You guys have it too easy.
If that was anywhere near me (Alaska) for $1,200, it'd be sold in eight minutes, and the seller would have to field 20 more calls before he managed to take down the Craigslist ad.
And that's really not hyperbole.
As for repair parts, that should not be a consideration, because with relatively few exceptions, virtually NO home-shop sized machine tool you might run across, has commonly available spare parts.
Bridgeport? Lots of used parts when people break apart used machines, but factory parts, if they're available, are fabulously expensive.
Lots of South Bend, Logan and to a lesser extent, Clausing lathes are broken down and sold for parts. SB and Clausing
new parts simply don't exist, and new Logan parts, if that part is still available, are also fabulously expensive.
10EE parts can be had, but again, only from broken-down used lathes or for new-car prices from Hardinge.
Look in the
Vintage Lathe thread: Jabber's Rivett is a rare model from company whose
common product is considered rare. Should he have passed on that because parts are basically unobtainium?
How many spare parts do you think are available for Adrian's Hendy, my Springfield, Turbo's Pacemaker or Steve's 13EE?
I recently rebuilt an
Exacto Mill, made by long-defunct Spanish maker Anayak. Replacement parts basically do not exist inside the United States, and this particular machine was kind of thrashed when I got it.
Today, with a little work, it's a very nice, tight and reliable mill.
Don't pass on a machine just because there's not a stocking dealer right down the road.
Doc.
