Clausing lathe

[hammerjack]

Anyone have a guess on what this would be worth if in good condition.

 

[tobnpr]

Steady? Tooling?
What comes with the lathe, is important when estimating value.

 

[TRA]

I have one of those. Really nice lathe to operate. The variable speed beats a gear head hands down. Price? It might shock you what someone would pay for one in top condition.

 

[AckleymanII]

I had a chance to buy one about 10 years ago, one owner and he was wanting 26,000....had a lot of tooling. I have no idea if it was a good deal or not. I went home to think about it and research it, then his son wanted it. Teeth about fell out of my head when he said $26,000.

 

[tonyb]

$26,000 ?

 

[hammerjack]

Plenty of tooling, 3,600.00

 

[tobnpr]

Check out Practical Machinist for threads on the 1500. Depending on use (the one in your pic doesn't look as though it's been ridden hard), the Varidrive can be an issue IIRC with worn plastic parts, etc. Often these older machines with electronic drives can be converted to VFD as opposed to prohibitively expensive drive repairs.

 

[TRA]

Plenty of tooling, 3,600.00

Depending on what you mean by plenty of tooling, and it's up close condition, that could be a deal. Look at what a chicom lathe will cost you and even buying cheap tooling, which I would never do, will add up quick.

I've rebuilt my variable speed and there's nothing in them trick. It's a VS that is used on all kinds of older machines. It's the granddaddy of the snowmobile clutch. Same deal. Most don't know how to maintain them and their quirks so they proclaim them to be junk. They are not.

Has it been repainted? Does the owner have the manual?

I know where there is one that if I could get it that cheap, less whatever tooling this one has, I'd buy it and scrap my old one. Mine is flat wore out but it will still stick chrome moly chips in the ceiling.

 

[sdean]

What is the spindle bore on these lathes?

 

[TRA]

What is the spindle bore on these lathes?

I believe it's 1.5625....BUT I'll have to measure for certain.
The usually have a D1-4 spindle/

 

[butchlambert]

$3600? You better jump all over it. My variable speed 6913 Clausing is a great lathe.

 

[akajun]

If it runs smooth, quiet bearings and the ways looks good buy it now for 3600 it’s a steal

 

[AckleymanII]

$26,000 ?

Yes, it was five years old I think at that time....memory is fuzzy on this. Everything this guy had for sale was gold plated.

 

[Intheshop]

Most of the "deals" I've seen were 5-6500$ range.And they show up a cpl times a year at that.

 

[Shrek]

Hammerjack , enquirering minds want to know , did you buy the lathe ?

 

[hammerjack]

I have not even had time to go look at it yet. It looks pretty long thru the headstock compaired PM 12x36.

 

[shortgrass]

It looks pretty long thru the headstock compaired PM 12x36.

The headstock on that Clausing is NOT overly long. And even if it was, it's 3 or 4 time the machine tool the PM is or will ever be! The Clausing is a machine you'd expect to find in the tool room of a real machine shop. You probably won't find too many PMs in place of it or another of similar quality.

 

[hammerjack]

Yeah probably five times.

 

[TRA]

The headstock on that Clausing is NOT overly long. And even if it was, it's 3 or 4 time the machine tool the PM is or will ever be! The Clausing is a machine you'd expect to find in the tool room of a real machine shop. You probably won't find too many PMs in place of it or another of similar quality.

Yes, Yes, Yes to the above.......BUT, the spindle is long, even longer than it looks. There is a lot of space lost with D- Spindles, and the 1500 has a ~2 1/2 inch belt drive on the back. There ain't a PM on the planet to compare to that Clausing. And I'm not a Clausing lover.

Keep in mind when measuring spindle lengths, be sure you add plenty to it for lube on the back and the amount needed to turn and chamber on the front.

 

[Shrek]

Seems to me the long headstock can be overcome relatively easily in a non production environment with an old barrel. Thread the 1” you’ll be cutting off and drill and thread an old barrel piece and screw them together for an extension and a piece of barrel drilled and threaded to match the tennon. I’m not yet set up so I’m not positive it will work but it sure seems it would. Am I wrong ? I know it would be too time consuming for a professional doing work for profit but a hobbyist could.