Little moulder...

[Mark Bolton]

I dont mean anything by this but can I ask why? Do you have jobs or contracts to run thousands of feet of moulding or are in an area where you can seize that market? I am in podunk USA and there are 5-6 shops that run sub 2k' orders all day long sanded and a large shop running tractor and trailer loads a week of the bread and butter (feeding lowes and home depot) that just installed a full scale finish line for primed and pre-finished.

Id be tickled to death to get to play around with that stuff but unless I was independently wealthy Im not sure (again in my area) I could be profitable.

Just interested is all.

[Darcy Warner]

If you don't have it, you can't make it.
I have some stuff lined up to do, but you can't sell product without a way to make it.

[John Sincerbeaux]

Darcy,
i am truly impressed with your knowledge and ambition.
But from purely a business standpoint.... you bought this machine for $400 when it cost $159k new? Not so good for the owner! Why is it not still "producing product" "profit"?
Not trying to sound negative but if you were my son, I would say... show me your numbers again?
i truly hope your dreams are realized with this machine?

[Mel Fulks]

I'm betting Darcy will be OK. He sounds like a guy who will run the moulder and make it pay for itself. Not an employee who is always asking for a NEW moulder.

[Darcy Warner]

Darcy,
i am truly impressed with your knowledge and ambition.
But from purely a business standpoint.... you bought this machine for $400 when it cost $159k new? Not so good for the owner! Why is it not still "producing product" "profit"?
Not trying to sound negative but if you were my son, I would say... show me your numbers again?
i truly hope your dreams are realized with this machine?

I bought the Wadkin for 400 bucks, not sure what it cost new. The weinig was actually 200k new. I got a crate of spare heads, parts, grinder, knives, templates, etc. Cost me less than a good used shaper.

It came from a retail display fixture manufacturer. They bought it new, ran parts on it. Eventually they realized it was cheaper to outsource the parts and pay less skilled workers to assemble the parts. They needed the floor space back. Every business operates different.

The three jobs I have lined up will pay for the machine and what I have in setting it up and a couple small repairs.

[Darcy Warner]

I'm betting Darcy will be OK. He sounds like a guy who will run the moulder and make it pay for itself. Not an employee who is always asking for a NEW moulder.

I know what the machine is worth, it is excellent condition and I will never loose money on it no matter how long I run it.

[Martin Wasner]

6000' of moulding? What are you going to do with the other 23 hours and 10 minutes in the day?

[Darcy Warner]

6000' of moulding? What are you going to do with the other 23 hours and 10 minutes in the day?

Sure I can find something to do. Lol

[Mike Heidrick]

Just wanted to say congrats and i know the effort and cost to get big machines in place and powered up. My largest is still only half that weight. Very impressive. Mikie who is not a hater and only trying to be critical with my own shop.

[Darcy Warner]

Just wanted to say congrats and i know the effort and cost to get big machines in place and powered up. My largest is still only half that weight. Very impressive. Mikie who is not a hater and only trying to be critical with my own shop.

Took 3 days to unhook and get machine ready to transport. Took two days to get it in place and mostly hooked up. I am easily side tracked and other machines and projects got in the way. The only reason I got back to it is because I had a company come to me either wanting me to run product for them or to purchase the machine. I was forced to finally get it all buttoned up. I did find that the spider in the KTR rotex coupled drive for the hydraulic feed pump had disintegrated and the cast iron couplings have been beaten to death. 900 bucks from weinig, sourced the part numbers from the manufacturer of the couplings, about 150 bucks from a local supplier. Need to have 3 hoses made, replace the last original ones on the machine.

[Mark Bolton]

For sure wasnt saying they wouldnt be fun to have at ones disposal. And as I said, I was just thinking about my own situation with something like this. Preparing the molder blanks alone would be a monster. Im not positive but I want to say I think I remember the huge shop I was mentioning saying that they bring in their molder blanks (for the lowes and home depot/bread and butter stuff) rough dimensioned. The only op they do is resawong casing blanks on the diagonal to get two pieces of molding out of one. And they flat out wont run customs because its too costly and (time consuming) to re-tool for anything less than tens of thousands of feet.

Be great to watch the progress, sounds like youve already got a line on some long term contracts. With that scale of equipment Id be thinking, two young bucks (low pay), pre-prepped blanks, and Id be calling on every lumberyard in a 50 mile radius and start running colonial case and base, clamshell, etc.. But that's just be me.

[Martin Wasner]

Better get yourself a gang rip to keep up with that thing. 70,000' per shift is a bit much for a single blade.

Dust collection too, yikes.

[Darcy Warner]

Better get yourself a gang rip to keep up with that thing. 70,000' per shift is a bit much for a single blade.

Dust collection too, yikes.

Trying to get a 75hp kikakawa gang rip finished up. Down to arbor bearings and rebuilding the oil pump.

I have a 20hp bagger for the moulder for now, a 10hp for the slr, gang rip and planer. Tide me over until I get a big unit outside.

[Martin Wasner]

Trying to get a 75hp kikakawa gang rip finished up. Down to arbor bearings and rebuilding the oil pump.

I have a 20hp bagger for the moulder for now, a 10hp for the slr, gang rip and planer. Tide me over until I get a big unit outside.

You're going to hate anything other than blowing chips into a trailer or 40 yd dumpster running that moulder wide open for long. If you're planning on doing much, I'd find someone who will pay you for your waste too.

It takes a MASSIVE airlock to keep up with a big moulder too. Bridging can be a nightmare when your moving that much material.

[Darcy Warner]

You're going to hate anything other than blowing chips into a trailer or 40 yd dumpster running that moulder wide open for long. If you're planning on doing much, I'd find someone who will pay you for your waste too.

It takes a MASSIVE airlock to keep up with a big moulder too. Bridging can be a nightmare when your moving that much material.

I have a 40hp unit that I need to take down and set up.
Local place will run a semi trailer service for chips. Probably run it into a hopper, air lock to another blower that fills trailer. It's always something.