Auctions?

[David Sallee]

How many of you all frequent auctions to find "deals" on tools?

The wife and I are thinking of hitting a few tomorrow... me for tools and her for other than tools LOL

If you have or do... what kind of "deal" have you found?

Dave

[Randal Stevenson]

VERY mixed luck. Just like Ebay. From those that get caught up in a bidding war (and pay more then new), to getting more then my money's worth.

When it comes to woodworking tools, I have had better luck at garage sales (I have a relative(s) that can't wait for summer to hit them). I give them my list (and sometimes some cash due to my hours) and let them go.

Automotive tools (Especially Snap~on) I have had better luck at auctions (see above).

[NICK BARBOZA]

i have had some good luck at them. i got 800bf of curly maple for $230 in downeast Maine. and some of the stock is 6"x8"x8' long. a TON of beautiful lumber for a dirt cheap price.

but it is hit or miss... i have also been to tool/lumber auctions where people are paying too much across the board.

[Anthony Whitesell]

You can get some good deals or get taken. You have to know what the tool is worth on the market and what it is worth to you, set your max price and stick to it. Enough with the "advice".

I have picked up a ~1952-54 Craftsman table saw for $25 put about $50 into it and some elbow grease and it works great. At the last auction I saw an older Delta 6x48 belt/12" disc with a 1 1/2 20Amp (by the plug) motor go for $225. I did some research and found the new Delta 1HP 6x48/9 is $230. Someone got that sander for the next generation or two to use.

Enjoy your 'hunting' trip.

[Karl Brogger]

Sometime you wish you would have brought more money, or had the sense to call the bank. Other times you wish you hadn't came. I bought a $1800 line bore that had been lightly used for $600. I've seen used moving blankets sell for $18 a piece. They're $11 new. Deals can be found, it all depends on the auction. People get auction fever sometimes and pay way more than they should. I hit every auction I can that has woodworking equipment. 75% of the time I leave empty handed.

Same thing with ebay. Don't bid till the last second. I've snipe'd plenty of stuff of of ebay this way. All you are doing is driving the price up prematurely. Decide what you're willing to pay, make sure your internet is reliable and punch it in with about 20sec till the auction end. If you get it you paid what you were willing to, if you don't then it was too expensive anyway.

[Jerome Hanby]

If you have the free time to hit sales from Storage companies, you can sometimes get some incredible deals on tools... Makes sense, how many times does someone have to find "temporary" storage for all their shop stuff while they move then their significant other decides to just kill them rather than put up with all that saw dust again.

[David Sallee]

Thanks for the replies ... here are the ones I was thinking of hitting...

This one has a Baileys Wooden Plane #26 plus others items... 1:00 PM
http://www.bignickel.com/classifieds...7f829e40ca.jpg

This ones got some lumber I could use for my shed I'm wanting to build... 11:00 AM
http://www.bignickel.com/classifieds...7f82dcfa42.jpg

This ones got a LOT of woodworking tools I could use that I do not have... 12:30PM
http://www.bignickel.com/classifieds...7f830072e5.jpg

Problem is, I can't hit all of them... ... all in different towns....

Hmmmm... lets see.... the Baileys plane, I'm not sure, have never owned one or used one ... (I'm just starting out)

The lumber... how much am I REALLY going to save???

The tools.. uh, Yep, I need 'um .... I only have a table saw...

Probably hit the tools one....

Dave

[scottj owen]

I agree with others. It is hit and miss. I have gotten some really good deals off of ebay. The biggest thing with ebay is the shipping. I got a technomax line bore machine which is about $7500 in the US and closer to $9000 in Canada where I live for $3500. I also got a porter cable 16 Omni dovetail jig for $50, here they are $400. I love auctions also, sometimes you hit the jackpot sometimes you don't. I have a few things from auctions that would make good boat anchors. Anyways have fun!

[David Sallee]

...... Anyways have fun!

I plan on it... IF we go that is... the wife just got up from a nap (wasn't feeling to good today) and she is running a fever again ... I just got over this crap and now she has it.... I told her we didn't have to go and she said we will if I want to...

I love this woman...

We'll just have to see how she feels in the morning.... Oh, and this will be the first "live auction" I have ever been to. Tell ya what, I'm hooked alright, everyday I check local papers, ebay and internet (craigslist) for deals on woodworking tools ever since I started messing with wood a month ago!

Dave

[Vernon Taylor]

My best auction purchase was a Delta plate(biscuit Joiner)for $35.00.This is not a portable,mounts to a workbench and has a foot acuated control,you use the provided clamp to secure the workpiece,very precise.
Bought a bunch of wood primarily black walnut,some cherry and a little poplar for $365,have a 12 foot trailer made 4 trips with the trailer overloaded as well as the pickup bed. Was an estate austion and the owner of the wood had been deceased five years,all was nice and dry and ready to plane. I have built 4 balanket chests ,a large bookcase,several flower stands,etc. and have hardly made a dent in my stash. Truth is if I had not bought this I probaly could not afford to do as much woodworking given the cost of material at retail.Did break down and bought some whitewood shelving the other day at HD to make Lincoln Logs for the grandkids,just couldn't bring myself to make them out of black walnut. As others have said a lot of items go for riduculous
prices in both directions, The lumber was the last item of the day and required some effort to remove from the buildins and the quanity may have intimidated those who may not have had the storage space, I managed to get it under cover but my tracter is now outside.

[Karl Brogger]

Vernon.. you lucky S.O.B.! That has to be a signifigant amount of wood to warrant three trips. I paid $4.05 last week for walnut and it was crap.

[Gary Robertson]

you have to know ahead of time that you might leve with nothing after all day of standing around or you might make 2 trips.
i go them at leased 2or 3 a week . just the other day i bought a woodwaster#725 with 14 cutters pro set up factory sealed for $400 but i was made at myself because i opened the bid at $400 and no one rasied.
go to them to meet other woody's have good time knowing their is someone worst then me at collecting stuff they never used. one time i paid $2.00 apice for jorenson clamps

[George Sanders]

I've had good luck at auctions; even on the bay. At local auctions I picked up an old Craftsman 8" tablesaw for $10, Craftsman 6x48 belt sander w/9" disk for $35, Craftsman 36x12" lathe $30 w/faceplate + 4 jaw chuck and turning tools, Craftsman 10" tablesaw with 1 1/2 HP motor (table 27x20 table w/2 10" extension wings) for $40. All of these machines were made back in the fifties. I LOVE old arn! Last summer I picked up a like new Porter-Cable biscuit jointer for $50.
On the bay I made an offer on a Park's 12x4" planer that was rejected. No one else made an offer so when it came up again at $400 obo I bid $250 and the guy jumped on it. I had to drive 90 miles to Chicago to get it but I have a machine that can hog off an eighth of an inch of wood in one pass! Bought an unused 2 HP Leeson dual capacitor motor for it for $100 at a flea market.
Don't overlook pawnshops for bargains either. I picked up a good Porter-Cable router with case and a couple of bits for $40. At the same place I found a KeenKutter 5c handplane for all of $4. Yep; 4 bucks!
At the last auction I went to I bought 300 bf af roughsawn 1" white oak for $160.
A local guy who needed money sold me his 18" bandsaw and 6" jointer for $200.
If it wasn't for auctions, pawnshops, flea markets and people going broke I wouldn't have many tools at all.

[matthew Roberts]

I am with the others...it is always hit or miss. I have had better luck at estate auctions where the misc. tool or lumber happens to be there rather than the auctions that are listed as specifically having allot of woodworking tools.

[Bruce Pennell]

I'm very surprised no ones mentioned Craig's List. Last month I found this on CL; 5hp Left tilt Shop Fox cabinet saw, with; run off table, Bies. fence and over head dust and blade guard, 3 WWII blades, Freud dial-a-datto, ext. table,anti kick back rollers, 3hp dust control Grizzly with 2 remotes, grizzly 6" jointer,Rigid 13" planner with stand and DC, Dewalt 12" miter saw, dust hoses and fittings (filled the back of my truck), Jess-em miter gauge, and some other wood, oak and Zecote (sorry don't know the spelling). 17" Grizzly GO513 Bandsaw with a box of 12 blades,Rigid table top sander, About $1200 worth of veneers and mohogony. Plus new in box vacuam press. For $1600 The equipment is less than 3 years old and probably has 20 hours use. 3 of the 4 saw blade where new. Just saw the price on the Bies overhead guard $699. I was shocked, the guy's wife wanted her garage back and just wanted to get rid of the stuff. Also got 10- 3/4" pipe clamps and some cheap HF clamps. Probably forgetting a few things. I will be selling a few items soon, I'll post pic's after I get the shop reset. This started as, "I think I'll make some new shop cabinets". Figured on a 4-5 day job, its turned into might as well upgrade and build more cabinets (now a month or 2 job). Just called my guy to have him drop in a couple of 220 lines. Can't wait to get the excess out of my way, and start playing again . Can't seem to get that smile off my face. Sometimes even handicap old farts get a good deal...This was a nice way to step up thanks CL.....