common
questions:
There
is a company, General
Industrial Supply, in TN that has re-manufactured
Jet equipment at attractive prices. I will be getting
a J'er & BS from them in the next couple of months.
- Andy W
Re:
Tool Auctions... The biggest problem I see is if
its used equipment, you have to buy sight unseen and
there's no warranty.
- woodchuck1954
The
best places to find out about local auctions, at least
here in central Missouri, are as follows:
1) The local newspapers. Your run of the mill newspaper
might be a good source, but I have found the papers
that specialize in classified ads do a much better job.
They usually come out anywhere from once a week to once
a month, and have names like Penny Pincher, Ad Tracker,
Peddlers Post, etc.
2) Check out your local barbershops and restaurants
-- any place that might have a bulletin board for such
postings. Often the auctioneer will post a number of
his sale fliers, so you can take one with you.
3) Word of mouth. A bunch of guys have coffee together
at a local restaurant. On Wednesday mornings, they bring
in their prize tools to show and gloat over. While most
of them are into collecting antique tools, they can
usually tell you where the auctions are and what kind
of tools to expect.
4) Call some your local auctioneers. They will tell
you if they have any tools on an upcoming auction. Depending
upon how busy they are, and how serious you are, they
may take your name and call you when they book an auction
with a good selection of tools.
A helpful tip is to get to the auction early, so you
can have time to inspect and run the tools. A good auctioneer
will have no objections to you firing up the tools,
though they may not want you cutting wood on something
because of the liability question.
One of the other posters was right about being cautious
at auctions. Almost 30 years ago, I went to an auction
because a ShopSmith Mark V was listed. I was a youngster
of about 20 or 21 who made squat for income, so it didn't
take long for bidding to go over my head. A fellow next
to me kept running the bidding up, even after I told
him the retail price of the unit. He thought I was full
of something and kept right on bidding. By the time
I had gone to the car and had come back with the latest
ShopSmith catalog, he had the winning bid. He bought
the basic ShopSmith for what he could have bought nearly
every bell and whistle that was available at that time.
Then he had the gall to yell at me for not telling him.
Figure that!
- PastorPaul
There
is a good market for used tools of good quality. I will
list a couple of web sites that have ad's for used tools.
This is one of them. Look under Marketplace
above. WoodQuip is
site you could check. Another one would be the Machinery
Exchange on WOODWEB.
- Lou Williams
Look
on eBay and uBid and everywhere else for used tools
that are in good shape.... Or new tools that are a good
deal. Use shopping searches to check out the market
prices.
- Robert Walker
As
everyone else has already stated, buy the best that
you can afford. Taiwan DOES make a few items worth a
second look but for heavy use stick with American made.
- Jerry
I get my router bits from www.woodbits.com they have
a good selection and excellent quality for the money.
- David
As
for purchasing equipment, check out estate sales for
equipment. They have better equipment in better shape
than garage sales. To help you, get someone with woodworking
experience to go with you. It is lots of fun and will
save you a lot of $$.
- Ralph