What to do with what might be a unique valve grinder

[DocsMachine]

A couple recent threads on old valve grinders prompted me to post this. Almost ten years ago, I acquired an old Van Dorn "valve and tool" grinder. It's a typical Black & Decker layout from the '40s, but fancier. The work head (that holds the valve stem) has an air powered chuck (switching the air on tightens the chuck to the valve stem) and it's own built-in motor.

Largish photo here. I've since cleaned it up a little, but made no major changes.

Anyway, when I picked it up back in '07, I asked around for info, and found almost none. Even today, in any search for "van dorn valve grinder", van dorn #6 valve grinder", etc. the only photos that come up of this style machine- this particular model- are my own shots of my own machine.

When I got it, I got a couple of Van Dorn catalogs, one from something like 1948, and another from 1955 (or so, I haven't looked in a while.)

The machine is shown in the '48 catalog (at something like $450, which would have made it about a $4,500 machine today) but it's NOT shown in the '55 catalog.

I'm suspecting that it was a top-of-the-line unit from back then, but had low sales due to the cost, and was dropped a few years later.

The question is, what do I do with it? I don't particularly need it (I have a complete, cherry Sioux 645 which I also rarely use) and you can hardly give them away in my local (Alaska) market.

I don't want to junk it, as it might well be very rare, and have some interest to some collector or enthusiast who has the room for it, but my shop is well and truly stuffed as it is. I can't see anyone in the States really wanting to buy it, as it's a bulky and fairly heavy unit that all together probably weighs 500-600 lb.

So what do I do with it?

Doc.

 

[gungatim]

try selling it. you won't get much though. not a lot of people in the market for one. I bought my black & Decker super-service valve refacer complete and with new wheels for around a hundred bucks. found out like you, there isn't much support, parts are hard to find (had to make a belt from vacuum cleaner o-ring) and what you can find (wheels, collets) is very expensive.

don't know anyone that "collects" valve grinders, but people occasionally show up on here looking for parts.

I'd say if that machine works (looks complete?) you may get $150 or so for it...but I've seen a lot of nice machines go for a whole lot less.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

That is a very good question Doc....what the hell do I do with the damn thing to make it useful in todays work envelope. I have considered this question myself and so far am hopeful the old valve grinder can take on some of the "rough grinding" duties of a tool and cutter grinder allowing a more specialized machine such as a monoset to do the finish work. Pure concept at this point for me and I've yet to experiment with any real practicality. Valve grinders are selling so cheap now that finding usefulness in a second life, even with some modifications, is worth further investigation. Ed.

 

[2oolhound]

I'd love a machine like that but I'm waiting for a cheap deal. There is one locally (not so bulky) for $450 that I suspect is the one that was for free several months earlier. It's been listed for probably 6 months now with no takers. If you listed it on CL I'd think someone would want it for a cheap deal ($150 sounds reasonable to me but maybe more. You never know who the buyer is going to be.)

 

[Roberts210]

$450 dollars in 1948 was 1/3rd the cost of a typical new car.

They show up on the big city CL's from time to time, but seem to get sold fast.

 

[Roberts210]

There are three on the L.A. Craigslist right now: $450, $795, and $550.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/tls/5891215114.html

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/pts/5894431942.html

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/tls/5898406750.html

 

[DocsMachine]

I think you guys misunderstand- if this were a common style of grinder, yeah, I'd have no trouble giving it away or even junking it. I gave away a more typical version B&D a couple of years ago, to a guy who already had two. (I kept the cabinet though. )

The issue is that this may be a rare model. Maybe a very rare model, since there aren't even any photos on the internet of any other examples of the same model.

I know that doesn't mean it's valuable or anyone will pay a fortune for it. Hell, I'd give it away to the right person. It's just that I think it might be a rare example of a tool, and that some collector or museum or something might be interested in it.

As far as I know Black & Decker has no displays of old product, and the modern owners today are some corporation that couldn't care less about dusty old antiques. I don't know of any "antique car-tools" museum or collectors of such, and the only machine-tool museums I'm aware of tend to only want the truly old stuff, like leather-belt-driven machinery.

Worse- at least for this situation - I'm in Alaska, so even if I could find somebody in the States to take it, even for free, it'd still cost probably $500-$600 to ship.

Doc.

 

[1982fxr]

Trade fodder to an old car guy

 

[2oolhound]

I'd never looked at it for it's rarity and sorry, can't recommend anywhere who would want it for that. Instead of searching Van Dorn No. 6 try searching Mamie Van Dorn No. 36-24-36. That's the top model and you should get lots of links.

All jokes aside I think most of us on here love this old stuff that has beauty and character built into the design as well a function. Money and costs have removed those ingredients from the design on modern equipment. Put yours beside a neway kit (ave. $750) and there is no comparison in any way, the Van Dorn wipes up. A lot of the attraction of this type equipment to most of us is the nostalgic looks, kinda like why we might keep an old blackhawk S4 jack around instead of newer smaller faster one. They look way cooler in the shop and still do their job and we don't need it everyday so they're economical.

Too bad shippings such a killer because a lot of guys would love that set up. There's got to be someone local it's just getting them to know about it's availability.

 

[Roberts210]

PM sent.

 

[beatcad]

try searching Mamie Van Dorn No. 36-24-36. That's the top model and you should get lots of links. .

Mamie Van Doren
haha! of the big 3 battle of the blondes of the 50s/early 60s i always vacillate between Mamie and Jayne.
i mostly go to jayne, but mamie is great cause she has a sence of humer about the whole thing

 

[rsanter]

Give it to a museaum
Take a write off

Bob

 

[DocsMachine]

Give it to a museaum
Take a write off

-There's only one automotive museum in Alaska, and that's the Fountainhead up in Fairbanks. I've already got an email off to them, and am waiting to hear back, but I'm not terribly hopeful.

It does kind of fit in with their displays (the newest car in there I think is a '38) and they specifically collect unique or very rare cars- not just a typical Model T or '40 Ford, most of their examples tend to be along the lines of "one of three known to still exist", etc.

Any other museum would be out of state, and few, if any of them would be willing to pay for the shipping. I paid something like $700 for this thing originally- yeah, yeah, I know- and I'm already likely goint to have to just give it away. I'm not looking forward to spending another $500-$600 to get rid of it.

Doc.

 

[Plombob]

How about this museum? http://www.museumofalaska.org/

That's a great tool! I'm glad you are trying to re-home it.

 

[Roberts210]

Here's a wet grinder on the L.A. Craigslist for $2,200.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/tls/5907410293.html