[Abathar]

Right now you can pick up used equipment about as cheap as any time in history now. A small mill is usually easier to find than a lathe in decent shape, Bridgeports will still fetch more than other brands but there are some great deals out there.

Small lathes in good shape seem to go into everyone’s garages before they get on the market, but you can pick up a bigger size (18x80” or larger) a lot cheaper than a small toolmakers lathe, no one wants the larger size but if its got a 5C collet system on it and decent rpm’s they get sucked up faster than anything.

I get auction sheets in all the time, it seems like no one is looking to buy manual equipment at then now, and even some good CNC stuff is going for nothing. I saw an Okuma cnc lathe at one auction about 3 months ago sell for less than $5k, and it was in such nice shape the paint hadn’t even been worn off inside of it at all.

I kicked myself for not buying it, but work is slow now so I would have a nice machine sitting in a corner with nothing to run on it.

If you have the skill and word gets around you can earn a pretty decent return on a small shop that does prototype stuff for people, repair especially. An old Roll-In saw, a little TIG welder, Bridgeport and lathe you will always have people looking to find you for stuff.

[Mr. K]

Where can I get these auction sheets?

If you spot something good 9that you dont need) can you pass it along? I have nothing yet, so a mill and lathe is what i want to start with.

I am thinking with about 10 years of accumulation of machines and experience I can have a small retirement income

[Dead Corpse]

I've always wondered how long it'd take to recoup the expense if I could turn out my own bullets from either brass or bronze with an old B&S OOO turning machine.

I made some field point arrow tips, at one time, that still work just fine.