Myford MkII

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Steve Maskery

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Hi all, this is foreign territory to me, 'ere be dragons!

But I wonder if anyone can help.

I have a friend who has a Myford MarkII lathe. He bought it 4 years ago when he retired and has used it for about 20 hours. He can't use it for more than a few minutes before his Tennis Elbow and neuritis makes it a not-very-enjoyable experience, so it has just sat in his workshop gathering dust.

He wants to sell it, and says that all the bits (bowl attachment, faceplates etc - lots, apparently) cost about £1300 new.

Does anyone know what it would fetch second-hand? Alan doesn't do things by halves, so my guess is that there is a lot there, although I've not actually seen it.

He's keeping his turning tools, as they were a retirement gift from his partners, but the rest is just taking up valuable pot-space (ceramics are his other passion).

Turning is not my area, but I would like to help him if I can, and would be happy to put an advert in the mag for him. I don't want to raise his hopes too much, I know he'll take a hit, but equally it would be good to get a price which is realistic for both parties.

Any help gratefully received.
 
If by a Myford Mk 2, you mean the later model of the Mystro, one was sold on Ebay a couple of years ago for about £700, if I remember right - I know I didn't bid high enough!
(always fancied the Mystro, as I have a Myford metalworking lathe, and the mystro has the same nose thread. Interesting, though, that you can buy a secondhand Myford metalworking lathe, which is a quite complex bit of kit, for less than the much simpler Mystros fetch)
 
Don't undervalue all the bits and pieces Steve, they can be worth a fortune in themselves.

Don't just give them away to clinch a deal, make sure they are priced as possibly available seperately, in addition to the asking price of the lathe.

If need be they can be sold seperately on ebay and can realise a lot of extra value that way.

Cheers, Paul. :D
 
Saddo ebay addict that I've become........

These are generalisations, but hope they help, garnered over the last couple of months ......

1 - lathes
Unless they are Clarke (or v similar) - i.e. no casting and/or lightweight - most reasonably modern lathes seem to make +50% of their cost new, possibly up towards 70%. The more expensive ones do tend to hold their values better.
I say 'tend' because in all this I've come to the conclusion that 'location location location' is the real key. As an example I've seen 2 CL4s go within a couple of weeks or so of each other - one for way over a grand with all the bits (chucks and chisels), it must have got to within 90% of cost. The second one struggled to get past £450. The first was in the South East, the second was in the Highlands.
There also appears to be a prices hotspot around Manchester!
I've noticed this location influence play out in other areas too, not just tools.

2 - chisels
They'll probably get to around half cost ish, may do better if Sorby or Taylor. Exotic or more specialised chisels do seem to do a little better (e.g. like the bead forming ones).
Sell them in sets - if their boxes or packaging are/is still available even better.
There also appears to be a psychological barrier or two as regards overall chisel pricing - I think you'd get a (maybe much) better price if you sell 15 in 3 groups of five rather than one of 15.

3 - chucks
They seem to go for around 75%-80% of cost, maybe a bit more.

For anything else the sort of half price ish tag seems to apply.

That's it, brain dumped.

Suggest you avoid the 'Buy it Now' pricing too, a reasonable reserve, and be prepared to re-advertise if the stuff don't go first time.

Good luck
 
Thank you all. Daft, I know, but I never thought of eBay! I may suggest he does that himself, I was thinking more along the lines of the GW Smalls.

All your thoughts are much appreciated.
 
Dear Addict!

Many thanks for that advice.
I'm considering selling my Mystro and your tips make lots
of sense.
I must have spent the cost of the lathe and more on chisels, chucks and other bits.
I've not a clue what they're worth. I am considering swapping the lathe for a planer thicknesser. Perhaps now I should hold out for a bit more!

Again. Thanks.



greybeard":31prtqm6 said:
Saddo ebay addict that I've become........

These are generalisations, but hope they help, garnered over the last couple of months ......

1 - lathes
Unless they are Clarke (or v similar) - i.e. no casting and/or lightweight - most reasonably modern lathes seem to make +50% of their cost new, possibly up towards 70%. The more expensive ones do tend to hold their values better.
I say 'tend' because in all this I've come to the conclusion that 'location location location' is the real key. As an example I've seen 2 CL4s go within a couple of weeks or so of each other - one for way over a grand with all the bits (chucks and chisels), it must have got to within 90% of cost. The second one struggled to get past £450. The first was in the South East, the second was in the Highlands.
There also appears to be a prices hotspot around Manchester!
I've noticed this location influence play out in other areas too, not just tools.

2 - chisels
They'll probably get to around half cost ish, may do better if Sorby or Taylor. Exotic or more specialised chisels do seem to do a little better (e.g. like the bead forming ones).
Sell them in sets - if their boxes or packaging are/is still available even better.
There also appears to be a psychological barrier or two as regards overall chisel pricing - I think you'd get a (maybe much) better price if you sell 15 in 3 groups of five rather than one of 15.

3 - chucks
They seem to go for around 75%-80% of cost, maybe a bit more.

For anything else the sort of half price ish tag seems to apply.

That's it, brain dumped.

Suggest you avoid the 'Buy it Now' pricing too, a reasonable reserve, and be prepared to re-advertise if the stuff don't go first time.

Good luck
 
I take it that none of the people who posted in this thread are in the market for a Lathe,otherwise I'm sure they would not be so generous with there advice. I'm sure that if the item was listed at £250 and you wanted it would you tell the seller I'll give you £500 because thats what it's worth. By the same token if you make a bid on it of £1000 I doubt if the seller will say that it's only worth £500.
It just shows the honesty of the wood turning fraternity on UK Workshop, how I wish I had found this site a couple of years ago I'm sure I could have saved a couple of Grand on things I knew nothing about. Now when I look at the machines in my Sheds I'll think am I the last of the #@/#,n~eegits left, how sre the sellers going to survive if the fools have a source to guide them,and when I put MY stuff on the market will it be a holiday in the sun or just an other wet day in the Emerald Isle. Regds Boysie. :wink: :wink:
 
Hi Boysie

Sounds like you got stung, several times. There's a lot of sting sympathy here, cos most of us have been caught at least once somewhere!

Most turners will, eventually!, admit to at least one chisel that has never lost its original cutting edge, cos it's never been used. And there's probably at least a couple of others that do not lead hard lives!

The pricing info? Well, it's there, public, available for everyone (that is anyone sad enough to watch any number......yeah yeah, I know, must get out more!).
But as for Ebay - that is one very weird environment!
There's at least one tale on here of a well-meaning member emailing a bidder involved in crazy price climbs to say that the item new could be bought for less, only to be told to MYOB in no uncertain terms.

Of course, in return for the advice/encouragement/info/etc it should be understood that you will always share a gloat with us first should you be so lucky!

I always console myself with two thoughts - a) I can't take the cash with me so best to spend it here, and b) a bargain is a bargain is a bargain, whatever the price!!

Happy spinning
 
Hi Greybeard, Yes you could say I got stung, at one time I felt I was in a beehive. I took up woodworking a little over two years ago,I had to give up playing Golf because of health reasons. I bought all the books and magazines and bought what the experts said. The problem was that there was 5 mags.per month and only two of five seemed to agree on any machines they tested. So one month I'd have "xy" saw the next ,month it would be "ab" and so on . Deprecation after one month seemed to be 50% so I lost out A LOT.
My Children got me into computers after a time, If it had been sooner I can honestly say I would have saved a lot of money. But as an old friend said to me,IT'S BETTER TO BE 5 MINUTES LATE THAN DEAD ON TIME. So now when I feel an urge to buy something I go to the forums and get real Proffesional help.
I think it's important to swallow your pride and admit that you've been taken,it's not the end of the world, and when you dont know about things that you buy there are people just waiting to pounce. I think it's great that of the ones that are waiting to suck you dry , there are many thousands more ready to offer advice if you just have the courage to ask. Long may it be so! Regds. Boysie :D :D
 
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