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What do those tools really cost

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Winginit

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Jun 12, 2016
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We've discussed before about the cost of acquiring some of the larger tools for a nice shop. Some think building your own is cheaper, and I have done that for specialized needs. Personally I think the time spent building common tools of substantive size is not cost effective and becomes very time consuming. But thats just my worthless opinion. To each his own. When it comes to items like sheetmetal brakes and shears it is very hard to build something worthwile for the same amount of money. The theme I'm going to preach here is that the tools can often cost you nothing but a little time. Industrial auctions and school auctions are the best places to find this type of tools. Sometimes you find them at estate sales. The smaller manufacturing operations that are in old buildings in the run down parts of town often have them. At larger manufacturing plants, you can find them over in some corner, but there are usually lots more people there. You can usually go "view" the sale items a day or two before the sale to see if anything makes it worth your time to attend the actual auction.

Couple of hints: The "Round Number" bidders. Many bidders fix an arbitrary dollar figure in their minds, and it usually revolves around a "round" number. If the item is worth $50,$100, $500, then in their minds bidding one or two bids past the round number is totally unacceptable. Try to time your bid so you are the round number bidder or be willing to bid slightly over the round number one or two times. If you are willing to give $500 for something, will bidding $510,$520,or $525 really ruin your budget ? Don't be a round number bidder.

If there are 3 (or more) similar items for sale and there are lots of interested people (7-10), don't fall for the idea that the first one is too expensive and you'll hope to get one of the other ones. Usually the first one ends up being the cheapest one as the other buyers get more desperate. The price usually goes up.

OK, back to the buying costs. Here is what I did. Several (10) years ago I bought a new small sheetmetal brake at a swap meet. Believe I paid about $700 or so. It was "adequate" for most small and thin projects.
Finger Brake 1.jpg
After a few years I ran across a brake I really wanted , paid about $700 (?) for it and resold the little red brake for about $500/$550 (?).

IMG_0777.jpg IMG_0778.jpg This is a very nice brake and strong. Highly reccommend it if you can find one.

So, yesterday I attended another auction and low and behold, a bonanza. A small manufacturing shop was closing its doors and apparently I was the only person with a real interest in the sheetmetal stuff.

I found a brake that was very heavy duty, and some other things too. I have seen the heavy duty finger brakes that were very old and very well used go for $2500 or so. This one is not quite as heavy duty as the others, and in fact I have never seen one like it before. It is just perfect for what I want. Very nicely made with over lapping fingers and a heavy base. Bought it for $400.

IMG_0765.jpg IMG_0770.jpg IMG_0771.jpg

Now I can resell my other brake and it is still worth the $700 or so bucks I paid for it. If I ever decide to part with the new one, it will easily fetch a $1,000 or more. So how much is my cost for having one of these tools at my disposal for the last ten years?

Now the cream on the crop (as if the above wasn't enough). I also picked up an Enco 4 foot slip roll for $150, and a National 51" Shear for about $350. Throw in a Milwaukee portable bandsaw ($60) , a large (6' tall) gray heavy steel 2 door cabinet ($50) and 4 welding clamps ($40). Altogether I spent about $1100 with taxes and paid a guy $20 to set them on my trailer with the shop crane. The National Shear sells new for about $3400 plus shipping. I already have a Jet 51" shear that I bought new ($2,000) about 10 years ago and is still in perfect shape. So I have to decide which I'm going to keep and what I want for the one I sell. I had a 4 foot Enco slip roll I paid $500 for and then resold it last year for $500 last year. Since I have a couple of smaller slip rolls (36" and 28"), I'll probably resell this one also and should easily get $500 for it.


IMG_0791.jpg IMG_0783.jpg


Now, my purpose here is not to brag on what I did and what I got. My purpose is to say that if you make it a point to look for the right type of auctions, you can over time find some very good deals. You aren't going to find these kinds of deals every time, but there are often other good buys to outfit your shop and you can always recoup your money if you buy wisely. So maybe amortized over time these tools may not cost as much as you think. Good Luck!:)

http://www.cpojettools.com/jet-7562...default,pd.html?ref=pla&zmam=31282435&zmas=47

http://www.trick-tools.com/National...TGS6Lwao1tVTl6u7_WfAXAUOdvU4iR5VBRBoCBITw_wcB

https://www.irvansmith.com/scart/en...L-7e2VSWwZUmS-_XoFUkwNeZq9hbR1obcyxoC6bLw_wcB


http://www.cpojettools.com/jet-7541...qoXVFc9cfd4ui8dU-YQWeFAACbCDK30KjBBoCoPfw_wcB
 
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