Monday, January 18, 2016

Timeline - Craigslist Shopping (Cont'd) - Tools and Equipment

Last Five Years

Trolling Craigslist has taught me that most tools and equipment are best bought under two diverse conditions.  There are those individuals who inherit tools, have only a vague notion as to their worth and want to convert them to cash.  Then there are the knowledgeable equipment owners who are retiring or upgrading, have high-end tools and tend to price them at fair depreciated value.  But they also tend to work with someone who has serous intentions with the tools and values quality.

Portable Tools
Most of the portable tools I still needed for construction and interior finish work fall into the first category mentioned above whereby I sorta made a rule to consider only well-
Fiber-cement nippers, right-angle drill and worm saw
maintained tools and pay no more than half the price of a new tool.  Accordingly, I was able to pick up such things as a reconditioned worm-drive Skilsaw for $80, a half inch Milwaukee right-angle drill for $80 (inheritee) , a 5 hp 20 gal air compressor for $90 (inheritee) and a free pair of wall jacks. And, from another inheritee, 26 various-sized woodworking clamps for $50. Although, not exactly a portable tool, a like-new 10" professional wet saw was posted for $375 by a homeowner who paid over $500 for it at the tile store, used it for one small project and posted it immediately. It is the same saw we had rented from the store on several occasions.

Woodworking Tools
Due to lack of space previously, my meager inventory of woodworking equipment was limited to portable tools and a radial arm saw which was outfitted with a 16 ft table and
kept finely tuned so as to be able to do reasonably accurate work.  But I knew it would not be precise enough for the kind of woodworking our building project would require.  But, thanks to Craigslist, I am now pretty well situated. 

I acquired a Delta Unisaw for $1,300, which is about a third the price of a comparable new one, from a guy in Kentucky who found it too cumbersome for his shop.  In another case, I benefited from another guy's misfortune--after owner-building a McMansion, he divorced and had to downsize (I hope there is no cause and effect between owner-building and
divorce!).   He was willing to part with an 8" Grizzly jointer and a Delta Industrial band saw for the total of $800.  From another avid woodworker who inherited a better model from his Dad, I picked up an "industrial-strength" Belsaw 12" thickness planner for $200 and he threw in a combo belt-disc sander for $25.  A 12 speed drill press for $75 was Craigslisted by an inheritee. A like-new Jet dust removal unit at $220 was not a bargain but certainly priced fairly.

As things worked out, I ended up with a large workshop that put the tools into play quicker than originally planned.  As discussed in the post, Unexpected Hiatus, we moved to the house next door to the building site and converted the large garage into a nice workshop.

Outdoor Equipment
With over two acres to mow (originally, and now over three), suddenly we needed the riding mower that I found on CL in mid-winter for less than half the price of a new one.  It has done its job for five years now with only minor DIY repairs and maintenance.  A rugged, old-school 3 bag electric concrete mixer was had for just $40 which figured heavily in the construction of the solar collector.

Not on Craigslist but online, I bought a low-hour (1,200 hours) Takeuchi TL130 track loader sight unseen from Arkansas and had it delivered to the local Bobcat-Takeuchi dealer for checking and tuning.  It turned out to be an excellent buy and, after investing $4,000 in upgrades and servicing, I expected to use it for
the construction then sell it for a $5,000 profit.  Wrong!  After using it for 40+ hours at my step-son's construction site, the engine blew.  

Coupled with the low hours, the new engine increases the value of the machine when we get ready to sell it but probably not enough to cover its cost.  In the meantime, it is nice to know that we have an extremely reliable piece of equipment. But, in addition to the smooth bucket for it, we needed a tooth bucket and a forklift, both of which were had for a total of $800 from a Craigslist posting and a little haggling. (The Bobcat dealer wants $1,200 for used tooth buckets; forklifts start at around $800.)  However, this is not the end of a the track loader story.  For more, check out an earlier post, Track Loader Adventures.