flywheel grinder value questions

[malodin]

Hi all, not sure if this is the correct location, but i am picking up a peterson fg24 flywheel grinder from an autoparts store that i used to work at for what i think is a good deal($1500) fully opperational with all tooling. i am wondering if you all think 1500 for it is a decent price. i have seen them online in the 3000+ range for used ones and while this one has lots of use on it it was rebuilt few years ago.

http://www.petersonmachine.com/Catalog/Product/FG24M_FG24P
looks more like this one, as it doesnt have an lcd display or anything.

http://www.amsequipmentsales.com/Used_FG24_Peterson_Flywheel_Grinder.html

anyways what do you think? i am thinking about keeping it but at the same time i could easily clean it up and resell it, i only do one or two clutches a year so the actuall value to me besides saying i have a flywheel machine is not that much.

i am also getting two alternator testers and all there old parts books(very valuable to me as i learned in those books and will never have to rely on a counterperson who cant think outside of the computer)

 

[signcrafter]

Hi all, not sure if this is the correct location, but i am picking up a peterson fg24 flywheel grinder from an autoparts store that i used to work at for what i think is a good deal($1500) fully opperational with all tooling. i am wondering if you all think 1500 for it is a decent price. i have seen them online in the 3000+ range for used ones and while this one has lots of use on it it was rebuilt few years ago.

http://www.petersonmachine.com/Catalog/Product/FG24M_FG24P
looks more like this one, as it doesnt have an lcd display or anything.

http://www.amsequipmentsales.com/Used_FG24_Peterson_Flywheel_Grinder.html

anyways what do you think? i am thinking about keeping it but at the same time i could easily clean it up and resell it, i only do one or two clutches a year so the actuall value to me besides saying i have a flywheel machine is not that much.

i am also getting two alternator testers and all there old parts books(very valuable to me as i learned in those books and will never have to rely on a counterperson who cant think outside of the computer)

First is it 3 phase or single phase? The one you linked to is 3 phase but can be ordered optional single phase. If 3 phase you should be able to use a phase converter if you want to keep it but that will be an added expense.

As for keeping it or not? Depends on if you have a use for it and if you have the extra money laying around. Lots of people have tools they only use a few times a year. I have a lot of specialty tools I have only used once that just sit on the shelf. But I could justify those because it was cheaper for me to buy the tool to do the job than it was to pay someone else to do the repair. If you are only doing a couple clutches a year I don't think you can make the machine pay for itself. I haven't done a clutch in a few years but I think it was around 50 bucks last time I had a flywheel surfaced. Plus if you are doing them for others you can pass the cost along to them. Now, if you can get the word out that you have the machine and get 5-10 resurfacing jobs a year for 40-50 bucks it might be a good thing to keep it.

If you have the extra money and the room for it I say go for it and see if you can pick up a few flywheel jobs a year and try and make it pay for itself. Plus you can do a flywheel on a weekend and get the job done instead of having to wait until Monday to have the machine shop do it.

 

[malodin]

it is wired for 3 phase, but the p.o. seems to think it can be rewired for single phase...i will have to look into that but i also have a RPC.

as for keeping it, if i keep it i will be doing a few of my local machine shops clutches easily enough. I may put it in the garage get it all cleaned up and then sell it if someone is interested in it.

my main thing for buying it was i hate having to wait for someone else to do the job. i was in an emergency situation a while back where my cousin needed his clutch done on a saturday and calling around no one was willing to turn the flywheel until monday at the earliest. except for the one place i purchased this from(my first autoparts store i ever worked for) then 3 months later they were going out of business so i snatched it up.

we will see if i could sell it for $3000 i would probably do it.

 

[sberry]

It wont work on single.

 

[Packard V8]

X2 on three-phase motors can't be wired to run single-phase.

A flywheel grinder is a large, heavy, messy piece of machinery.

my main thing for buying it was i hate having to wait for someone else to do the job.

I used to come up with such patently questionable rationalizations about why I really should buy a piece of non-essential machinery. Now, I either buy it or don't buy it, but don't try to justify it to my wife or anyone else.

Bottom line - no home shop needs a flywheel grinder. However, having one will attract those needing the service. Do you really want casual strangers from wherever hearing you're the place to go when they've gotten in to planning deficit and need a flywheel turned on Saturday evening? BTDTNA

jack vines

 

[Outlawmws]

Depending on the size motor and type (is it built in ot belt driven) you can swap the motor out.

You are NOT going to "rewire" 3Ph to single,as has been said.

If the power draw is low enough you can (Probably) go with a VFD. (another $150 or more...)

 

[plewlandsbob]

Never new, you got a machine , just to grind flywheels. Over here, we just put them to the machine shop and they just skim it, in a lathe.

 

[Packard V8]

Never new, you got a machine , just to grind flywheels. Over here, we just put them to the machine shop and they just skim it, in a lathe.

Having done it both ways, the ground flywheel has a much better contour and finish. Also, a lathe does not like a flywheel which has hard spots. The grinder just eats through them.

jack vines

 

[malodin]

there are motors out there that are prewired for both single and 3 phase power. i personally have seen a few, i do not know if this is one or not, but as stated already i have an rpc that will run it just fine.

packard, you are right it was a whim purchase but it was nice to be able to say yes i can buy that. I am not justifying it to myself or anyone else for that matter, it is just simply stated i like having the proper tools to do a job at my disposal anytime i need to do a job...i tried to get there brake machine as well(but was already destined for one of the owners garage)

as for using it in the home shop, i would not be dealing with craigslisters or the likes it would be afew of the local autoparts stores who send there work out, as well as a few of the local repair shops.

i think i will put it in the shop, clean it up referbish it and relist it forsale and use it until it sells.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

$1500 for the bragging rights is about the only value. Considering a flywheel regrind is $30-50 depending on machine shop, you'll never recover the value of that grinder unless you are doing it a lot.

The alternator tester is a nice bit of old tech to show off, but has no real value beyond that.

I spent five years at NAPA as the GM / electrical specialist. The alternator/starter tester was mostly used to demonstrate to a customer if an unit needed replacement. You can do the same testing yourself with a meter and jumper cables just as easily.

Cool? Yes. Efficient? No.

 

[malodin]

$1500 for the bragging rights is about the only value. Considering a flywheel regrind is $30-50 depending on machine shop, you'll never recover the value of that grinder unless you are doing it a lot.

The alternator tester is a nice bit of old tech to show off, but has no real value beyond that.

I spent five years at NAPA as the GM / electrical specialist. The alternator/starter tester was mostly used to demonstrate to a customer if an unit needed replacement. You can do the same testing yourself with a meter and jumper cables just as easily.

Cool? Yes. Efficient? No.

i disagree with the alternator tester, being a nice bit of old tech and useles. Jumper cables and a meter are not a proper test of an alternator or starter. besides i already have a napa alternator tester, updated to 08 standards and it has already made me money rebuilding alternators and starters, i can also get an alternator out of a junk car and throw it on the tester to verify its operation then sell it.(lots of ways to make extra money with an alternator/starter tester)

and at $30 a regrind i would only ever have to regrind 50 flywheels to recover my cost of the machine. in my world 50 regrinds is not that far fetched(if i actively go after them). especially if i am getting the clutch job as well