I've used one, must have been in the early 70s. I found it a bit ponderous like riding a cart horse after using a Bridgeport for a few years. I did small injection mould work and it was not really suitable but the lads that did the bigger jigs and fixtures seemed to get on OK with the machine. Do the usual checks, there where a lot of this type of machine about. Gate/Tos/Elliot/Beaver, as I moved around contract tool makers I got to use most of what was around. All did the job. I seem to remember some being very tall to reach the drawbar.

You should be paying scrap price for that. You can probably recover a good machine from what is there but nobody in their right mind would pay much more than a couple hundred quid absolute tops (if it appears functional and complete beneath the rust) – and it will weigh the best part of 1.5 tonnes so will possibly cost more than that to get it home. The alternative would be them getting a scrappie to come and take it away for free. As it is, you have no means of checking whether it works or what state it's in.

The bigger the machine, the cheaper it is when in a state like this. Too big for most hobby users and no use to a professional. You might even take it away for him…

Murray

I wouldn't spend much time convincing the seller that it's salvageable! You should practice your moaning and groaning and indecisive look.

TBH, unless the flat ways are chromed, the effects of 2 winters outdoors could be pretty serious. My machines spent a couple of months outdoors (covered in tarps) while the workshop was being built and even after that short period the tables on both mills and the bed of the lathe will always show where the rusting occurred. Luckily the ways were chromed and / or heavily lubed and didn't suffer. However, the spindle bearings in my big machine were buggered although I was able to get good quality replacements at reasonable cost (I count myself as lucky there). I'll never know if the bearings were like that when I got the machine but they certainly don't like water in 'em.

Looks like a fine (Yogoslavian) machine but you'd need to be prepared to remove the table / saddle etc and / or dive into the spindle. I reckon it could eat a Bridgeport alive….

NB: lathes.co.uk looks as if they have a manual for one of them (you'd need to check it's the right one). He reckons it's a rebadged Prvomajska G301 machine, of which there seem to be quite a few different models.

Sure enough, Google suggests it is indeed a Prvomajska G301 model, so the lathes.co.uk manual may well be the one you want if you can afford it…..

Murray

Somewhere near Inverness by the looks of your profile, so if anyone out that way fancies a big project, they could get in touch with you. Looks to have been a nice machine in its day.

Murray

That would clean up no problem, and at that price it's too good not to buy if your local………

I took the plunge and bought the mill.

I replace every bearing including the spindle bearings, which cost a small fortune.

A complete strip down of the machine was required, every nut and bolt.
The slide ways cleaned up using scotchbrite

I rewired the machine new switch gear etc, stripped down the motors and re-varnished them.

Everything on the machine works as it should, the only thing wrong with the machine was a blown fuse in the antiquated wiring. 99% of the damage was because the machine was left outside.

A quick coat of paint and that was it.

With the price I paid for the machine and the cost of parts, it totalled around £1400

Edited By JasonB on 15/05/2020 20:12:22

Looks fantastic, a fantastic job

Well done you