Wish me luck!

[T.J. Mahaffey]

Well, I've got some vacation coming starting tomorrow. And that just happens to coincide with an auction in the morning, about an hour up the road for my place. The ad specifically mentions some shop tools and "hundreds of boards" of hardwood lumber including ash, cherry, and white oak. There is also mention of an old floor-model drill press.

Although my benchtop drill press really just needs a table and a chuck tune-up, I'm hoping I can get lucky on the old DP at this auction. I'm thinking $100 or less would be worth jumping on it.

I also have hopes for the hardwood, but you just never know about this stuff. The auction is a bit out in the boonies, so that might be good for me. However, I've seen some auctions like this have people swarming all over and some where only a handful show up. You just never know. :rolleyes:

Wish me luck!

[Cecil Arnold]

T.J. When you say out in the boonies in Arkansas, I have visions of people sitting in front of the general store picking a banjo ala "Deliverance" be careful.

[T.J. Mahaffey]

T.J. When you say out in the boonies in Arkansas, I have visions of people sitting in front of the general store picking a banjo ala "Deliverance" be careful.
HA! So true.

As long as those Deliverance guys stay away from my hardwood, drill press and what I hope will be a stash of vintage hand tools, it'll be fine! :D

[Helen Gee]

take pics and show! :D have fun at the auction!! wish we'd have some of those out here, but not really aware of them.

[Tom Pritchard]

Hey T.J., there ae a lot of people that I work with that make out very well at auctions, especially during the week. I'm betting you walk away with something good. Even when there's a lot of people, they say that there is always something that will only appeal to you. Good luck, and make sure you let us know how it goes!

[T.J. Mahaffey]

Hey T.J., there ae a lot of people that I work with that make out very well at auctions, especially during the week. I'm betting you walk away with something good. Even when there's a lot of people, they say that there is always something that will only appeal to you. Good luck, and make sure you let us know how it goes!
I've done extremely well at auctions in the past too, so I'm hopeful.

The picture taking is a good idea. I just gotta remember to take the camera. :o If I do, I'll take lots and post a full report back here. :) (With all appropriate gloats, of course. ;) )

[Joe Chritz]

When going to scary places be sure to take a friend.

Make sure you can run faster than he can. :)

Good luck on the auction. Sometimes they are great places for deals. Sometimes not.

I have one saturday but I don't think I can get out to it. Got a poker table to finish and the new owner is coming with the foam and cloth that morning.

Joe

[Mark Rios]

T.J. When you say out in the boonies in Arkansas, I have visions of people sitting in front of the general store picking a banjo ala "Deliverance" be careful.


And take a compound bow and plenty of arrows.:D

Good luck!

[Doug Shepard]

You just never know what you'll find at one of those. A guy at work went to one in the boonies of Michigan looking for farm equipment. It just happened that his twin daughters were wanting to sign up for band and play violin. He just started investing instrument rental before going to the auction and was groaning about the prices. So what does he find at the auction, but 2 old violins up for bid - which he walked away with for $120 for both. Worried later he might have paid too much for some old junkers he had them appraised and found out they were worth about $1200 - $1600 each. He prompty sold them off and bought his daughters some decent student violins and used the profits to buy more farm stuff.

[Jim Becker]

May the gavel-gods be with you!

[Jim Hager]

Where is that auciton TJ?? I might have to come help you bid that stuff up a bit. You can't be the only woodworker there, wouldn't be fair.

Everytime I find a good one like that it seems that woodworkers come out like powder post beetles in the spring. I usually go to see if I can get some bargains but some of those dummies will pay more for stuff than it is worth, then let things go for nothing that are worth a fortune. Last real ww auction I went to the people were all over the craftsman power tools like they were gold. Paying more than new price for some stuff that was 10-15 years old.

I love aucitons tho.:cool:

[Dave Lehnert]

Several years ago when Shopsmith closed its retail stores across the country they had an auction at the factory to sell of the extra stuff. I went up with $100 in my pocket expecting them to have things like hardware, glue. Sandpaper etc… No way was I expecting equipment to be for sale. The first part of the day was selling off all the office equipment, desk etc… It was like a cat fight people bidding. Later they came to the tools. Brand new Mark 5’s and the Sopsmith cabinet saw The SawSmith 2000 (remember them?) and other power tools. A lot of it sat on the floor with minimum bid of $200. No one wanted them?

[Jim Hager]

Hey, TJ. How did you make out at the auction???? I noticed you didn't tell me where it was;) I couldn't have come today anyway.. What did you get and was it a bargain?

[T.J. Mahaffey]

Well, I'm sad to say I've come back empty handed.
All in all, prices were pretty high.

They auctioned the wood by the board. So, if you bid $2 per board on a lot, you bought the whole lot at that price PER board.
This pile of misc. cedar went for about $2.25/board. 59 pieces, I think.

http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/auction1.jpg


This pile was tongue-and-groove. 1x stuff. Cedar. About 200 pieces. Sold for about $1.75 a board, I think. Maybe more. I wasn't interested in cedar, though.

I never did find the ash and white oak they mentioned in the ad. However, later they said it was under this pile of cedar and auctioned it sight unseen. No thanks. I wouldn't have been able to stay long enough to get it anyway.

http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/auction4.jpg

I had high hopes for this pile. Most of it was cedar, but I dug around and found at least 3 or 4 planks of 12'+ 8/4 cherry. Unfortunately, they didn't sell it the way it appeared they were going to. This pile of 8/4 cedar, with 4 8/4 cherry planks went for about $80 total, I think. And that might be a good price for the cherry alone, but I have no way to store the cedar which would have come with it. Nor do I have a need for it.

http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/auction5.jpg

I had *thought* these two large 8/4 cherry boards were going to be auctioned separate, so I was all ready to go when that time came. But they said no, it was part of the pile of cedar above. :mad:

http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/auction2.jpg

http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/auction3.jpg

I had thought I would be interested in one of these anvils. Nope. The better one on the right with for $260. The other one was ate-up and still went for $45.


http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/auction6.jpg

The drill press went for $165. That's well over what I would have been willing to give. Especially since I think it is maybe a 70s-80s model chiwaneese job and would have required some fair cleanup and rust removal. No vintage iron here. No big deal, though. My existing benchtop just needs a chuck tuneup and a table. It'll work great for me.

http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/auction7.jpg

This was the one item I would have stayed and bid on and given a fair penny for. However, there was so much stuff to go until then, I didn't have time to stay long enough to bid on it. Its a grungy, but solid late-model Stanley #8 jointer. I think I could have gotten it for well under retail, but alas, it wasn't meant to be.

http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/auction8.jpg

Well, you win some you lose some. No big deal. There was enough to look at to make the trip worthwhile. Just didn't come home with anything.

[T.J. Mahaffey]

Hey, TJ. How did you make out at the auction???? I noticed you didn't tell me where it was;) I couldn't have come today anyway.. What did you get and was it a bargain?

Sorry I missed your message, Jim!

The auction was in Norman, AR. About 10 minutes from Mt. Ida. About an hour and 10 minutes drive for me.

[Cecil Arnold]

T.J. From the prices they were paying there must have been some banjo pickers around.