OK, once a year or so, I post a review of an auction I’ve been to and taken advantage of here in Seattle. Today’s review, however, will be delayed by about 24 hours. I got up this morning at 4:30 am (YIKES!), caught the 7:05 am boat to Seattle, and got to the auction by 8am. Was assuming, based on my review of pre-auction publicity, that I’d be outa there by Noon, or 12:30 at the latest. NOT!!! There were over 1400 lots! Not all were woodworking, but a huge percentage were. I stopped bidding around 2:30 pm.
I rushed home on the 4:40 ferry to get changed and go to my birthday dinner, which I shared with my handsome young step-son. There were 7 of us there, we had yummy sea-food and I had yummy cocktails, since I wasn’t driving. The fact that I haven’t, near as I can tell, made any typos in this post is somewhat of a miracle.
You won’t BELIEVE what I came home with from the auction, but you have to wait until tomorrow to find out. I gotta go horizontal, with closed eyes and pleasant dreams. This dday is done! [ooops, there’s that typo. Tee heeeee.]
I won’t even tell you what I left behind. It’s sooooooooooooooo sad! [Well, maybe I’ll tell you. Have to think about that one.]
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Another proud member of the “I Rocked With ToolDoc Club” …. :>)
Replies
cant wait to hear!
Mike
Auctionus interuptus.
sigh...
Keith Bohn
Just like a girl... always teasing the guys. Why won't you tell us what birthday presents you picked up at the auction???
Happy Birthday! SawdustSteve
OK Steve, just a short note here -- I'm bushed, got home at 8:30pm after going back and getting the balance of the stuff packed up, brought home and unpacked.
For moi I got a nicely equipped down-draft table with a Dayton blower, a rolling sheet-goods cart with tung-and-groove bottom, a Porter Cable laminate trimmer, a small lot of teak, an oily-rag-disposal can, a big fat block of lignum vitae, 2 big fat blocks of something else exotic, and some other stuff I can't even remember.
For re-sale, I got a JDS air cleaner, a Makita router and a Hitatchi router, a pin router outfit, a Dubby, a JointTech fence outfit, a big end-vise, a portable router table and one of those "Router Crafter" thingies, a glue pot and some other miscellaneous.
There were dozens and dozens and dozens of sets of tools that had virtually never been used, especially turning stuff and routers, calipers, dial gauges. Stuff from Bridge City Toolworks and other high-end catalog places. Lathes galore, 2 wood lathes and 2 metal lathes. All of the equipment was either in excellent condition or totally unused!!! There were over 1400 lots total at the house, but I'd bet 60-70% were tools. There was one big lot of exotics in turning-block form -- ebony, Mexican rosewood and other stuff. I had been hoping to get some good dimensional lumber, but there was very, very little of that there.
Time for zzzzzzz's. Will check back in tomorrow. Anyone who wants a list of my resale stuff, click on my name above, and send me an email.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
you so excited you can't sleep ?
Hey what auction is this?
My favorite Seattle-area auctioneer ran an on-site auction at the home of a woodworker (mostly turning it would seem?) this past weekend. I had no idea it was going to be a chock-full of stuff as it was, usually when he advertises tools, it might be a hundred lots or so out of the whole house. This time it was waaaaayyyyyyyyyyy more than that! Many, many either never or very lightly used.
I went brain-dead while bidding on a Hegner 18" scroll saw, stopped at $300. DUHHHHHH! Really should have kept on going. The fact that my hubby was standing near me with his jaw half-way to his knees may have had something to do with my paralysis, LOL! To say he was skeptical is putting it mildly. There was also one of those Hegner MK4 benchtop saws, retails for over $1500 I think. I had no data in my head on that one, so didn't even bid. DUMB!!! Oh well, I still did OK.
Being a catalog addict has its advantages occasionally, LOL!! Since the only preview time was the hour or so before Lot#1 went up, and for awhile they were running 2 auctions simultaneously, you had to really know your stuff or forget it. I over-bid on a couple of routers, but made up for it on the odd-ball stuff like the Dubby and the JointTech.
I used to "do" auctions for a living, but hardly ever go these days. What a blast!
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Sounds like you got some pretty cool stuff. I need to start looking into great "purchase opportunities" in Seattle. Few weeks ago I dropped by an estate sale run by one of those professional liquidators and they wanted a pair of really old Wetzler bar clamps for $40. Everything else was marked high as well. Not much room for haggling so I left. I think auctions are the ways to go -- assuming like-minded woodworkers don't show up with the same intentions as you.
Yeh, estate sales are a real drag. There were plenty of WWers at this sale, but there was sooooooo much stuff, it kinda balanced out the supply-and-demand equation. Some stuff went a little high, but most seemed to be OK deals.
It'll be a long, long time before another one this good comes along, but that doesn't mean there won't be some good ones here and there. Read the Sunday paper, Section 471. Your best bet is the Murphy Co. (industrial and other big inventory auctions) and MBA, which is the company I know and like the best. MBA does mostly estate sales, and doesn't do many on-site auctions any more, but if he has one that has lots of tools, it's usually worth going to. He's the only auctioneer I'm willing to leave absentee bids with -- he handles them very honestly.
If you see one your curious about, drop me a line. If I have any inside skinny, I'll share.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Sounds like you've got some fun presents for yourself. When I get some new toys, sleep is the last thing I think about. Gimme a pot of STRONG coffee and I'll go 36 hours before crashing. Hmm... large block of Lignum Vitae... I see some INTERESTING stuff comming out of your shop in the next few months. Again, enjoy your new presents and toys.
SawdustSteve
Which birthday was it, 27 or 28?
Chuck
Aw, shucks, ain't you sweet. "27 or 28" ROFL!!!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
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