Kingsley am-60 worth it?

[Kolby]

Hi all, 

I found a Kingsley am-60 for sale in working order for 550$ Canadian. I don't know much about these machines but i wanted to ask. Do you feel it is a fair price?

 

Thanks

[kgg]

2 hours ago, Kolby said:

I don't know much about these machines but i wanted to ask.

The possible problem I see with the machine is getting parts should something break / wear out. Kingsley was sold in 1995 and parts / support can be hard to find.

kgg

[mike02130]

Hmm, I don't know much about them but I've been looking at them on eBay for sometime.  If anyone else can chime in with the pro's and con's, I would appreciate it much.  One positive(?), there is plenty of type and accessories available for the Kingleys.

[Wizcrafts]

I have a Kingsley M-60 and use it to emboss gold leaf letters onto leather items. It takes a two line type holder natively, or a single holder with an adapter. There are still some parts floating around from machines parted out. Heating elements seem to be available too. Considering their age, I wouldn't leave one on all day.

The best way to gold leaf leather is to pull down the handle hard a couple times before inserting the foil. That makes a submerged channel for the color. My most recent use was gold leaf names on a horse bridle. I also use it to gold leaf our shop name onto black belts.

You can use them to brand veg-tan leather without any foil.

Getting letter sets is iffy because you usually have to bid on them. Some are offered that are missing letters. Many are sold by sellers who don't specialize in heat presses. Kingsley type holders have an alignment ridge and are specifically made for Kingsley type. There is a one point difference in the stated font size, so 18pt Kingsley type is actually only 17pt. This means you cannot use other makers' type unless you also buy a custom modified type holder.