Whats it worth?

[DPittman]

I have geographically distant friend that would like to sell his lathe and upgrade to a bigger one and he has asked me to help him put a value on it.

I have not yet seen the lathe myself but I am going to assume some things that may or not be 100% accurate but based on the following info:

Atlas 12x24 with change gearbox, steady and follow rests, 3 and 4 jaw chucks, faceplate, tailstock chuck and in good repair with no obvious signs of neglect or wear.

I told him it was probably worth at least $2500 but I'm sort of guessing there.

It is located in Northern BC right now but I suppose I would be willing to move it down to southern Alberta if the timing of that was when I was making a trip up there anyhow. So western Canada market pricing is what I'm looking for.

What say you all? What sort of dollar range should we be in?

 

[boilerhouse]

It is a regional thing I suppose, so I can only speak from a central Ontario perspective. Atlas, IMO, is pretty much the bottom end of the lathe world. Older technology and very light weight, the ways were 3/8 in thick, but were upgraded to 1/2 in thick in the 70's. I bought my Atlas, with extra chucks, milling attachment, lots of tooling, for $400. Admittedly, I did get a good deal but still, it is an Atlas. I would not recommend anyone paying more than $1500 for one. Above $1500, you are into South Bends, Logans, and any of the other older, smaller, hobby lathes that are still a cut above Atlas.. At least that is my take.

 

[Dabbler]

The price is needing some clarification. What is the condition of the ways, and how noisy are the gears? Is this a belt change headstock, or a gear head?

A 12X24 for 2500$ needs to be in good shape, with signs it was cared for (not just a quick clean up for sale purposes)

2500 could be in the right ball park, or a little high, depending... I'm assuming lightly used and great condition.

 

[phaxtris]

I think your on the money for Alberta/BC 2-2500

I agree with @Dabbler, it's going to have to be pretty good for 2500, but still in the ballpark

 

[DPittman]

Ok great thanks guys I just wanted to make sure I was in the ballpark. And I figured I was probably on the highest side. $2500 certainly would be more than I would want to pay for it but I know machinery now seems to command pretty crazy prices in my opinion.

 

[trlvn]

AIUI, the post-1957 12 inch models were much beefier than the earlier Atlas lathes. The 12 was also offered with bench-top or 'under-drive' configurations. Example of the underdrive:

More details:

Atlas 12-inch lathe Series 3000

Atlas 10-inch lathes from the first to last. Includes details of the British copies by Acorntools, Sphere and halifax

www.lathes.co.uk

Craig