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Some equipment in Moose Jaw

S

Scattered Parts

Mike
Premium Member
This was posted recently https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...wse_serp:29546ba2-32a4-44f9-8dc0-e758f3afc914

The mill is a Victoria 2U. I went to have a look at it. If you need parts for one, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy it. If you want a working mill, perhaps keep looking. I fired it up on high speed and everything was good for 30 seconds before smoke started pouring out of the motor. The spindle sounded like a rattle. The ways are best described as raspy. The guy bought the shop with everything in it and doesn’t know much about the equipment. He told me someone offered him $3500 for the mill. I suggested he take it, but I was not going to come anywhere near that price. The CNC is typical Chineesium so parts will be scarce. The Stanko lathe actually looked pretty good but way to big for me.
 
For what it's worth I always thought I had my finger on the pulse of machine shops in Moose Jaw, this one listed on facebook is a huge surprise. Perhaps the new member would share the specific location for the list seeing he already took a look. Red flags go up when I see what appears to me as a Quonsit style building so typical of the farming community. With that much rust on the lathe chucks something tells me the shop hasn't seen heat for many a winter. With Saskatchewan being relatively dry at best it takes much damp conditions to create that kind of deterioration usually formed over a long period of time. Wish I could be more positive about this sale but my inner self makes me hesitate big time.

Hopefully @Scattered Parts will expand on his post #1 to this mystery shop?
 
it was a little strange for sure. It was located at 1102 Ominica Street. It was indeed a Quonset packed full of stuff. Brodie, the new owner only said he had bought the shop with everything in it. Possibly an estate sale. I had a hard time finding the place because there ar no building numbers and I didn’t believe the Quonset was the shop. It was. The CNC was definitely out of place for such an old shop. I don’t know what had happened there. There were now enough old cars around the shop for me to think that the new owner was trying to corner the market in used junk. Many, many red flags regarding the place. It was interesting to hav a look at the old mill though. In its day it would probably have been a worthwhile piece to a machine shop.

Mike
 
Scattered Parts said:
it was a little strange for sure. It was located at 1102 Ominica Street. It was indeed a Quonset packed full of stuff. Brodie, the new owner only said he had bought the shop with everything in it. Possibly an estate sale. I had a hard time finding the place because there ar no building numbers and I didn’t believe the Quonset was the shop. It was. The CNC was definitely out of place for such an old shop. I don’t know what had happened there. There were now enough old cars around the shop for me to think that the new owner was trying to corner the market in used junk. Many, many red flags regarding the place. It was interesting to hav a look at the old mill though. In its day it would probably have been a worthwhile piece to a machine shop.

Mike[/QUOTE
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Thanks Mike, I'm somewhat familiar with that area and the mentioned Quonset at 1102 Ominica Street East, it always had a multitude of vehicles hanging about so nothing really changed. That said, I'm convinced it was never a machine shop as we know them like one open to the general public and the lathe hasn't been run for some time. Facebook owner says "Serious buyers encouraged to come look for yourselves". Something smells fishy here and it's not sardines. Shall do a little detective work, out of scope and see what bubbles to the top.

Forewarned is being forearmed.
 
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Scattered Parts said:
I would be very interested in your findings. It was definitely an adventure visiting the place.
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Hi Mike, the background music so to speak. Many years ago an older fellow Bob Bintree who had recently sold his business late 1970's early 80's built the Quonsit with the intent of opening a machine shop. Actually he found out that he could make more money selling fabrication and machine shop equipment so that's what he turned to. He was killed around 1999 while loading a heavy lathe on a semi flat bed with a fork lift. His son took over but achieved very little so the Quonsit sat idle for years. A young chap from Assiniboia bought the Quonsit and what was left of the equipment with the intent of opening a welding/machine shop. It was he who brought the lathe in along with a few other items however, said business never got off the ground so he returned to welding on the pipe lines. Brodie Laturnus the chap you spoke with purchased the building complete with equipment from him. Bottom line most of the equipment if not all has never been used for years sitting idle gathering rust and dust along with the building as it sits never being heated from what I could learn. Brodie is a body shop man wanting to use the Quonsit for that purpose.

So what you're looking at is mostly well used outdated gear, for the most part scrap iron. Little wonder the lathe chucks are rusted up.
My informant suggests the lathe will likely require tearing down and complete rebuild. Hope this helps!
 
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Brent H said:
@Dusty : you are amazing!!! that is some great detective work!
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Hi Brent, when you know the right buttons to press anything is possible.

Changing the subject slightly, the vessel Ever Given is still sitting idle on Great Bitter Lake (Suez Canal). How long does it take to inspect a ship of that size for hull damage. Why do I suspect there's more to the problems than what's being said or is it due to insurance and claims.
 
Hey Bill, I would say that they experienced some steering failure - there was some mention in one of the reports that they "finally had the steering operational" Watching the AIS feed back it looks like they were have some maneuvering issues and then drove straight into the embankment. I am not fully up on the canal protocol, however, I would suggest that if your vessel has suspect or actual mechanical issues you are not allowed into the canal - especially a drain stopper the size of the Ever Given! The locks here in Canada/US have something the same with respect to operational conditions of the ship. If the Ever Given was having issues and entered the canal, perhaps there would be significant fines and penalties. Maybe they are working out those details or even making repairs? It would surprise me if they holed as the bank is pretty soft stuff.
 
Good day to yas, wondering if in your findings either of you got any info on that flatbed CNC??
Figured id check before I gave him a call.
Thanks
 
Dennis P said:
Good day to yas, wondering if in your findings either of you got any info on that flatbed CNC??
Figured id check before I gave him a call.
Thanks
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@ Dennis P, unfortunately I have no information on the lathe other than what was mentioned by a retired machinist after viewing the posted photos. Assuming that the lathe has sat idle for 10 years or more the head gear oil most likely thickened or turned into jelly, so why would someone test run a lathe in that condition without doing measurable damage. Secondly it was also suggested the CNC electronics have likely picked up a good level of corrosion. At this point a complete tear down and rebuild was recommended. Another informant a licensed welder is reasonably certain said lathe hasn't run for numerous years because the shop was closed.

I totally trust the insight of my informants with their years of experience. Basically review the comments in post #1 as to what Scattered Parts said about the mill, scary stuff.

Keep us posted, good luck.
 
I'd be interested in either lathe (basket cases seem to be what I go for now) - except I have two projects in the works right now. Hard to justify sorting out the logistics on ~8-10K-lbs of iron that at best represent a lot of effort to get them working - after which it may turn out to be scrap metal. It will be interesting to see how it all goes down.
 
On a brighter note the TRENS SN 50 C flat bed lathe manufactured in the European Union and appears to have a good reputation.

My retired machinist informant and I took another serious look at these photo's. Google finds a lot of information available for the TRENS SN 50 C lathe. With some well thought out precautions before starting like checking the head stock oil, turning the chuck by hand numerous times, then running it slow one might get away without any serious damage to the main bearings. Dry oil seals could be a problem. Likely a beast to lift and transport. Cleaning the lathe with some TLC and removing surface rust takes time although the ways appear to be reasonably clean.

Much will depend on what the seller expects to get out of it.

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For your information, current offer on the TRENS SN 50 C flat bed lathe is $8,000:00 so I'm informed by the owner. Wow!
 
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The 560 ToolMex (Wafum) lathe at the recent Apex auction (Cheeta Machine) sold for about that price - plus ~22% in various fees. Seems like the going rate for a machine of that size.
 
Dusty said:
Hi Mike, the background music so to speak. Many years ago an older fellow Bob Bintree who had recently sold his business late 1970's early 80's built the Quonsit with the intent of opening a machine shop. Actually he found out that he could make more money selling fabrication and machine shop equipment so that's what he turned to. He was killed around 1999 while loading a heavy lathe on a semi flat bed with a fork lift. His son took over but achieved very little so the Quonsit sat idle for years. A young chap from Assiniboia bought the Quonsit and what was left of the equipment with the intent of opening a welding/machine shop. It was he who brought the lathe in along with a few other items however, said business never got off the ground so he returned to welding on the pipe lines. Brodie Laturnus the chap you spoke with purchased the building complete with equipment from him. Bottom line most of the equipment if not all has never been used for years sitting idle gathering rust and dust along with the building as it sits never being heated from what I could learn. Brodie is a body shop man wanting to use the Quonsit for that purpose.

So what you're looking at is mostly well used outdated gear, for the most part scrap iron. Little wonder the lathe chucks are rusted up.
My informant suggests the lathe will likely require tearing down and complete rebuild. Hope this helps!
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Only in town of under 40K people (at summer peak) can you really dig out such details.

This really brings me back AND highlights my great respect and fear of moving equipment. It's so easy to get dead doing it wrong.

It brings me back specifically because I actually lived on Ominica Street East, my father worked at the Hospital and I drove to U of R daily from there.
 
Thanks, Dusty for the great pictures and detailed research -- I have seen lesser machines in worse shape turn into very nice lathes if restored lovingly. Someone has to like the 'tear-down-and-refurbish' thing to want it though. I think that 5K is a fair price - needs enough work that only a restorer should be interested.
 
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