Freaking craigslist!

[mjbabcock]

In one week I just missed out on each of the following

A small bench mill that had been barely used for $250

A hardinge horizontal mill that needed just a little work for $400

A Brand new (seriously...it had been in a crate for 50 years) South Bend Heavy 10 lathe with all the chucks and collets...$1000 including the cosmoline it was packaged in


eff me! Those craigslist trollers are so damn fast I don't have a chance

[Alistair]

In one week I just missed out on each of the following

A small bench mill that had been barely used for $250

A hardinge horizontal mill that needed just a little work for $400

A Brand new (seriously...it had been in a crate for 50 years) South Bend Heavy 10 lathe with all the chucks and collets...$1000 including the cosmoline it was packaged in


eff me! Those craigslist trollers are so damn fast I don't have a chance

That $250 mill drill did go fast. The guy told me that it sold before he got up from the computer after posting the ad.
That Hardinge looked like a bit of a project although I didn't see it personally, a friend of mine did. Possibly still a good deal if you know that particular machine and where to get parts.
I saw the ad for the SB 10 but didn't realize it was a heavy 10". I already have a lathe (not as nice as a cherry heavy 10 though) so I didn't bid.

I agree with you about how competitive CL can be, here in Seattle anyway. Do people have software for this kind of thing or maybe they do this kind of thing for a living?

Alistair.

[VertigoCycles]

That $250 mill drill did go fast. The guy told me that it sold before he got up from the computer after posting the ad.
That Hardinge looked like a bit of a project although I didn't see it personally, a friend of mine did. Possibly still a good deal if you know that particular machine and where to get parts.
I saw the ad for the SB 10 but didn't realize it was a heavy 10". I already have a lathe (not as nice as a cherry heavy 10 though) so I didn't bid.

I agree with you about how competitive CL can be, here in Seattle anyway. Do people have software for this kind of thing or maybe they do this kind of thing for a living?

Alistair.

Is there a faster way to get ads than by making an RSS feed for a search term?

[mjbabcock]

Great, I just missed a Horizontal atlas/craftsman listed today for $100 in Atlanta that was posted and sold within an hour...damn it!

the southbend lathe was insane.

[Alistair]

Is there a faster way to get ads than by making an RSS feed for a search term?

Not that I know of. Even with an RSS feed, you still have to be in the right place in the right time and have a bit of luck on your side. I don't let it get to me. With persistence, you can usually get (something close to) what you are looking for.

Alistair.

[EricKeller]

or you could live in Central Pennsylvania where people list tools for list price and almost nothing is ever of interest.

[themanmonkey]

or you could live in Central Pennsylvania where people list tools for list price and almost nothing is ever of interest.

+1 on that. We were in Bloomsburg last year when I was getting serious about buying a lathe and it was just horrible. SW Missouri is even worse if you could believe it.

[Alistair]

+1 on that. We were in Bloomsburg last year when I was getting serious about buying a lathe and it was just horrible. SW Missouri is even worse if you could believe it.

Brandon, Eric, do you think it's a case of low supply or high demand that make buying machine tools tough in the areas that you live?

Here in Seattle, my guess is that it's a demand problem. Because of Boeing and it's subsidiaries, I'm guessing there are a lot of machinist's around looking for tools for their own shops. I don't think that there's a ton of machinery suitable for home use around here, but it's certainly not non-existent.

There does seem to be a fair amount of large machine tools for sale here. Vertical machining centers, CNC mills and lathes, or 5000lb 3 phase manual mills and lathes. Presumably this stuff is the cast off from local ship and plane making.

With Grizzly being not far away in Bellingham, I am surprised that more of their home machinist suitable stuff doesn't show up on the local CL.

Alistair.

[EricKeller]

I think it's a combination of low supply and the strength of the "word of mouth" system. People get deals on tools, but they usually don't go on Craigslist. And we have a relatively small population density. Finally, I think the people that own tools don't know how to use computers.

[themanmonkey]

With Grizzly being not far away in Bellingham, I am surprised that more of their home machinist suitable stuff doesn't show up on the local CL.

Springfield is the home of Grizzly with their largest store and warehouse and I never see their stuff for sale used here. Seattle and the surrounding area has always been a manufacturing center and there has always been tons of tooling available. I remember going to the now defunct Boeing surplus and seeing a dozen Bridgeports lined up for sale at a good price. I'm sure if you're in Detroit or some other depressed ex-industrial area stuff can be had for a song. I can find of plenty off good deals if I'm willing to go to Chicago.