10-28-2018, 09:26 PM
Yesterday I done messed up and missed a hell of an opportunity. I just can't stop thinking about it and it's messing with my head.
I attended an estate auction yesterday of a sole proprietor woodworker who suddenly passed away. The sale bill listed a Powermatic Model 66 with the 50" accu-fence system and workbench. For some reason the HP wasn't listed. There was also a lot of rough cut hardwood lumber listed. In addition, there was a Oneida dust collection system listed. No further details. Left my house at 7AM and it was pouring rain, 45 degrees. I was hoping the rain would keep buyers away. When I got to the auction site I immediately got a bidder number and my buddy and I headed to the shop to check out the tools. The powermatic was sitting in the center the room. There wasn't a soul looking at it. It was begging me to come over to check her out. It was just as described in the sale bill, not a dimple of rust and the fence and workbench was in nearly brand new condition. But, I needed to get on my knees and remove the cover to peek at her nether region. I could tell nobody else checked the motor as the screws to the cover were all tight and when I cracked it open, crapload of sawdust fell out. A flashlight on the motor showed a beautiful 5HP. I put the cover back on, cranked the screws as tight as I could and attempted to walk away looking disappointed. So I moseyed over to the dust collector and to my surprise there was a Oneida direct drive cyclone with a double hanging plenum assembly. Of course I couldn't see the motor. So my buddy and I pushed the Powermatic planer over next to it and I climbed up on top of it. Couple of older guys just stood there and watched. This puppy had a 10HP motor on it. I jumped down and we pushed the planer over close to where it was and the old codgers asked if I knew anything about the DC. I looked at them and said “yeah, I know it’s too much for my shop”.
On to look at all this hardwood lumber. All the lumber was stacked and stickered very neatly. Each species on it’s own pile. So I got my grease pencil out and began writing lot numbers down in my plastic notebook. I measured all the lots and noted how many board feet were in each one. Now remember, it is pouring rain so this wasn’t any fun. It took me a half hour to get all the lumber measured and written down. There were stacks of red and white oak, maple, sugar maple, cherry, walnut, basswood, sassafras, pine, red wood and ash. Not listed on the sale bill were about a dozen 5’x3’ and 4” thick walnut. Apparently it was used to make gunstocks. Now time for another coffee and let the bidding begin.
The saw finally came up. Now I’m trying to think how much money I can spend without sending my wife through the roof. Two people were bidding hot and heavy. I don’t understand why an auctioneer starts with a high price, eventually drops it to $10 and then the bidding takes off. Weird. Anyway, ten bucks to $1000 and bidding slowed down. I let the auctioneer beg for a higher bid and eventually put my hand up. I dropped out at 2g’s and it sold for $2050. There’s an opportunity lost that will never return.
Eventually an announcement was made that the lumber will be sold but there were some “instructions” they wanted everyone to understand before bidding started. First was that driving through the yard was forbidden and since there wasn’t a road or driveway leading to where the lumber is, it could be a while until one could actually get it. The lumber was about 100 yards from the road. And second, they could make no guarantee the lumber would remain there as the house is empty and no body would be watching it. Well, that sucks. I live an hour away and I’d need to drive there every day to see if it was dry enough. And I’m certainly not close enough to keep an eye on it.
I went out anyway, who knows what may happen. First lot was 165 bd ft of red oak. Now remember, it is pouring like crazy and everyone is up to their ankles in mud. I didn’t see anyone else get a tape measure out and no-one had notes (except me). Well crap, the whole lot of oak sold for $75. Dang I thought, that’s cheap. 300 bd ft of white oak sold for $110. I was like…what! Now my head is spinning, when can I get in here to pick it up, how can I keep an eye on it, who can I get to help me load and unload, how much time do I actually have to do all this, where will I put it when I get it home. All the lots of lumber sold for $0.30 to $0.75 a board foot. Another opportunity lost that will never return. I should have bought every lot at those prices. My buddy didn’t come out with me when the lumber went up. He stayed under the circus tent where it was dry and another auctioneer was going.
When I got back under the tent my buddy asked me how much I got. I said “none”. Went for too much, he said. Nope, exact opposite I said. He said wtf? I told him I couldn’t think of a way of keeping the lumber secure until it dried out and I couldn’t drive there everyday to check on it. He said, “dude, we would have gone to Lowes and bought a load of 4x8 OSB, 2x4’s and screws and we could have put up a wall to cover it and make it a little of a challenge for someone to get to it. Put a couple no trespassing signs on it, go talk to the neighbors and ask the to keep an eye on it and give each of them $20 and you’re good to go. Just like that I said, thought of that off the top of your head. Sounded like a dang good idea but noooo, he had to stay where it was dry and buy a gun rack.
Called my wife and said we were headed home. She asked if I got the saw. I said nope, wasn’t really sure of the budget. Too many times I’ve come home thinking I got a good deal and you are upset because it was too much. She just said, go big or go home…guess your coming home. She said she thought she made it clear that there wasn’t a budget, that I could get what I wanted for however much it cost. A costly misunderstanding. For the price of the lumber I could have sold enough of it to cover all my costs, including the saw and still have a crap load of lumber for myself. Hindsight is 20/20 and I didn’t know the lumber would be so inexpensive. But I’m still kicking myself in the butt.
I attended an estate auction yesterday of a sole proprietor woodworker who suddenly passed away. The sale bill listed a Powermatic Model 66 with the 50" accu-fence system and workbench. For some reason the HP wasn't listed. There was also a lot of rough cut hardwood lumber listed. In addition, there was a Oneida dust collection system listed. No further details. Left my house at 7AM and it was pouring rain, 45 degrees. I was hoping the rain would keep buyers away. When I got to the auction site I immediately got a bidder number and my buddy and I headed to the shop to check out the tools. The powermatic was sitting in the center the room. There wasn't a soul looking at it. It was begging me to come over to check her out. It was just as described in the sale bill, not a dimple of rust and the fence and workbench was in nearly brand new condition. But, I needed to get on my knees and remove the cover to peek at her nether region. I could tell nobody else checked the motor as the screws to the cover were all tight and when I cracked it open, crapload of sawdust fell out. A flashlight on the motor showed a beautiful 5HP. I put the cover back on, cranked the screws as tight as I could and attempted to walk away looking disappointed. So I moseyed over to the dust collector and to my surprise there was a Oneida direct drive cyclone with a double hanging plenum assembly. Of course I couldn't see the motor. So my buddy and I pushed the Powermatic planer over next to it and I climbed up on top of it. Couple of older guys just stood there and watched. This puppy had a 10HP motor on it. I jumped down and we pushed the planer over close to where it was and the old codgers asked if I knew anything about the DC. I looked at them and said “yeah, I know it’s too much for my shop”.
On to look at all this hardwood lumber. All the lumber was stacked and stickered very neatly. Each species on it’s own pile. So I got my grease pencil out and began writing lot numbers down in my plastic notebook. I measured all the lots and noted how many board feet were in each one. Now remember, it is pouring rain so this wasn’t any fun. It took me a half hour to get all the lumber measured and written down. There were stacks of red and white oak, maple, sugar maple, cherry, walnut, basswood, sassafras, pine, red wood and ash. Not listed on the sale bill were about a dozen 5’x3’ and 4” thick walnut. Apparently it was used to make gunstocks. Now time for another coffee and let the bidding begin.
The saw finally came up. Now I’m trying to think how much money I can spend without sending my wife through the roof. Two people were bidding hot and heavy. I don’t understand why an auctioneer starts with a high price, eventually drops it to $10 and then the bidding takes off. Weird. Anyway, ten bucks to $1000 and bidding slowed down. I let the auctioneer beg for a higher bid and eventually put my hand up. I dropped out at 2g’s and it sold for $2050. There’s an opportunity lost that will never return.
Eventually an announcement was made that the lumber will be sold but there were some “instructions” they wanted everyone to understand before bidding started. First was that driving through the yard was forbidden and since there wasn’t a road or driveway leading to where the lumber is, it could be a while until one could actually get it. The lumber was about 100 yards from the road. And second, they could make no guarantee the lumber would remain there as the house is empty and no body would be watching it. Well, that sucks. I live an hour away and I’d need to drive there every day to see if it was dry enough. And I’m certainly not close enough to keep an eye on it.
I went out anyway, who knows what may happen. First lot was 165 bd ft of red oak. Now remember, it is pouring like crazy and everyone is up to their ankles in mud. I didn’t see anyone else get a tape measure out and no-one had notes (except me). Well crap, the whole lot of oak sold for $75. Dang I thought, that’s cheap. 300 bd ft of white oak sold for $110. I was like…what! Now my head is spinning, when can I get in here to pick it up, how can I keep an eye on it, who can I get to help me load and unload, how much time do I actually have to do all this, where will I put it when I get it home. All the lots of lumber sold for $0.30 to $0.75 a board foot. Another opportunity lost that will never return. I should have bought every lot at those prices. My buddy didn’t come out with me when the lumber went up. He stayed under the circus tent where it was dry and another auctioneer was going.
When I got back under the tent my buddy asked me how much I got. I said “none”. Went for too much, he said. Nope, exact opposite I said. He said wtf? I told him I couldn’t think of a way of keeping the lumber secure until it dried out and I couldn’t drive there everyday to check on it. He said, “dude, we would have gone to Lowes and bought a load of 4x8 OSB, 2x4’s and screws and we could have put up a wall to cover it and make it a little of a challenge for someone to get to it. Put a couple no trespassing signs on it, go talk to the neighbors and ask the to keep an eye on it and give each of them $20 and you’re good to go. Just like that I said, thought of that off the top of your head. Sounded like a dang good idea but noooo, he had to stay where it was dry and buy a gun rack.
Called my wife and said we were headed home. She asked if I got the saw. I said nope, wasn’t really sure of the budget. Too many times I’ve come home thinking I got a good deal and you are upset because it was too much. She just said, go big or go home…guess your coming home. She said she thought she made it clear that there wasn’t a budget, that I could get what I wanted for however much it cost. A costly misunderstanding. For the price of the lumber I could have sold enough of it to cover all my costs, including the saw and still have a crap load of lumber for myself. Hindsight is 20/20 and I didn’t know the lumber would be so inexpensive. But I’m still kicking myself in the butt.
