Bare-bones tools necessities for "home" shop????

[ultrarunner]

I bought a very nice anvil made from railroad track... it has everything shown in the above picture... $10 at a garage sale.

My big anvil came from a farm auction... I put the word out and a few months later got a call asking if I was still looking because a friend was standing at a farm action and there was an anvil up next.

I think... newer is not necessarily better when it comes to forged items.

 

[Big Wave D]

ultrarunner,

Oh sure, rub it in...

I wish that I had your "support network" of auction goers. It seems like auctions, to me, are this mythical land of buying tools. You hear from so and so who knows someone that has an uncle on his stepdad's side that got this great tool (i.e., $10 anvil) for almost free. :laughing:

Anyway, great for you. I'll just have to keep looking is all.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Big wave,

Hint:

Only go to auctions advertised as "absolute"...

 

[Big Wave D]

Mark,

You'll have to forgive my ignorance, but I know nothing of the "language and ways" of the auction world.

What is the importance of "absolute"?

 

[doall]

'the items are going to sell to the highest bidder. No reserves to be met.

 

[Big Wave D]

doall,

Thanks for the insight.

It's been 25+ years since I've been to an Auction.

I've had a few employers that went to a lot of sales, but they usually said that the items they were interested in were nearly going for new prices. Great for those hosting sale, not so great for buyers on a budget.

Might have to start going to a few again. See if I can snag something useful at a good price.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Absolute auctions will guarantee the object will sell regardless of the price reached. It can lead to some really great deals...typically small stuff like shop tools are even auctioned in lots and can be bought for nearly nothing. Sometimes a nice item or two are bundled with junk lots and sold....Sometimes its a bunch of nice stuff and a junk item or two....You never know, but attend a few and step back, uninterested and just observe the people...It'll tell you alot. When bidding, always be prepared to walk away. Don't bid on anything you want and you will usually get it for a great price. Sometimes auctions use a buy back system, where the auctioneer has a representative bidding as well, maybe even a friend of the owner of the equipment or the owner himself driving the price up...this is where observation skills come in before the item bidding starts....if you are the only one bidding against yourself, or a ghost bidder, you may have bid 3 time in a row against yourself. Good "callers" can work with you to get the best price for you....or out of you, depending on how anxious you act about it and how the general auction is going overall. The sidemen that work the crowd for the auctioneer love to stir the pot, but if you talk with them about your interest before the bidding starts, always tell them your maximum bid is at least 20% below where you will actually maximum bid the item....They relay this back to auctioneer and he will try to get the price to your maximum...Try the walk away when it reaches your stated amount, turn around and give him an under the breath, bid slightly over the last bid, then start walking. You'll hear sold before your second stride...and you'll go home with the item. If you don't hear it, look back around and tell him your final bid amount and shake your head at the next level bid offering...Then walk away for good. A lot of times the owner may no sale a piece of equipment, and he only pays a flat minimal :thanks for trying to sell my piece of junk fee or a small % of the highest bid. Or if the unit sells, it may have sold to his own man working the auction and he pays a small fee based off the final bid amount of his guys bid.

 

[Baby Grand]

My bare-bones tool necessity for the shop:

About 50 clear plastic peanut butter jars filled with nuts, bolts, screws, washers, nails, hooks, turnbuckles, bushings, o-rings, snap rings, circlips, dowel pins, cotter pins, hinges, electrical bits, cable ties, grommets, etc, etc, all purchased or salveged from "dead things" over the past 30 or so years.

It's the thing that would be the hardest to replace in the whole shop.

-Jim

 

[Big Wave D]

Baby Grand,

You are quite correct about those "miscellaneous" items that you've squirreled away over all these years. If your shop went up in flames, tools would be the easiest thing to replace. How do you put a value on your amassed treasure of sometimes obscure but very handy to have when needed parts inventory.

I doubt you've got them itemized to have them replaced should the shop be a total loss, but if you were to be able to actually replace them, piece for piece; I bet one would be AMAZED at the amount of money it would take to do so.

You do keep all those Peanut butter jars in a fire proof safe, don't you???

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I'd have to second everything that Mark said about auctions. They are a lot of fun to go to even if you don't buy anything. Take your time and learn the style of each auctioneer. Auctions, scrap yards, and army surplus stores all seem to fit in the same category... You'll seldom find what you want, but you'll usually want what you find.

The most important skill at an auction is knowing what something is worth. That only comes with time and experience. Most important is knowing what something is worth TO YOU. I may have a spare engine sitting on the shelf at home making that broke down tractor worth much more to me than it is to you.

My shop is stocked about 50% with miscellaneous stuff I've found in the bottoms of buckets I bought at auctions.