Machine Shop equipment auction

Looks like an expansion Plan for Butch to me!

our grinder is better . however when doing the 4 3/4 and 4 7/8 bores i would prefer the van norman 4 paw boring bar over our kwik way 3 paw

Edited by mlpankey - 22 Mar 2013 at 1:56pm

Butch, I was figuring that you would go in and make  a bid on the whole shebang and then I could come down and help you move it, LOL. I know what you mean about Crank grinders, A friend of mine had a big VanNorman that would take 84" between centers, he sold it for just over scrap price, I can't justify the space for no more than I can pay someone else to grind cranks for. As for Boring, I prefer my DeVlieg JigMill,  1" to 20" diameter, and up to 24" deep, we can bore it, and know exactly where the bore is when we are done.

do those crank grinders and valve seat/guide machines ever wear out? 

Ken(MI) wrote: Lou, the stuff does wear out, but most of the equipment built before 1980 is pretty much rebuildable forever. Once the foreigners started to enter the market, things really went downhill, there is very little out there in the way of machine tools being built today that is not considered throw away.

Lou, there are companies out there that specialize in machinery rebuilding, but the definition is like a restored tractor. Truly rebuilt means stripped to bare castings, remachined and scraped to as-new tolerances, updated wiring and controls, spindles and workheads rebuilt, new bearings throughout, way covers, etc. etc. generally speaking rebuilding a small crank grinder would be in the neighborhood of $40,000 to $60,000 depending on lots of variables, but it would be a solid investment in a machine that would be once again ready to do excellent work for the next 20 to 30 years. I've gone to buying machines built in the 80's and 90's by North American companies that are now pretty much gone, I try to find them in one shift, non production environments and have had good luck  with that. I have one 2007 Hurco mill that we bought new just to explore it's capabilities, and found them to not be much of a machine, much like Fadal, Haas and all the other junk out there. I will take my Tree and Monarch VMCS anyday. They may not have the glitz at the control, but they move stock like no other, and will fill a hopper with chips without breaking a sweat, or chattering across the floor.

Mrgoodwrench,   about a mile for you! lol

Ken(MI) wrote: Lou, there are companies out there that specialize in machinery rebuilding, but the definition is like a restored tractor. Truly rebuilt means stripped to bare castings, remachined and scraped to as-new tolerances, updated wiring and controls, spindles and workheads rebuilt, new bearings throughout, way covers, etc. etc. generally speaking rebuilding a small crank grinder would be in the neighborhood of $40,000 to $60,000 depending on lots of variables, but it would be a solid investment in a machine that would be once again ready to do excellent work for the next 20 to 30 years. I've gone to buying machines built in the 80's and 90's by North American companies that are now pretty much gone, I try to find them in one shift, non production environments and have had good luck  with that. I have one 2007 Hurco mill that we bought new just to explore it's capabilities, and found them to not be much of a machine, much like Fadal, Haas and all the other junk out there. I will take my Tree and Monarch VMCS anyday. They may not have the glitz at the control, but they move stock like no other, and will fill a hopper with chips without breaking a sweat, or chattering across the floor.

with the readily available and cost productive automotive cranks on the market in the automotive performance world it takes several years for a crank grinder to pay its shelf off. The antique pulling world is a different story but one needs a crank welding machine to acompany the crank grinder.jmho