Hello everyone,
I posted the lathe in the FS section of the commerce forum. I am not the owner of the machine, but I'm local and would make a few bucks if I find a buyer. That being said, I hope I can answer a few questions.
1. The lathe is not currently leveled, its sitting on 4x4 wood blocks, oiled and sitting cozy under a tarp indoors.
2. If you like, I can power it up, take a video, some cuts and show you how its cutting by taking some measurements.
3. If you are looking for a next to new machine, then maybe purchase a donor machine and send it to Babin. He does beautiful work, but it comes at a price. Last I asked someone how much the rebuild cost, it was north of 30k, not including cost of the machine. I wish to own a Hardinge from him one day, to put it behind a glass cabinet, they are that nice.
I don't think many of us on the forum have next to new high precision lathes, and we are still able to make good parts with them. I don't know what your application for this lathe would be, but it was being used till it was replaced by a CNC lathe. Like most used lathes, I'm sure this one has some wear, but its far from being clapped out.
One last thing, IMO, I think its reasonably priced considering a new import lathe of similar dimensions runs about 7k, and it has at lot of Hardinge original tooling.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Remember you can always make an offer on it.