EBAY: Scully lathe/Westrex 3DII

[petermontg]

Not my sale or association.

Current bid: 4,050USD (Pickup only) Philly area.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1950s-Scully-Mastering-Lathe-Cuts-Vinyl-Records-westrex-dub-plate-tube-/190679996062?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c6569d69e

[audadvnc]

Looks pretty beat, but I'd bid on it if I needed one.

[fraggle]

why is this always the wrong type of sculy for fu.. sake...

[petermontg]

Yes, poor condition seems to be missing inside out gear lever also, unless is has been taken off with not much use for it. Head is untested, all sort of problems there. Amps seem to be a mess. Am sure with some TLC it could be made to work to some standard again. And am sure the little cap for platter suction is not there.

A project for someone with some spare time maybe.

[dietrich10]

Two heads in any condition worth over 2k. major project here but if stays around 4k decent deal IF you can fix it all yourself

[petermontg]

He has only one 3D was in touch with him over details.

[petermontg]

It's been withdrawn

[audadvnc]

I was discussing this ebay lathe with my partner Ralph this morning. I don't know what the going rate is on such a piece this week. But I am rather fascinated with the mindset of somebody who takes a piece of junk that's been sitting for 40 years in a storage closet, and expects to net prices that should only be warranted from gear that is in tip-top shape (and has a market that is making enough money to permit such prices). It may be pie in the sky for the seller and a few starry eyed bidders, but completely unsupportable for any purchaser planning to recoup his investment by committing his time and fortune to said instrument.

Do the numbers - how many sides will you have to cut before you will return to a break-even proposition? Are you a master mechanic and electronic troubleshooting tech, or will you have to find one? When stylii cost $100 apiece, lacquers $25 each, and tech time mounting into the hundreds of hours before it even works, an extravagant purchase price may take forever to pay off. How long will your girlfriend be happy with ramen noodle takeout before she decides an architect or insurance adjuster is more to her liking?

My fear is that some well meaning hobbyist will bid in way over his head and get a machine that is well past the point of no return. Old machines wear out; I'm dealing with end of life issues on ours. That ebay lathe may never run again, so don't bid as if it's sitting on the showroom floor.

A few years ago we were all hearing the experts tell us that real estate value can only go up, and if you don't buy into a house now you'll never be able to afford one. A similar kind of hucksterdom is practiced on ebay auctions. Don't be the fool who buys a hill of beans...

[Maistrow]

I have been looking for a cutting system for a few years now.
This one is in one of the worst systems I have seen.
I agree with you audadvnc, it will take a long time before
you will see any return from this lathe.
Also you need to think about the front end of the system,
such as, Eq's compressors, mastering console, monitors, studio etc.
Also most important, somebody around who can help you set
up the system.

[audadvnc]

Also most important, somebody around who can help you set
up the system.

I think we're long past the era where we could call up anybody who knows and works with these machines on a daily basis (Len Horowitz is apparently one of the last of the breed - bring him into the conversation before you put your IRA on the line). We're more into the museum curatorial field by now, preserving what's left of the past before it disappears entirely from view.

[petermontg]

Growing trend, market is booming. Every second artist/band am working with is record format only with download code. Next couple years is going to be crazy I reckon. Closet lathes are going to come out, sellers are going see the market and very little lathes left in retail and charge through the nose hoping to get a sale.

Now is the time to find a good deal, if it can be found. Have seen some over the past few months but few and far between was looking into sal74 recently chap wanted 20k€, 10k€ for BSB74 alone. You can guess I ran from it.

[dubcutter89]

Do the numbers - how many sides will you have to cut before you will return to a break-even proposition?

here's your answer:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alcue/496933635/



Lukas

[Angus McCarthy]

Growing trend, market is booming. Every second artist/band am working with is record format only with download code. Next couple years is going to be crazy I reckon. Closet lathes are going to come out, sellers are going see the market and very little lathes left in retail and charge through the nose hoping to get a sale.

Now is the time to find a good deal, if it can be found. Have seen some over the past few months but few and far between was looking into sal74 recently chap wanted 20k€, 10k€ for BSB74 alone. You can guess I ran from it.

If it keeps rolling, it may mean there could even be a market for new (quality) machines in the foreseeable future, or is that still a pipe dream?

[audadvnc]

But again, that's for a showroom new setup. You can buy a 1952 Jaguar also, but if you do, buy two - one for driving while the other is in the shop.