I purchased a milling machine through an online auction house. It was a charity auction and they were selling collectible instruments from the Gretsch Family Archives. Well I saw that they had a milling machine listed and I didnt think I would have much competition with winning it, so I placed a bid.
I had about two hours before the auction ended at the time I first saw the listing. There were very little details about the machine and it wasn't even well advertised as a milling machine. It looked like it had hardly been used and was in amazing condition for something of its age. I also assumed that a milling machine at a guitar factory would not see very heavy usage, and not be heavily worn out or abused.
I placed a bid not expecting to win it, but sure enough I was the winner. The only details of the machine were: "A Beaver brand NC5 milling machine from the Gretsch factory. Used to machine parts for EMCI Pedal Steel Guitars. A milling machine of many uses. Winning bidder is responsible for shipping of this items from Ridgeland, SC."
Since this less than 3 hours away from me, I figured it would be pretty easy to pull up with a trailer and have someone from the factory set the machine on a trailer. Well after I finally got in contact with someone, I realized this was not the case.
I learned that they were requiring that I hire a licensed and bonding rigging company to move the machine. I also learned that this machine has not been turned on in 25yrs.
I wasn't expecting either of those two pieces of information and I would not have bid if I knew that was the case.
I started calling around to try to get a few quotes from the closest rigging companies I could find. Not many of them were interested in a job that small, but a few were interested and wanted more information.
Well a few days later, I was able to talk to the owner of Gretsch. He informed me that they built a partition wall around the machine back in the day so they could add AC to that area. He then told me that I had to inform the rigging company that they would have to move a section of the wall to get the machine out. I asked what all would be involved in moving a section of wall and he said he had no idea, just to inform the rigging company to expect that.
Immediately that raised red flags for the rigging companies. Nobody really wanted to take this job and have to deal with that wall. A few of them backed out of it. I am waiting to hear back from a few others but I expect their quotes to go way up if they decide to take it.
The machine looks great in my opinion, and it looks like it comes with a decent amount of tooling. I thought I got a pretty good deal and a lot of machine for the price I paid. It came out to $1280 after all the auction fees.
However, I think its going to cost 2-3x that amount to get it here. Since this is my first machine purchase, I wasn't expecting the rigging company to be required. I have seen that stated up front at surplus auctions, but this auction simply said the buyer is responsible for shipping. And I read that as I show up with a trailer and I will be good to go. Worst case I would roll the machine out on rollers and maybe have a wrecker with a boom lift it up and back the trailer up under it. Truthfully, I thought I could get it home for right around $2k including the price of the machine.
I also was under the impression that this machine was a running machine. I will post the images from the auction below. To me it looked like they just turned the machine off and took some pictures. I didn't know it has sat for that long, but maybe that could be a good thing. Less wear and tear and less chance its worn out. It sounded like they quit using the machine after they discontinued a product line that they bought out from another company many years ago. The machine was set up to run a specific set of parts, and after they stopped making those parts, they stopped using the machine. At least that is what I was told.
A few people on other forums have said this could be a good machine if I got it out of the factory and back home for the price I paid for the machine or less. I am new to this hobby and wanted to get into it with some old iron. I have read to buy the biggest machine you can afford, and I think this one is pretty stout.
There is little information out there about this machine. I planned on running it manually until I was able to put a Centroid Allin1DC controller or something similar on it.
I would like to hear some opinions on this machine and this situation. Would you go forward with this sale? At what point does this stop being a deal for a machine in this condition knowing the little bit of information that I know?
I had about two hours before the auction ended at the time I first saw the listing. There were very little details about the machine and it wasn't even well advertised as a milling machine. It looked like it had hardly been used and was in amazing condition for something of its age. I also assumed that a milling machine at a guitar factory would not see very heavy usage, and not be heavily worn out or abused.
I placed a bid not expecting to win it, but sure enough I was the winner. The only details of the machine were: "A Beaver brand NC5 milling machine from the Gretsch factory. Used to machine parts for EMCI Pedal Steel Guitars. A milling machine of many uses. Winning bidder is responsible for shipping of this items from Ridgeland, SC."
Since this less than 3 hours away from me, I figured it would be pretty easy to pull up with a trailer and have someone from the factory set the machine on a trailer. Well after I finally got in contact with someone, I realized this was not the case.
I learned that they were requiring that I hire a licensed and bonding rigging company to move the machine. I also learned that this machine has not been turned on in 25yrs.
I wasn't expecting either of those two pieces of information and I would not have bid if I knew that was the case.
I started calling around to try to get a few quotes from the closest rigging companies I could find. Not many of them were interested in a job that small, but a few were interested and wanted more information.
Well a few days later, I was able to talk to the owner of Gretsch. He informed me that they built a partition wall around the machine back in the day so they could add AC to that area. He then told me that I had to inform the rigging company that they would have to move a section of the wall to get the machine out. I asked what all would be involved in moving a section of wall and he said he had no idea, just to inform the rigging company to expect that.
Immediately that raised red flags for the rigging companies. Nobody really wanted to take this job and have to deal with that wall. A few of them backed out of it. I am waiting to hear back from a few others but I expect their quotes to go way up if they decide to take it.
The machine looks great in my opinion, and it looks like it comes with a decent amount of tooling. I thought I got a pretty good deal and a lot of machine for the price I paid. It came out to $1280 after all the auction fees.
However, I think its going to cost 2-3x that amount to get it here. Since this is my first machine purchase, I wasn't expecting the rigging company to be required. I have seen that stated up front at surplus auctions, but this auction simply said the buyer is responsible for shipping. And I read that as I show up with a trailer and I will be good to go. Worst case I would roll the machine out on rollers and maybe have a wrecker with a boom lift it up and back the trailer up under it. Truthfully, I thought I could get it home for right around $2k including the price of the machine.
I also was under the impression that this machine was a running machine. I will post the images from the auction below. To me it looked like they just turned the machine off and took some pictures. I didn't know it has sat for that long, but maybe that could be a good thing. Less wear and tear and less chance its worn out. It sounded like they quit using the machine after they discontinued a product line that they bought out from another company many years ago. The machine was set up to run a specific set of parts, and after they stopped making those parts, they stopped using the machine. At least that is what I was told.
A few people on other forums have said this could be a good machine if I got it out of the factory and back home for the price I paid for the machine or less. I am new to this hobby and wanted to get into it with some old iron. I have read to buy the biggest machine you can afford, and I think this one is pretty stout.
There is little information out there about this machine. I planned on running it manually until I was able to put a Centroid Allin1DC controller or something similar on it.
I would like to hear some opinions on this machine and this situation. Would you go forward with this sale? At what point does this stop being a deal for a machine in this condition knowing the little bit of information that I know?