Used Manual Mills, Drills & Lathes for Sale
4 results
Lot 12
Central Machinery 16-Speed Floor Drill Press
Tigard, OR
Ends Wed, Oct 14, 10:22 AM CT
Lot 47
Emco Engine Lathe
Naperville, IL
Live auction · Tue, Oct 27, 10:00 AM CT
Lot 46
Bridgeport 2 HP Vertical Milling Machine
Naperville, IL
Live auction · Tue, Oct 27, 10:00 AM CT
Bridgeport Vertical Milling Machine
USA
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About Used Manual Mills, Drills & Lathes
Manual and tool-room machines are the general-purpose machine tools that keep a shop running alongside its CNC equipment — manual knee mills, engine lathes, drill presses, and radial and gun drills. These machines handle setup work, maintenance, one-off jobs, and secondary operations that don't justify a CNC. Meadoworks regularly stocks tool-room and manual equipment from plant closures and shop liquidations across North America.
A tool room machine here means the manual mill, the drill press or the engine lathe that sits beside the CNC equipment. A knee mill raises the table on a knee and is the machine for a one-off bracket or a fixture detail. A drill press feeds a hole straight down and is not a mill. An engine lathe turns a shaft with gears and a hand on the carriage, not with a program. Each of those has its own chip: knee mills, drill presses and engine lathes. This machine is the overview so you can tell which chip you wanted.
If the photo is a knee mill, open that chip for table travel, taper and the quill. If it is a floor drill, open the drill press chip for swing and the Morse taper. If it is a geared-head lathe, open the engine lathe chip for swing, centers and the bore.
Bridgeport is the knee-mill name most shops mean. Clausing appears on engine lathes and drill presses. Jet is the manual mill, lathe and drill brand. Gorton is the pantograph and toolroom mill name. Edge is on the list as it appears with this equipment. Use the chips when you know the type. Use this machine when you only know you need a manual machine and you have not separated mill, drill and lathe yet.
These machines do not replace a machining center or a CNC lathe. They handle the setup, the repair and the single part that does not justify a program. On a used tool room machine, move every axis by hand before you care about the paint. A loose knee, a grabbing quill or a noisy headstock is the fault, and it is specific to whichever of the three you are actually looking at.
How to Choose Used Manual Mills, Drills & Lathes
How to Size a Tool Room Machine
Name the machine first, then size it on its own chip. A knee mill is sized by table travel, quill and spindle taper. A drill press is sized by swing, quill travel and the Morse taper. An engine lathe is sized by swing over the bed, distance between centers and the spindle bore.
A single set of numbers will not cover all three, which is why this machine does not pretend to. Horsepower and the voltage in your shop still apply to whichever one you pick. If the work is a repeating program, stop sizing a manual machine and look at a machining center or a CNC lathe. If the work is one part and a person will stand there, pick the chip that matches the cut: mill, drill or turn.
Knee Mill, Drill Press, or Engine Lathe
Use a knee mill when the part needs a slot, a face or a hole pattern a person can locate. Use a drill press when the only cut is a hole and you should not side-load a quill with an end mill. Use an engine lathe when the part is round and you will turn it between centers or in a chuck by hand.
The three share a room. They do not share a spec sheet. Open the knee mill, drill press or engine lathe machine once the photo matches. Pause only long enough to make that choice. A CNC knee, if the head is powered, is still a knee, and the knee mill machine says when it is enough and when it is not a machining center.
Manual Mills, Drills & Lathes Specs to Compare
| Spec | Typical range | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Machine type | The type decides every other spec. A swing number from a lathe means nothing on a mill. | |
| Knee mill table (in) | X and Y have to fit the part and the vise. Quill travel is the drilling stroke. The knee mill machine goes further. | |
| Drill press swing (in) | Swing is how far from the column you can put a hole. A plate past the throat needs a different drill. | |
| Lathe swing and centers | Swing is the diameter over the bed. Centers are the longest shaft. Both live on the engine lathe machine. | |
| Spindle taper | R8 on many knee mills, Morse on many drills | Tooling has to match the taper of the machine you actually buy, not the taper of the one beside it. |
| Power feed or hand only | Power feed on a knee or a lathe is still a manual machine. It is not a CNC control. |
Machine type
The type decides every other spec. A swing number from a lathe means nothing on a mill.
Knee mill table (in)
X and Y have to fit the part and the vise. Quill travel is the drilling stroke. The knee mill machine goes further.
Drill press swing (in)
Swing is how far from the column you can put a hole. A plate past the throat needs a different drill.
Lathe swing and centers
Swing is the diameter over the bed. Centers are the longest shaft. Both live on the engine lathe machine.
Spindle taper
Typical range: R8 on many knee mills, Morse on many drills
Tooling has to match the taper of the machine you actually buy, not the taper of the one beside it.
Power feed or hand only
Power feed on a knee or a lathe is still a manual machine. It is not a CNC control.
What to Inspect on Used Manual Mills, Drills & Lathes
Name mill, drill or lathe
Decide which of the three the photo is before you compare specs. A mixed lot will not do that for you.
Move every slide by hand
A tight spot or a rock in the table appears before the motor starts. Paint does not move the knee.
Run the spindle
Listen through the speeds. A growl in a headstock or a mill spindle is bearings, on whichever machine it is.
Check the quill or carriage
A mill or drill quill should feed and return. A lathe carriage should travel the bed without a score.
Read the taper
R8, Morse or a lathe nose has to match tooling you own. An adapter is a joint you should decide on now.
Look at the ways
Scored ways and a loose gib are a rebuild. They are not a lube job you will finish after delivery.
Ignore the odd shop tool
A small bench tool in the same list is not the machine. Go to the chip that matches the mill, the drill or the lathe.
Meadoworks Track Record
22
Sold through Meadoworks
4
Listed now
Makes we have handled most
Bridgeport, Clausing
Common models
Bridgeport Series I, Bridgeport Series 1
Related Equipment
- Knee Mills
Table travel, taper and quill on a knee mill
- Drill Presses
Swing and Morse taper when the cut is a hole
- Engine Lathes
Swing, centers and bore on a manual lathe
Related Manual & Tool-Room Machines
Top Brands for Used Manual Mills, Drills & Lathes
Bridgeport
US name on knee mills used in toolrooms.
Jet
Brand of manual mills, lathes and drill presses.
Edge
Clausing
US builder of engine lathes and drill presses.
Gorton
US builder of pantograph and toolroom mills.
Common Applications
Frequently Asked Questions
What belongs with a tool room machine besides a knee, a drill and a lathe?
Mostly the knee mill, the drill press and the engine lathe. Those are the machines this overview is about, and each has a chip with its own travels and its own inspection. The mix can also pick up small shop tools from a plant closure because the family matcher is wide. A bench item in that mix is not a reason to treat this as a hand-tool machine. If the photo is a Bridgeport-style knee, a floor drill or a geared-head lathe, leave for that chip.
What counts as a manual or tool-room machine?
Here it means a knee mill, a drill press or an engine lathe that a person runs by hand, next to the CNC machines. A knee mill raises the table on a knee and cuts a slot, a face or a located hole. A drill press feeds a hole straight down and should not be side-loaded with an end mill. An engine lathe turns a shaft with gears and a hand on the carriage. A CNC machining center, a CNC lathe and a Swiss machine are not this group, even when they sit in the same room. Small bench tools from a closure are not the machine either.
When does an engine lathe still earn space next to a CNC lathe?
When a person can stand at one shaft, a repair or a short run, and a program would take longer than the cut. An engine lathe threads from a gearbox and a leadscrew. It does not run a bar feeder overnight. Swing, distance between centers and the spindle bore are the size, and they are on the engine lathe machine. A CNC turning center is the production machine. Keep the manual lathe for the work that is round and rare. Do not ask it to mill a flat.
What should the ways show on a used Bridgeport-style mill?
A table that does not rock, gibs that still adjust, and a knee that lifts and locks. Scored ways are a rebuild. Tram the head so the spindle is square to the table. Run the spindle through its speeds and feed the quill. The taper, often R8 on a manual machine, has to match the tooling you will bring. The knee mill machine is the longer version of this check.
Why are small shop tools in this range without being the point?
Because a closure lot is mixed, and the machine that gathers manual equipment will sometimes show a bench tool next to a real machine. The overview stays on knee mills, drill presses and engine lathes so a buyer is not reading a soldering-iron article to find a Bridgeport. Use the photo. If it is one of the three, open that chip and size it there.
Which chip should I open after I know the type?
Knee mills for a vertical knee and a quill, including the travel, the taper and when a CNC knee is still not a machining center. Drill presses for a floor drill, the swing and the Morse taper, and for the reminder not to mill with it. Engine lathes for swing, centers, the bore and a gap bed if you have a flange to swing. This tool room machine is the fork in that path. It is not a fourth spec sheet.
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