lotus_esprit_s1
Member
- Messages
- 845
- Location
- UK
I owned a very worn and tatty early 60’s Super 7 for many years. It was ex production in a factory and really was worn, although due to it being ex production it was equipped with the quick change gearbox, lever operated tailstock and stand / splash back / light.
I had looked into getting the bed and saddle reground but in the end I bought a later Super 7 with power cross feed. This replacement came off eBay and was very poorly listed, no-one else bid on it, probably due to the lack of any information and poor photos (to be fair it was being sold by a house clearance company). It didn’t have a gearbox or stand, but I could see it was in excellent condition, and appeared to come with a selection of tooling.
When I collected it, I was also given three Tesco crates full of machine tooling that went with it, along with all the original paperwork, which revealed another bonus in that the lathe was ordered with the optional induction hardened bed.
My intention was to break up my worn Super 7 to offset some of the cost of the replacement, as well as fitting it’s gearbox and stand to the new Super 7. I’ve been a bit slow in actually fitting the gearbox as I wanted to paint it prior to fitment, but I finally fitted it this afternoon. I’m really pleased with how it’s turned out, it’s a far better machine than the old worn out one was.
The unexpected outcome was that after I had broken up and sold my old lathe (retaining the stand / tailstock/ gearbox / motor) and due to the sheer amount of surplus tooling that came with it, I am actually £250 in profit, with a much better lathe, seven chucks, two tailstocks, spare motor and stacks of tooling!
I had looked into getting the bed and saddle reground but in the end I bought a later Super 7 with power cross feed. This replacement came off eBay and was very poorly listed, no-one else bid on it, probably due to the lack of any information and poor photos (to be fair it was being sold by a house clearance company). It didn’t have a gearbox or stand, but I could see it was in excellent condition, and appeared to come with a selection of tooling.
When I collected it, I was also given three Tesco crates full of machine tooling that went with it, along with all the original paperwork, which revealed another bonus in that the lathe was ordered with the optional induction hardened bed.
My intention was to break up my worn Super 7 to offset some of the cost of the replacement, as well as fitting it’s gearbox and stand to the new Super 7. I’ve been a bit slow in actually fitting the gearbox as I wanted to paint it prior to fitment, but I finally fitted it this afternoon. I’m really pleased with how it’s turned out, it’s a far better machine than the old worn out one was.
The unexpected outcome was that after I had broken up and sold my old lathe (retaining the stand / tailstock/ gearbox / motor) and due to the sheer amount of surplus tooling that came with it, I am actually £250 in profit, with a much better lathe, seven chucks, two tailstocks, spare motor and stacks of tooling!
