Myford ML7 – advice needed please

[Bob LonsdaleParticipant @boblonsdale31407]

My neighbour and friend died at 83 years of age a couple of weeks ago and I am trying to assist his widow in sorting out his workshop.

He was a lifelong model engineering enthusiast, (electrical engineer by profession) and was part way through a couple of locomotive projects.

 

He has a Myford ML7, purchased from new, serial number K6087 (which looks like 1949). He was meticulous and it looks in excellent condition to me. It has a Myford stand and numerous attachments, still to be sorted out.

 

Can any members offer any advice please on the best way to approach selling the lathe and perhaps hazard a guess at it’s potential value?

 

He also has a large “Alpine” milling machine.

Whilst I own and use a very small lathe (cowell 90) I am mainly a woodworker and need help. We also have to look at disposing of his projects and the stock of raw materials and fittings.

 

Any advice would be most gratefully received. I am in the Northumberland area.

 

Bob

[Bob LonsdaleParticipant @boblonsdale31407]

[RoyParticipant @roy91521]

Hi Bob,

Myford ML7;

you can try posting and advertising on ebay. some good pictures will help.Advertise the lathe with the basic of tools, i.e. a 3 jaw chuck, centre (if there is one), some of the cutting tools, etc.

Any extra chucks, or “special” tools, I would again sell on ebay.

Do make sure you set a minumum limit to accept on these or you will be giving them away.

I bought mine some months back for £460 on ebay so similar should be achievable. I paid £100 for a 4 jaw Chuck,

 

 Alpine;

again try posting on ebay, it is a nice sturdy machine and should if in even the most basic config fetch around £300. if it has been converted to CNC the double this figure. Again i wouls sell it with some basic tools to attract buyers, but then sell the rest of the tooling seperate. i.e any special vices, or work holding like a indexing vice, etc.

 

Unfortunatly on the models i would try contact your local model engineering society, at least so you can get an indication of value. Too often loved-ones are taken advantage of in this grieving period by people offering to “take” these items off their hands.

Edited By Roy on 17/07/2010 07:03:26

[Bob LonsdaleParticipant @boblonsdale31407]

Thanks for the help Roy – much appreciated.

 

Are ebay buyers likely to travel do you think?  The machinery would be extremely heavy items to courier. The Alpine in particular is large.

 

There are several chucks there as well as loads of other tooling and the usual other machinery such as metal bandsaw grinders etc.

Biggest problem I think sorting everything out first. Will take a few weeks as I have time available.

 

I’ve agreed to buy his meddings pillar drill which is a nice machine and I’ll get a lot of pleasure using oneof my old friends’ well loved kit.

 

Bob

[The HarperParticipant @theharper]

Hi Bob,

 

I bought my ML7 off of Ebay, it was located ‘up north’ about 230 miles away from me in the darkest backwaters of East Anglia! I arranged with the seller to put it on a small pallet and then arranged for a local haulier to pick it up through the pallet line organisation. This went very smootly and only cost me £40, which would have been a lot less than the petrol it would have taken to make the 460+ mile journey, and it was delivered the day after collection. The driver even wheeled it in to my garage with his pallet truck, result! Just thought you should know that you don’t have to go down the buyer collects or expensive courier route.

 

Paul

[_Paul_Participant @_paul_]

Chucks can vary quite a bit depending on manufacturer & condition/age  anything by Pratt-Burnerd should command a good price particularly if it’s a “GripTru” chuck.

 

Other items like geniune Myford Vertical slides will fetch £120+ items like Myford Fixed steadies regularly attract around £60-£70 or more if boxed/unused.

 

If you can spend some time on Ebay it will give you a good idea what to expect price wise.

 

IMHO when selling try to avoid “bundling” items together, sell everything individually it’s more work but fetches better prices.

 

Regards

 

Paul

[Bob LonsdaleParticipant @boblonsdale31407]

Thanks for the advice guys – much appreciated.

 

His widow is completely overwhelmed by the size of the task and although she needs to maximise the cash for the machinery, i’ve persuaded her that it needs to be properly sorted, catalogued and photographed to best do it.

so it’s going to take time.

 

I’ve offered to buy his bench pillar drill, a Meddings 1hp so I need to research to make sure it’s the right price for both of us.

 

Bob

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