The price of machines...

[AdeV]

Is it just me, or are machines going up in price at the moment?

I've been on the lookout for a cheap CNC Bridgeport (or similar size) for a while, but there's nothing under a grand. Even broken ones sell for more than that... and yet, when I was first buying my machine, about 2 and a half years ago, eBay was awash with sub-grand metal.  Heck, even manual Bridgies are all over £1k now, so converting a manual machine is an expensive prospect. And I don't want to convert mine, as I like having a manual machine... so I want a 2nd one to either renovate, or convert/experiment with. Which means not spending £1,000s...

Ho hum.

Anyone got a cheap Bridgeport for sale?

[Deko]

Hi Ade
           Anyone got a cheap bridgeport for sale?   Think that comes under the heading "wishfull thinking" do'nt it ?????

   Cheers  Dek

[DavidBraley]

Ade,

I guess it would be 1,000 British Pounds you're talking about. I don't think I've ever come across a used CNC Bridgeport, or Bridgeport clone for that kind of money. Not even 15 years ago. Gear must be a lot cheaper in the UK!

I recently picked up a two axis CNC Bridgeport clone for $3,500 US. In these parts, that's CHEAP!

[AdeV]

Things certainly used to be cheaper here.... e.g. I picked up my Bridgeport for a little over £1000 (about $1600 US at the time). A friend of mine snagged a Series 1 CNC Bridgeport for less than half that price. At the time I purchased my mill, most of them were selling for around the £1000 mark, some a little higher, some a little lower, depending on condition. I specifically wanted the belt-drive model, having heard horror stories about the vari-speed, and nothing I've heard since has changed my mind.

Just had a quick scan over eBay & there's only one recent sale anywhere near £1k, and that machine had no sign of a DRO or power feed (both fitted to mine), plus it looked quite sorry for itself & was being sold by someone who clearly didn't know anything about it (how dodgy?)

Dek - yeah, I think you may be right But someone out there must have one they're bored with...

[hermetic]

It is not your imagination!! I sneaked in under thewire at ebay with an Alba new No1 shaper for £160, and a Manchestor rapidor for £51-00. I put the low prices down to the fact that the saw was in Washington (Tyne and Wear) and the shaper was in East Yorkshire (about 20 miles away!!) since then (late last year) prices have skyrocketed. I think some of it may be that the scrap price is now more than the machines were selling for, and no one wants to see a good machine scrapped, so they have pushed up the reserves. Can't see any other reason for it. also maybe the dealers and others are realising the market is bouyant at the moment. Also noticed that a lot more is not selling, so they are not getting it all their way. It pays to realise that E-Bay is not the only auction site on the web, let alone the only source for machinery.
Phil

[AdeV]

It pays to realise that E-Bay is not the only auction site on the web, let alone the only source for machinery.

That's certainly true enough, I've won a nice TIG welder through Apex, as well as a variety of tooling (including most of the slitting saws I broke...). The main thing to watch on other auction sites is the buyer's premium & VAT on top, between them that's often an extra 30% on the hammer price. Peaker Pattinson often have some good stuff too, I just recently scored a digital storage oscilloscope, HP logic analyser, a 5A power supply & a random selection of "things" (junk, as the ex missus would have called it), all for less than £250 including vat & premiums.