Ya gotta love an auction

[Kernopelli]

Had local race shop, welding shop and mine repair businesses go out of business locally and the banks combined their auctions today. Like every all day auction, bidding started out high and went down through the day as people thinned out. There was an unbelievable amount of metal working equipment and tools. I was mostly interested in metal stock which was the last thing to go at the end of an eight hour day. Everyone had cleared out and there were only a hand full of bidders left. I picked up a 16 foot trailer full of the usual "throw it all in a pallet crate and sell it".... Cases of anchor, u bolts and Tap-cons, 3/4" rigging slings, tons of exotic lubricants I've never heard of,gear oil,misc tractor parts,chains and God only knows what else I got...haven't gone through it yet.Picked it up for 15 dollars a pallet. I bought 2 pallets of odd and end drop cuts...various plate, channel, DOM tubing, aluminum plate, a 4x4 3/4" thick welding table, about 15 4-7' lengths of 2x4 and 2x6 rectangular tubing, 4'x6' expanded metal sheets, 10 6x8 welding curtains and frames, A Bosch 9" grinder w/ a box of assorted cutting,grinding,buffing and wire wheels. 3 cases of new assorted Rustoleum cans...I don't even remember what else but there's more. Pulled out of the front gate at the end of the day for only $220.

While I was loading, they were selling LARGE, HEAVY welding tables 4x6' up to 8X12' going for your pick $40-$75. Anyway, I got everything for my backhoe project, just need to make some room and time!

 

[BruceWard]

That was a great deal!

 

[dave1949]

I'd say you made out pretty good! Lots of useful stuff there.
Dave.

 

[NSBound]

Ohhhh I'm glad that auction wasn't anywhere near me! I'd have had to rent a truck and trailer to get all my good stuff home!

 

[tnhomestead]

Wish I had known, would have gone seen some friends in Marion and C'dale and seen the auction, wonder if theres any leftovers! Congrats!!

 

[firefighter jim]

I ll give u 225.00 for it.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

That's a heck of a deal!!

It sounds like you now have enough materials to keep you in projects for years.

 

[Kernopelli]

Wish I had known, would have gone seen some friends in Marion and C'dale and seen the auction, wonder if theres any leftovers! Congrats!!

The auction was just east of Marion on RT. 13. They got rid of everything, the local scrap dealer who I buy most of my metal from was there "picking the bones" around 5:00pm...I got there at 9:00am and 2 ring bidding started at 10:00. I still can't believe how much was there. They had a clean 2XXXhr 150hp Marooka tracked dump (sold for $4100 !!!I could shoot myself for not bidding), dozer,excavator,trucks,SUV's (that stuff went a little high) semi's, power tools,hydraulics,pneumatics, EXPENSIVE drill bits, Hyd tubing bender, roller stands, shears, Hyd punch/shear, 2 track torches, 10's of welders,plasma cutters, compressors, tons of welding torches, hoses and consumables, auto parts, NOS pumps,aftermarket truck bling, lift kits, Reese hitches,Engine/trans units, long travel shocks, performance parts, "Bling" wheels (22-24") and off road rims/tires, shelving, (full)parts and bolt bins, drawer cabinets, rolling tool boxes, industrial lighting and electrical items,pallets and pallets of unopened boxes of grade 8 and excellent metric nut/bolts-hex and allen drive....but they were all stuff that was big- the type of bolts that cost $6-7 each when you buy a couple of them....hard to resell and use for most of my size projects though that went for $120-$150/pallet...probably about 3-5 cents on the dollar if you bought by the case retail Rolls of 6000psi hydraulic hose, crimpers,fittings....you really can't even begin to tell about everything that was there. They didn't scrimp and anything either, everything was very good (or the best) brand name items.
I am still going through stuff today and it's like Christmas. Assorted rivets, screws, nails, specialty fasteners, cable clamps, nut/bolts, tools, pins,ratchet straps, thread lock, tubes of RTV, funnels, tons of assorted metal,plus the stuff mentioned in my first post and more. I had given up on going to auctions about 10yrs ago because it seemed like everything would sell for new price, and some stuff did here too but I don't think I'll see another auction this good for many years. Hope I'm wrong!!

 

[tnhomestead]

Who do you buy metal from there, Garys? I didnt know of anyone selling scrap steel to the public.
Thnx

 

[Kernopelli]

tnhomestead:Yeah, I have been buying my metal from Gary for years. He has some racks of clean metal that he sells, usually by the foot and will cut to length for you. He sells the clean sheet by the square foot/thickness. He lets me walk around the place and look for something specific if I need to ( which I always look in the yard first before I buy it off the rack, it's much cheaper that way). Through the years I have seen him let other people walk the yard but more often than not I have seen them tell people that they can't look around because of insurance reasons. I don't know how they decide who can/can't walk the yard? Maybe it's only if he knows you or if you "look" like you wouldn't sue him or if it's that he just doesn't like your looks. Probably all three.... He is an imposing man to say the least and I imagine he comes off to a lot of people like a very difficult person to deal with ( that's "P.C." for giant A-hole) but he is really a very nice guy when you have been around him a little, his wife who is rarely there anymore is a very,very nice lady too. Usually, what I get out of the yard he will sell to me for a flat rate per/pound, which sometimes fluctuates a little with the market but it's always been reasonable. He has told me several times not to worry about paying for something kinda small but I always give him $5 or $10 and tell him I appreciate it but it's a business and I respect that. Actually, I'm going out there to give him some of the clip/thimble type cable clamps I got at the auction, they're so large I don't know anyone else that could use them.

Are you originally from the C'ville area?