New old 1950's Myford 7 Lathe still in the crate

Myford currently list a brand new Connoisseur at over 8,000 Pounds. That would translate to about $16,000 in Aust or NZ. Then with shipping, insurance, taxes and duties etc, you are talking about $20,000 or more. Yikes! Makes a $4,000 new ML7 look very attractive. I'm sure if that ML7 were in Australia it would sell for around that $4k price somewhere. I'd consider it myself if it were close enough I could inspect it before purchase.

Yes there are differences between Super 7/Connoisseur and the ML7 but they are not that great. Not $16k great, for absolute sure! Same basic machine with a few more bells and whistles. In fact, I don't know of anything the Connoisseur can do that my 1937 Drummond Flagellator couldn't, with a bit of nursing and swearing.

BTW, same seller who just sold that Myford small vice on eBay Oz for $96 just sold the matching vertical slide for $125, which seems more reasonable, considering their comparative costs new etc.

Edited By Hopper on 11/09/2018 08:50:17

Except its not for sale for "1234" Pounds. When you read the ad it's for exchange only for a 7-1/4" locomotive. Which would be worth considerably more? Not a loco guy so I could not say for sure.

Well that's the nature of auctions, is it not?!

Most definitely depends on what someone is willing to spend as mentioned.

I've however seen far worse for not much cheaper than $4000 here, i.e. people just expect to get ridiculous prices for even a worn Myford. Based on that I'd spend extra money to have the one in the crate, pending viewing preferably, but perhaps that's not normal.

I too have looked at purchasing out of the UK but for the same reasons mentioned I didn't. It also depends where you buy one from, some dealers I spoke to at the time were already over $3000 equivalent without shipping considered. The 2350GBP ML7 from Myford Lathes above in a previous link is an example albeit with a clutch and gearbox.

Edited By mrbuilder on 11/09/2018 10:33:55

There are two types of lathe user. Those who have no emotional attachment to any brand and just see it as a tool and those who get pleasure from owning a specific lathe. Are boxed model car collectors mad for paying hundreds for a toy car or Rolex watch collectors when there are Sekondas out there that do the same job? If you had an ML7 forty years ago, the good feel nostalgia you might get from owning a brand new one again might be worth more to you than the "common sense" alternatives. Non specific lathe users wouldn't pay that price but the right guy looking at the right time might and where else can you get an ML7 in that original condition? The crated Harley D examples are no different. People buy them because they "like" them, not because they're the best. MGB GT's with their lever arm shock absorbers change hands for more money than a Japanese saloon that will last 200,000 miles, whereas...

I had an MGBGT, did 110,000 miles on it in 11 years. Loved it. It only got sold because I couldn't do the 2 to 3 hours weekly maintenance because most of it had to be done on hands and knees, and my metal knee objected. Got an Impreza and rediscovered free time on the weekend!!

cheers

Bill

> Rolex watch collectors when there are Sekondas out there that do the same job?

I lost my great-Uncle's solid gold Sekonda in the early 80s

I would rather than back than any crummy Rolex!

Neil

I wouldn't call them crummy myself, although they are pricey for a mass-produced watch albeit very well made.

For me, Grand Seiko is where it's at now if you want the best quality.

Martin.

I have my Gramps Seiko sportsmatic wristwatch which has never been serviced to my knowledge was new in 1965 and still going strong, it never leaves my wrist

Mick

But a cheap petrol station Chinese digital watch will tell the time for £2.99. I submit that makes my point. Logic doesn't come into it. People enjoy ownership of something for its own sake and that thing is liked/loved by its owner regardless of those who don't "get it". Some parties in the past have verged on the nasty about other people's passions under the guise of joshing and then had to face accusations of not being able to take a joke. I'm not impressed by passive aggressive bully types. Respectful comments of somethings pros and cons versus value is welcome and useful but it only plays a part in the decision to buy but ultimately a purchase is made because the buyer wants. I'm currently surfing a lathe from the early 1940's for no reason other than I want to. I don't care if there's better to be had for the money. There's more than logic in the mix i.e. a historical interest.

Chris,

Nicely put.

Rod

Yep, get what you want, do what you want and don't be put off - within reason of course.

I can never understand peoples love of steak. I really enjoy beef, but every steak I've ever tried has left me disappointed, so I don't touch it now, but each to their own.

Martin.

I agree wholeheartedly with Chris, but I think his argument applies at the 'low end' as well. People shouldn't be made to feel lesser for settling for less charismatic machines.

I think discussions of the capabilities of machine tools get over-polarised because the differences in actual performance between spending £800 and £8,000, for example, are actually not particularly marked. I suspect performance goes up in proportion to something like the cube or even fourth root of cost...

It's rather like the difference between spending £85 on an Epiphone LPS or and £800 on a Gibson Les Paul Junior. If you have the skills, an experienced player can make the cheap guitar sound far better than the expensive one in the hands of a beginner. The cheap guitar will have its rough edges but with some effort in the setting up it's likely to serve the needs of a beginner perfectly well (much to the annoyance of some guitar salesmen). Riffing on the same subject, it's also the case that some top-end custom made instruments can be awful - never holding tune, awkward to balance or difficult to get a good tone out of. There are plenty of examples where good imported copies can have as good or better reputations as the originals (Japanese Tokai SGs had better QC than many Gibsons and several professional bass players preferred the 'wood' tone of Hohner headless basses to the carbon/fibreglass top end basses they imitated).

The same can be true of machine tools; the cheaper or the imitation can be better in some cases, if not as the rule, but it is certainly the operator's skill and experience which makes the biggest difference - although the beginner can compensate somewhat by using patience and care at the expense of speed.

As hobbyists, every machine tool is usually something of an emotional investment, the cheap and cheerful ones almost as much as the classic ones. Ownership of a good example of a classic machine can make you assume that al S/H examples can potentially be as good; equally if you get the best from a well set up imported machine you may look at vintage machines askance.

To really understand the reality is very hard. Vast numbers of imported machines are sold to beginners with no experience who are used to things being 'plug and play'; it's no wonder some come up with issues (not always arising from inexperience) and these probably get more public comment than those who do fine.

On the other hand, if you invest in a 50+ year old machine, you probably know what you are doing, and will expect to have to make a few allowances or at least cope without some modern niceties like sealed bearings. And let's be honest, it's harder to admit 'I spent a several thousand on a vintage lathe and in the end it wasn't really any more than a kit of clapped out parts' than complain 'I bought a cheap new lathe and broke it in a couple of weeks'.

Neil