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I'm going to sell my milling machine.

John Conroy

John Conroy

member
Premium Member
I’m going to be selling my Ferro 10’ X 50’ mill around the first week of August. I bought the machine in 2015 and disassembled the table, cross slide and knee for a thorough cleaning and check over. I replaced the Y axis lead screw and bronze nuts as they were very worn. The X axis lead screw was still in good shape but I replaced the nuts at the same time. There is quite a bit of wear on the Y axis ways and a little on the X axis and knee ways. I shimmed the gibs on the X and Y following this video from HH Roberts.


I adjusted the gibs to eliminate any movement when the table is at mid travel where the wear was worst and it moves easily and smoothly until near the end of travel in both directions before it starts to get a little tighter. Since I don’t often go the extreme ends of travel it’s not a big deal and the mill still trams perfectly as shown in the video.


The mill has been used with no problem since then. It has a 3 HP 3 phase motor and it is powered by a Huanyang 3KW (4 HP) VFD. Since it has a variable speed head and also variable speed via the VFD it is very versatile and great for power tapping as you can change spindle directions with the VFD without stopping. This is a very heavy, rigid machine that weighs about 3000 lbs. It came with an Align power feed on the X axis and I have since added a Precision Matthews power feed to the Z axis and a Wen Ding one to the Y axis. Of course it has 3 power downfeed speeds on the spindle like all Bridgeport clones and the head works fine in high and low range. I Installed a Sinpo 3 axis DRO system and custom built a power drawbar using a PA air impact and that works very nicely since the machine has a 6” riser block. A couple of other add on items are the welded machine base for ease of leveling, dual table lamps and the LED spindle light. I plan to remove and keep the riser block.
So my question is: how much should I ask for it when I list it for sale? I plan to include this link to a photo gallery when Iist it on Kijiji.

https://johnconroy.smugmug.com/1986-Ferro-2VH-10-X-50-milling-machine/n-h7ZwXj
 
This is a difficult question as we are in the middle of huge inflation so prices are ... somewhat all over the place but most definitely they are all going up.

The 3 power feeds and VFD are 1000 extra over the price and the DRO adds say at least another 200. Power draw bar say another 100 - maybe 150. other stuff 200.

So all in all you are adding at around 1500 extra on top of base price. I assume no tooling of any kind.

I about a year and a half ago similar machine with 1 power feed a power draw bar for 4200. So I would start with yours today at ... around $6000 and see how she does. If no one bites after a month you can lower to 5500. If you feel lucky you can start higher, say at 7000.

Lets see what Dabbler says.
 
Well just make sure the potential buyers know and understand all the extra mods you have done to it because they are significant and add greatly to the price. I'm going to guess that at $7000 that would be a hard sell but I don't really know that market as well as others.
 
I purhased a new machine that will be here mid August. I have to be patient, hopefully there are no delays. I only have one decent picture that is someone else's machine.

DSC_1058_DxO.jpg
 
Unfortunately you are going to be selling to a market that has a number of unforeseen stresses. For 18 months everyone has been “staying home” but by August (if all goes to plan) people will be emerging from this pandemic and looking to travel, move etc. That may impact how eager people are to part with thousands of dollars. It isn’t to say that you won’t find a buyer, just that it may be difficult. I found an almost new DoAll mill (beautiful) on Kijiji last night and his ask is $4500. Assuming it sold for $4250 plus say $750 for a new DRO and you are all in for $5000. All of this to say that if you are going to sell, maybe list it now (unless you need it) and see if you can get it sold before we all wake up with the “hangover” that is coming following Covid (good or bad), lol.

Cheers

Derek


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
TOBARApprentice said:
. I found an almost new DoAll mill (beautiful) on Kijiji last night
Click to expand...

They are a incredibly nice mills, wish i had the space.....a steal imo at 4500 compared to other things I see. Quite surprised its still there after 150 views....crap I might buy it and store it at the plant just because :D I've got a radial drill made by the same Spaniards and its a beast.
 
If I was looking for a milling machine of that size and vintage I would pay that for YOUR machine in a heart beat because it is not average or has not had an average owner operator on it which increases the value of it greatly.
 
Note a bridge crane can be rented that is all aluminum and easily assembled by two people in under 30 min for around $150 per day. A forklift through it can be rented cannot easily be moved on most pp trailers as it is close to 10000 lbs. A bridge crane has no components heavier then around 50lbs and can lift up to two tones.

Rogers rent all has them and I am sure many other places.
 
I think you have it priced about right. All those mods are very valuable, but in a market like this, influence the price less than it should. Somebody is getting a nice mill at a nice price.
 
A very thorough description. I wish this were a template for all machine listings. Usually you get the impression that the seller doesn't have a clue about the machine they are listing.
If the new mill looks like the photo, then that is a sweet looking machine- is it Taiwanese?
 
John - You could add the RPM speeds the mill will support with the VFD to your ad. And put an ad up on the classified section on here. A lot of people look there.
 
I agree, very complete description. Hopefully someone will appreciate those details, know exactly what they are getting & save you some spindle kickers. Good luck!
 
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