Tool Talk

General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Nolatoolguy on August 01, 2012, 09:47:55 PM

Title: A sad sight for us tool guys
Post by: Nolatoolguy on August 01, 2012, 09:47:55 PM
I have always been looking for a shop smith at a good deal but I always see them go on craigslist for a few hundred if not a grand or more for all the acceseries. Ime not willing to spend that much or do i really have the room an I dont really need one.

Anyway at the scrap yard today scraping some coper pipe we tore out of a old house an as I was getting the weight I see a shopsmith in the pile. I ask the one guy if I could go take a quik look at it. I went over an it had a full box of acceseries an appeared to be in good shape. I asked the guy if I could buy it off them and his boss said that its company policy once its in the pile they cant take it out. What the heck ive never heard that. Times ive been there before gave the guys a few bucks and I pulled a nice steel workshop table out, A grill that all it needed was burners, drill press, large sawmill blade an a few other odds an ends. Well I gues the guys workin today werent willing to work with me. I know I know policy is policy but dang it killed me to leave the shopsmith in the pile awaiting to be scraped.
Title: Re: A sad site for us tool guys
Post by: OilyRascal on August 01, 2012, 09:53:50 PM
I'm not convinced it was as much his policy as it was his desire to take it for himself.  If it is in fact BAD "policy", then revert to what/who has worked for you in the past.
Title: Re: A sad site for us tool guys
Post by: skipskip on August 01, 2012, 10:32:58 PM
Iron clad rule at all the yards here, even the dang town dump , er recycling center.

once it's in it stays in. all of  it, no exceptions

breaks my heart to see them crush a truck better than the one I am driving

Skip
Title: Re: A sad site for us tool guys
Post by: Nolatoolguy on August 01, 2012, 10:58:26 PM
I'm not convinced it was as much his policy as it was his desire to take it for himself.  If it is in fact BAD "policy", then revert to what/who has worked for you in the past.

Sadly that wouldnt suprise me
Title: Re: A sad site for us tool guys
Post by: Nolatoolguy on August 01, 2012, 11:00:35 PM
Iron clad rule at all the yards here, even the dang town dump , er recycling center.

once it's in it stays in. all of  it, no exceptions

breaks my heart to see them crush a truck better than the one I am driving

Skip

Yeh, ive never had this problem before. It could be just cause its a different boss maybe an he is by the book. The other times I just handed em a few bucks or little more cash an they didnt see anything. What they did with it weather they told there boss is not my bussniess.

If it is a policy I dont like it at all!
Title: Re: A sad site for us tool guys
Post by: HeelSpur on August 02, 2012, 06:09:02 AM
Same policies here, but the guy at the dump always seems to have a nice pile for himself.
Title: Re: A sad site for us tool guys
Post by: Branson on August 02, 2012, 06:51:22 AM
Iron clad rule at all the yards here, even the dang town dump , er recycling center.
once it's in it stays in. all of  it, no exceptions
breaks my heart to see them crush a truck better than the one I am driving
Skip

It's a stupid policy and nothing like cost efficient.   I got my ShopSmith from the recycle section of the dump near Santa Rosa.  It's my favorite place to shop.  Instead of going into the landfill, usable things get sold.  Some of what goes there is creamed and taken to a dump-owned second hand store in town.  My thumb hole Disston saw and my Bridgeport nail puller made it to the store.  I caught the ShopSmith as it came off the truck at the dump.
Title: Re: A sad site for us tool guys
Post by: geneg on August 02, 2012, 07:27:25 AM
Back in college (MANY years ago), I worked at Sears as a mechanic.  When things were slow,  we got transferred to store utility tasks.  Back then,  Sears didn't rebuild-for-resell any power tools.  One afternoon, we were given the job of disposing of a janitors cart about 3' x 3' x4' full of returned drills, power hand saws, grinders, impacts, etc.  We  had to hit them with a sledge, cut off the cord, and throw them in the compactor.  These tools had chucks, blades, switches, brushes and many other useable parts.   We were told that it was considered theft to rescue anything.   This was a very sad day.  We were paid about a hundred dollars to dispose of thousands of retail dollars worth of tools.  Several years later,  I saw the factory rebuilds show up in the Sears tool sales.    Too late to save Sears, but that's another story.
Title: Re: A sad site for us tool guys
Post by: Ken W. on August 02, 2012, 01:44:03 PM
The scrap yard here lets me rummage thru everything.I have taken some really expensive equiment home for next to nothing.Those shopsmiths are on the Buffalo Craigslist all the time for pretty cheap.Most of the ones for sale that I see , the seller just wants them out of a basement.
Title: Re: A sad sight for us tool guys
Post by: EVILDR235 on August 02, 2012, 07:39:24 PM
When i still lived in California i was working in a wrecking yard.
Whenever we hauled a load of scrap in to the scrap metal buyer, i would get out of the truck and walk around looking for goodies. Some of the better things i picked up was a WWII Cadillac tank engine, a 1964 Chevy 409 engine that was missing one cyl. head, a model A Ford 3 speed transmission, a 33 Ford carb, a set of 406 Ford factory cast iron headers, lots of misc. old time aftermarket alumium intake manifolds, lots of old carbs, a set of Fenton cast iron headers for a 235 Chevy 6 engine and many more goodies. That place still there, but under new owners and they won't let you buy anything.

EvilDr235 
Title: Re: A sad sight for us tool guys
Post by: Ken W. on August 03, 2012, 08:36:43 AM
There is a Shopsmith on the Rochester Craigslist for $250.00 or B/O.
Title: Re: A sad sight for us tool guys
Post by: 1930 on August 03, 2012, 04:59:55 PM
If anyone ever sees on in Fl for that price please let me know, I have wanted one for a long time.
Title: Re: A sad sight for us tool guys
Post by: Nolatoolguy on August 03, 2012, 08:37:25 PM
There is a Shopsmith on the Rochester Craigslist for $250.00 or B/O.

Dang thats not bad

In the chicago area if you find one for 300 its just the base an motor or something wrong with it. A complete package can go over 1,000 Right now theres one listed for 1475 an one for 1100 then the rest of the shop smithes listed are real bad condition an mainly for parts
Title: Re: A sad sight for us tool guys
Post by: john k on August 03, 2012, 08:54:44 PM
I just now checked the local CL, found a nice looking Shopsmith for $150, another for $250, and several for a thousand.   One of the cheap ones they said the motor was slow.  For a thousand, it comes with blades, attachments, and accessories.   Something unusual about the motor on these?
Title: Re: A sad sight for us tool guys
Post by: Ken W. on August 03, 2012, 10:41:37 PM
Buffalo Craigslist - Shopsmith Attachments : band saw , planer , belt sander , biscuit joint maker. $ 850.00 or b/o.   
     
25zd3-3171602051@sale.craigslist.org  .
Title: Re: A sad sight for us tool guys
Post by: EVILDR235 on August 05, 2012, 09:21:18 AM
I see them on the Portland Oregon Craigslist all the time. Parts for some of the real early ones can be had to find. Prices are all over the place. Anywhere from free to several thousand dollars. Lots of seperate parts also. I would like to have one, but just don't have the room at this time.

EvilDr235
Title: Re: A sad sight for us tool guys
Post by: 1930 on August 05, 2012, 10:55:04 AM
I see them on the Portland Oregon Craigslist all the time. Parts for some of the real early ones can be had to find. Prices are all over the place. Anywhere from free to several thousand dollars. Lots of seperate parts also. I would like to have one, but just don't have the room at this time.

EvilDr235

Quote...........Parts for some of the real early ones can be had to find...............Good to know, Im out, I got enough projects
Title: Re: A sad sight for us tool guys
Post by: Branson on August 07, 2012, 12:48:38 PM
Hey Neil!  There's one in Central Penn on eBay.  Starting bid is $99.  Check:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170891847491&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123
Title: Re: A sad sight for us tool guys
Post by: oldtools on August 30, 2012, 06:46:48 AM
A friend of mine gave me his Shopsmith Model-5 about 12 years ago.
With a Great Drill press, 12" Sander, Table saw, Vertical boring, and Lathe.
with the Stand & accessories, lathe tools, chuck, live center, end stock accessories & instruction book.

His biggest complaint was it was too light, shook when rough cutting on lathe.
So I picked it up, set it up, everything worked fine, Some rust on the bars, needed a good lube job.
and I added some steel weights & sandbags to the base to stop the vibration during rough cuts.
looking for my old photos of it setup in the 5 configurations. it is in back of my storage shed, haven't used it in years.

Thanks, forgot about it, Gotta pull it out to check if it still works.
Title: Re: A sad sight for us tool guys
Post by: Branson on August 30, 2012, 10:57:54 AM
A friend of mine gave me his Shopsmith Model-3 about 12 years ago.
Thanks, forgot about it, Gotta pull it out to check if it still works.

Model 3 ?  Is it one of the later models that use 4 bars?  Mine's a model ER made in '49.