buying a used lathe

[Neil Bosdet]

Hi all,

Looking at a used lathe to purchase. I haven't seen it in person, nor will I be able to. It's a distance from me so I'll have to buy and ship before I see it live and in person. Would the oxidation on the bedways concern you a great deal?

Thanks,

Neil

[Neil Bosdet]

Sorry for the photo. It rotated when I uploaded it and I don't know how to fix it.

[david brum]

The rust in the picture doesn't look very serious. It should clean up easily with some steel wool and WD40 or similar in a few minutes. Lathes take about the worst abuse of any woodworking tools, anyway. If you turn any bowls, you'll probably be using green wood. Water and wet shavings get all over the lathe from the wet wood. If you're not fastidious about cleaning the lathe right away, it's easy to get rusty spots all over the ways. After you clean off the rust, apply a liberal coating of paste wax and reapply whenever you see some "patina".

[Stephen Cherry]

Looks like about half of a beer.

[Dan Hintz]

Surface rust... it's still good.

[Kevin Bourque]

I have spoons and forks in my kitchen drawer with more rust than that.

[Joe Angrisani]

When the time comes, use a slurry of Bar Keeper's Friend and WD-40 to clean the rust while being gentle on the metal. Use a rag (or fine Scotch Brite pad if you need a little more oomph). You can buy Bar Keeper's Friend at Home Depot, WalMart, and most grocery stores.

[Myk Rian]

Would the oxidation on the bedways concern you a great deal?


Not one bit. That will clean up real nice.

[Neil Bosdet]

Thanks for all your replies. Very helpful.

Cheers,

Neil

[Kyle Iwamoto]

How much and what lathe is it? Any extras? Tools?There is a woodturners forum here, and if you post that info, I'm sure you'll get lots of info on the "value" of the lathe, since you can't see/feel it prior to buying.

[Mike Cruz]

Kyle, kinda where I was going.

Neil, to answer your question, I'd need to know what kind of lathe and how much. Sure the rust isn't all bad, but if he's asking 80% of new for a bed that's all rusted, well, yeah, it matters. Not to how the lathe will perform necessarily, but certainly in that a rusty lathe simply isn't as valuable as a prisine one.

That said, in a way, one of the other posters was correct in saying that lathe beds do tend to get some rust on them from time to time from turning green (wet) wood. But that rust is not from turning green wood. That rust is from storage, with likely humidity or direct water on it (rain, maybe).

Looks to me like it was "stored" with that tailstock slid forward to that spot where the rust looks heaviest. That much rust doesn't happen overnight. (Yes, it kinda "could", but I would seriously doubt it...if it did, the owner would have wiped it off!) So, I would question what else on the lathe may have rust (parts that aren't protected by paint...parts you can't see). Again, is the rust all that bad? No. Can you get it off? Yes. Would I pay any more than 50% of new on a site unseen lathe that I KNOW has a rusty bed and hasn't been pristinely taken care of? NOPE!

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Neil,
That looks like a Vicmarc. Rust is only a problem if it is pitted. You look good to go. If it is a Vic, hurry up.
faust

[Rodney Walker]

As Mike Cruz indicated, that rust is from sitting. That lathe hasn't been used in a while. Either the owner doesn't turn or there's some other reason for the lack of recent use. If the price is right, I wouldn't let it stop me but it may take more than just a good cleaning to make operational. What kind of lathe is it?
Rodney

[Neil Bosdet]

Thanks for all your replies. Yes, it's a Vic, VL300 Long bed. The rust is from storage and apparently it's a fine, surface rust. Price wasn't the issue why I posted but since it's been raised, what would you pay for this in the condition it's in, with no accessories, including costs to ship to yourself?

Cheers,

Neil

[Mike Cruz]

Neil, well, a new one looks like it would be about $6300 plus shipping. Looks like the swing is just under 24". So that puts it in the PM4224 catagory (size wise, I won't debate quality, etc). New a PM4224 would be around what, $7K? If that were a PM4224 with rust on the bed, etc, I would say about 50% of new...so $3500-4000. That is IF I could see it. IF all the electronics were working properly. No bearings needed to be replaced, etc, etc. Plus you say no extras.

So, what is it worth? I'm not a Vicmarc guy. So I don't know it's "value". If it were $3K delivered, it would be hard to pass up.

[Dennis Nagle]

If I turn green wood and don't clean off my tube and spray it down with WD40, the next morning it will look like your picture. When that happens (and it has happened many times) I just clean it up with WD40 and steel wool.

[Roy Turbett]

A little rust isn't a problem. Just need a little elbow grease.

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[Roy Turbett]

256779Just needs a little elbow grease.

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