The used tool quest, has it happened to you?

[Van Huskey]

How many of you out there have given lip service to looking for used tools. You know you occasionally look at Craigslist and talk yourself out of everything used, you see 3ph and close the link, you see a hulking machine made by a name you don't recognize and move on. You rebuff the "look for a used one" on the forum when asking about a table saw etc and exclaim I have looked on CL et al for ever and never see anything but old rusty bench models that people want 3 times what they paid for it new. Then one day you are doing your obligatory search and something pops up that makes your heart go pitty pat, you make a call or two, count your pennies and then are off to retrieve something you really want. Then after you get home CL becomes a religion, auction sites become an obsession and for sale ads on forums become a fixation. Then all of a sudden the clouds part and 12"+ jointers, wide belt sanders, monster bandsaws and production drill presses seem to fall from the sky like manna. Names like Oliver, Northfield, Max, Yates and State become part of your visual vocabulary. You start to think in terms of tons instead of pounds. 3 phase become nothing more than a trivial nuisance and direct drive machines aren't made of Krytonite anymore. You think less about budget and more about square footage. Is it the hunt, is it the kill, is it getting more for less or just getting more. Buying something new hasn't made my heart flutter since I was a kid, except maybe my wife's engagement ring but buying a used machine I really want and getting a great deal leaves me with a high that I can only assume is what "good" illicit drugs must feel like.

"Hello, my name is Van and I am becoming a machinaholic. But to be honest I am going to leave now, no meetings for me, 12 steps seems like it may take a while and Craigslook is one click away on my favorites list. I don't have a problem anyway, I can't quit anytime..."

[Rusty Eads]

Hello Van, welcome to the group. My name is Rusty and I too am a machinaholic. My latest was just yesterday, drove 1 1/2 hours one way to trade somebody a lathe I had sitting around for an old Walker Turner cabinet saw (shhhh don't tell anyone at the turner's forum). This after the foley belsaw planer, the rigid jointer, the boice crane scroll saw, craftsman bandsaw, HF dust collector, two radial arm saws, and others I can't even remember...what obssession?

P.S. I stopped using craigslook when I realized that it only searches in the title for your keywords. Started using searchtempest and found twice as many deals I was missing out on.

If I don't get on here anytime in the near future it will be because the LOML shut the internet off for some reason :rolleyes:

[Dave MacArthur]

LOL...
You know you got me. I just walked back in from the garage where I stood around trying to figure out a way to keep my old PM66 and still be able to park a car, without moving machines around.

And I have to have a free 5' of space or so, because I just KNOW that PM shaper is about to drop into my lap. And that PM lathe too...

[David Nelson1]

Sounds like me through n through. Great composition Van! :cool:

[Jeff Monson]

Oh Van, how I feel your pain. CL and ebay have become my crutch. In the early days it was 110 volts only, short drives. Horizons expanded, 220 volts, paypal, shipping companies.......the slope has been slippery. Last week I sank to an all time low......3 phase, 1700lbs., phase converter, oh how I get myself into these situations, with just the simple "CLICK" of my mouse. I seriously need some help!! :(

BTW, delivery sometime next week.

Gloat to follow

[Ryan Hellmer]

My name is Ryan and I've been in the closet for a while now. In the past 3 months, I've picked up a 16" Crescent Jointer, 2 12" tablesaws (one PM and one W/T), and just yesterday I landed a DeWalt GK 16" radial arm saw. It was a bit of a drive but for $200 I couldn't turn it down. I've recently made a rotary phase converter so that is no longer the issue. I have a Tannewitz bandsaw on the way sometime in the not too distant future. The only problem is, it won't fit in my shop. It's gonna have to stay at my dad's for a while. Although at 3000 lbs I don't think I'm going to want to move it that often.

Whew, I feel better now. Glad to hear there are some more junkies on the 'creek.

Ryan

[George Sanders]

Old tool obsession? Does that mean I haven't bought anything made in this century? Or for that matter; within the past 50 years? Ah yup, guilty as charged. :o I have thinned out the herd. Sold 2 Parks planers and a Belsaw planer for a tidy profit. Also sold off three scroll saws. Oh my god! I have room for more stuff! :eek: Just sent an email to someone who wants to sell the entire contents of a barn near me. That should take up any empty space I have in the garage. :rolleyes:

[Jerome Hanby]

I got to thinking and the only non-hand held power tool I own that was bought new is my Rigid planer. Jointer, Unisaw, contractor saw, bandsaw, Shopsmith, and two dewalt RASs all bought used (mostly from CL). If you discount the battery powered tools, all the other power tools except a Hitachi drill, hitachi belt sander, and a Freud Router were purchased used too.

I'll eventually break down and buy a Bosch jigsaw new, but that's my only new tool purchase on the list...

[Callan Campbell]

Neither can my back-Jeez, I finally looked up their website. Forklift country even for the 'lighter' machines. Not meant for us basement dwellers unless we're out of our minds....:p

[John Morrison60]

Van

I have been sledding down this slope for a couple of years.
I have been very lucky in finding great buys on a Jointer/Planer (MiniMax)
and a drum sander, (WoodMaster).

I have a vigilant brother-in-law that constantly peruses CL and
sends me links to ads for what he thinks I/We need in my/our
wood shop.
I have become a machinaholic. Terrific Fun.

Now... How do I get this Drum Sander into my basement shop?????
2 Men & a Truck have become enabling co-conspiritors.

[Chris Padilla]

Snarfer is what I use to search craigslist and eBay BUT I removed it after a while...it wasn't worth my marriage. :D

[Prashun Patel]

Right there with you, Brother.

New, used, powered, handtool, mint condition, rusty as heck...

I'm an equal opportunity addict.

[Jacob Mac]

Nope. I look, but have never found a great deal. But I have never used snarfer. I might have to give that a go.

[Van Huskey]

Nope. I look, but have never found a great deal. But I have never used snarfer. I might have to give that a go.


Turn back now... :D

It is like golf, every time I think I am ready to quit that game I hit a "golf shot". A 3 iron knock down shot in the wind that I can NEVER hit but that day it feels perfect off the club head and flies toward the pin like a Predator drone to a terrorist.

When you get that first deal it just keeps tugging at you.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Like this? Not my shop [PO], but my machine..........

Nahhhhh - never had the urge. :p

[Joe Scarfo]

I am a machineaholic...

My last venture involved a 5 hour drive and I came home w the tool in question and a 9' wooden propeller off a 1930's Stearman....

I saw the propeller and had to have it.. Now I crave altimeters, inclinometers.. it's dangerous.. out lookin for tools....

LOL..

Good Luck w/ your cravings.

Joe

[Mike Cruz]

You had me until you hit the mamoth machines and 3ph. :D I felt SO part of your world, but then you proved that my little weed habit was nothing compared to your meth addiction. You sir, are in a bad way. I can only dream of becoming you someday...

[Peter Quinn]

I started down that road hard with a 14" DeWalt GR RAS from the 1940's that I took from free basket case to brute work hoarse. I'm not the kind of guy that will paint and polish an industrial machine, so I won't use the term "restored". Thats not my bag. But getting your first dose free hooks you quick. Next thing I know I'm bidding on IRS for a 16" jointer that weights over 2000#, I'm looking at BS's that will have to be stood up between the joists to fit in my shop and weight more than my car, I'm calling the power company to submit a hardship petition to get 3 phase in a residential building. All for a small home shop that falls between hobby and side business.

But I, sir, entered a twelve step program that set me straight. Yes, my shop is in a basement, and there are twelve steps to the bottom! Twelve big, hard, steep, nasty concrete steps. Its a big 50" wide bilco, its also a lesson in gravity that sets the limit on what I can reasonably own. I nearly got a friend crushed moving in a compressor when a tow strap broke. So I switched to chains of course, and kept going. 5HP three phase italian shaper. 20" BS. 5 Head through molder. That last one is a lie to keep the story interesting, that didn't happen.:eek: One day, I looked up and realized I needed nothing else. I'm done.Last Tuesday in fact.:D I will replace what dies and figure out how to make anything with what I have at hand. I'm done with old iron for sure. Leave it for the boat anchor business. Send it back to the smelter on my account....until I find that affordable barn with 14" ceilings and a hay loft I've been looking for, then make room for my fork lift and and lets git it done!

Well, I quit smoking over a year ago, but I still go out and sit with the smokers at break. I guess I'm in the same spot with machines. I'm done buying them, but I still like seeing others buy them!

[Jacob Mac]

Turn back now... :D

It is like golf, every time I think I am ready to quit that game I hit a "golf shot". A 3 iron knock down shot in the wind that I can NEVER hit but that day it feels perfect off the club head and flies toward the pin like a Predator drone to a terrorist.

When you get that first deal it just keeps tugging at you.

I have the golf bug so bad it is ridiculous. And I totally know what you mean. On Sunday I almost hit a hole in one. On the next hole, I had a triple bogey. Such a brutal game.

As far as CL goes, I still want a nice used PM66 or PM2000. I guess I watch too much Wood Whisperer, but I would love to have a shop outfitted with PM and Festool. But the only way that is going to happen is if I catch some killer deals.

[Van Huskey]

As far as CL goes, I still want a nice used PM66 or PM2000. I guess I watch too much Wood Whisperer, but I would love to have a shop outfitted with PM and Festool. But the only way that is going to happen is if I catch some killer deals.

Shame they quit making the custom PM2066 I lust after Mark's all the time.

[Steve Griffin]

I'm a machineaholic too. But I don't think I have ever bought a single used tool in my life.

I do this for a living, I want them brand spanking new. I want to unwrap the owners manual, degrease them myself and fondle the parts as they come out of their packaging. I want to get everything out of the motor before it needs service--not a single hour of time on my machines thank you, I want it all for myself!

If you are looking for used tools, don't bother calling me. I keep them until they are absolutely unfixable. Sort of like my shoes, which I keep until I literally walk out of them...

-Steve

[Ted Wong]

Not to worry Van there are others like you out there (me being one of them). You think you got it bad hang out at owwm.com for awhile and you'll meet people who are more than obsessed . . . they're possessed.

[Rich Tesoroni]

What stage is it when you sit reading "patternmaking in wood" so you can get a casting made to fix a hundred year old jointer?

Rich

[Don Jarvie]

While I would love a new PM2000, the 2500.00 - 3000.00 price tag is out of my budget so used it is.

My latest find a few months ago was a Belsaw planer with an old school 3hp motor. New blades, clean-up and it cuts like a hot knife though butter.

I've been milling up some birch for a kitchen cabinet and it works great.

Used isn't for everyone but if you are willing to put in some time to clean up the old machines you can buy a lot of machine for a lot less money than new.

[Victor Robinson]

Snarfer is what I use to search craigslist and eBay BUT I removed it after a while...it wasn't worth my marriage. :D

Sheesh....talk about overrating your marriage... :D

[Ben Martin]

Woohoo!! Got one of these on the way! Only $45!

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp325/martbj/adasfdsfa.jpg

It will be replacing this one, which the handle was busted on and it was going to be a chore to make a new one.

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp325/martbj/Mall%20Belt%20Sander/330621040_photobucket_17170_.jpg

I don't know why, but I have started to obsess over AL housed power tools, there is something so sleek and cool about them!

[David Hostetler]

When used makes sense, buy used for sure, I got great deals on my table saw and drill press that way, not to mention a LARGE selection of my automotive tools...