems to collect more crap and damage the chuck and or spindle.

it is a 17" so I'd guess an L2 spindle with a 3-3.25 inch bore.

The large multifix is worth something, and there are a 'few holders'.

These lathes are extremely solid, so expect between 4000 and 5500 lbs to transport. The chucks Mazak /Yamasaki provided for them were very high quality. I would definitely have a look at it if I was still in that market. I expect it will sell for around 7800-8200 if it has both 3J and 4J chucks and is 240V 3ph 10HP, as they were normally configured for Canada. (assuming good condition and quiet running) It would be a bargain below 7K.

for comparison, a decent Chinese clone of this lathe, new is around 14k$, badged as
NEW JINAN 460

18" x 60"/80" GAP BED LATHE

available from bell machinery LINK

P.S. the manuals are still available from Mazak, for a price $$$.

 

[Stuart Samuel]

Thanks for the info, Dabbler!

I’m definitely not interested at $9000. I’ve seen similar lathes (a Mazak and an Okuma) come and go at much more reasonable prices, but wasn’t in a position to buy at the time.

It’s hard (at least for me) to be sure how long it is, which will be a factor.

I have both 600 volt 3 phase and 240/3ph power at home, so I can be omnivorous in that regard. Just have to run a line from the glassblowing shop next door.

No reply from the seller so far, however. I’ll update if he ever gets back to me.

 

[Stuart Samuel]

Finally got a reply! Going to have a look at this at 3 today.

I’m not sure how productive a discussion we’ll be able to have, if the owner is sure they’re sitting on a $9,000 lathe, and I, uh, respectfully disagree, but it’s worth a shot.

Perhaps an Ontario prices vs. Alberta prices issue, I would expect to see this priced closer to $5000. Lower, it would go quickly. Higher, I’d expect to see more with it. The Okuma (LS) and other Mazak (a Mate) I’ve seen were both in the $2-$3k range, to my recollection, but still didn’t fly off the shelves.

Happy to hear other opinions on pricing!

 

[DPittman]

Finally got a reply! Going to have a look at this at 3 today.

I’m not sure how productive a discussion we’ll be able to have, if the owner is sure they’re sitting on a $9,000 lathe, and I, uh, respectfully disagree, but it’s worth a shot.

Perhaps an Ontario prices vs. Alberta prices issue, I would expect to see this priced closer to $5000. Lower, it would go quickly. Higher, I’d expect to see more with it. The Okuma (LS) and other Mazak (a Mate) I’ve seen were both in the $2-$3k range, to my recollection, but still didn’t fly off the shelves.

Happy to hear other opinions on pricing!

I don't know what that lathe is worth but I wouldn't have the patience to try to deal with someone if they think it's worth $9000 and I knew market value was $5000. Good luck and if you go in with the mind that it's worth a shot to "disrespectly disagree" then all will be good.

 

[Stuart Samuel]

I think my willingness to go have a look is partly down to regret. Something like three or four years ago I spotted an Okuma LK (14” x 32”?) a few blocks away, for $7000. That was completely out of the question for me, so I didn’t message him. But I thought about that lathe constantly.

I wound up dropping by for some small stuff (radius gauge set, reverse letter and number stamps), and watched the lathe being loaded on a truck. Since then, I’ve wondered ‘what did it actually sell for?’

The ones that get away…

 

[Stuart Samuel]

(He was a pretty crusty old Yugoslavian guy, still has a second, smaller lathe for sale, years later, so I suspect he wouldn’t have budged. Spent an hour chatting with him and his wife. He’d modified the smaller lathe to add an external mechanism to the front of the gearbox, tied in, to cut a helical oil groove on the inside of a bore. Mind boggling!)

 

[Stuart Samuel]

I have been, and seen.

The lathe is in very good shape, but is too long for me. Would probably fit something like 40” between centres, but is about 90” in total.

It’s owned by a younger man (30-35), who bought it from the University of Toronto, for $7000, about a year ago. He hoped to run a small business using it, but that didn’t work out. He agrees $9000 is too high, but wanted to discourage tire kickers. Had a nice chat, turns out he teaches machining at George Brown College part time.

The machine is 575/3 phase, and as noted is a long taper. There’s not a lot of tooling with it, relatively small three jaw scroll chuck, 14” four jaw, and an odd faceplate sort of thing with two tapped holes, no other features. I stand by my guesstimate of $5000, and a coworker who tagged along agreed that was about right.

 

[Dabbler]

I thiink you are in the right ballpark. I think at 7000$, he paid a little too much for it, even though it is a great lathe. It is the market that dictates the value, but the price is between you and him. If you wait, you will find just as nice or better for 5000$.

 

[Stuart Samuel]

If I had the space, I'd already be looking for quotes to move it. He said he thought it weighed in the low 2000's range (pounds), which I thought sounded substantially low.

The room I have to work with is only 7' x 14', and I'd rather not have to climb over the lathe to get in and out of my apartment.

Edited to note: 'If I had the space and he was good with $4000,'

 

[Darren]

he's on glue if he thinks it weighs 2000lbs.... but maybe in the ballpark at 2000 kg's

I watched my 1992ish SM 1660, and its sister, get listed twice on govdeals with no bids before i threw in a bid for the 4k minimum. I think there are better deals to be had.

 

[Dabbler]

but maybe in the ballpark at 2000 kg's

+1

 

[Susquatch]

he's on glue if he thinks it weighs 2000lbs.... but maybe in the ballpark at 2000 kg's

+2