Salvaging Tools from a Fire

[tealetm]

Hello!

I have the opportunity to buy a decent size lot of tools at a great price. Seller appears to deal with disposal of items regularly and got his hands on this lot (insurance claim buyout of however that works).

Anyway- the lot consists of several new bandsaws and drill presses. I have not yet seen them in person due to the long drive but do have a lot of photos. Some of the equipment I'd be keeping for myself, others I'd be cleaning it up and selling.

The tools are all new and unused per the seller and came from a tool store which suffered the fire. Most have a decent coating of black soot on them and some a light coating of surface rust on some of the tables (looks to be regular rust from storage, not direct water). All of the paint looks good still to my eye, a few scratches and dings here and there but I attribute that to careless removal from the building.

I guess my question is, am I crazy for considering purchasing these and should I back off and never look back? I've never dealt with a fire before- does the soot get all over the place regardless of how close the fire and heat is?

Do you think a good rule of thumb would be any heat damage from the fire would show in the condition of the paint? I know the best solution is just to inspect them in person but it'd be a whole day of driving for me. A fire hot or close enough to do damage to the machine would certainly have the ability to damage the paint first, correct? Any input is appreciated...

 

[DGersic]

I’m no expert, but I’d be most concerned about soot getting in to the motors and bearings.

 

[sjvicker]

Not only the paint but the rubber parts (cords, handles) would probable show signs of melting too. If you got the time and the funds to walk away if its all junk then I'd do it.

 

[The Cobbler]

I'd think it's price dependant. it doesn't look like any plastic is melted , which to me would be a first sign of not a hot fire . but they will never be perfect new machines . if you're looking to flip them, or keep them would be a factor too

 

[Jlanciani]

Looks like a pig in a poke. They might be fine, and they might be much worse than they appear in the pic. You could be looking at replacing all of the plastic parts like the knobs and belt covers. Personally I wouldn't touch them for more than scrap value, you're going to have a ton of time cleaning them up for sale. Selling may be difficult as well depending on your honesty and your poker face, most buyers will want to know why they are for sale.

 

[tealetm]

I'm an honest guy so any buyer from me would get the full story.

The seller's asking price is $2,800 for $15,000 worth of equipment (new condition).

 

[Spareparts]

Any hand tools that have rust means they got hot enough for the protective coating burnt
off, the heat also affecting the tensile of the metal (weakens it). All the electric tools best you
can do is test them out, the bandsaw I would replace the blade, wouldn't trust it, same with
carbide blades. To be honest it looks like Swap-Meet stuff. Far away from Home.

 

[ZRX61]

Power cords are intact, take an extension cord & see what happens when you turn them on...

 

[Jeff Ivers]

When I first looked at the pic, I thought the Jet on the right might be a good deal. When I looked closer, I see signs of water having run down the machine carrying soot (particularly near the top and on the blade guide). The yellow machine to its left shows even worse signs of water running down carrying soot. Since I don't know how easy it is for water to damage the electrics and particularly when carrying soot, I would probably walk away.

 

[cvairwerks]

Unless there is a lot more that goes with those 3 pallets, I don't see 15k$ worth, even at full retail. If you've got the time and inclination, maybe $500 for the lot. When you add your time, effort and parts chasing to make them all function correctly and sellable, you might 3-4K out of the entire lot.

 

[Jlanciani]

The seller's asking price is $2,800 for $15,000 worth of equipment (new condition).

maybe $1k, but I wouldn't pay any more than that. $15k might be msrp, but tools from Asia don't sell for msrp. The powermatic bandsaw looks rough, and I wouldn't touch the Nova drill press for more than $50 as a gamble.

 

[gorilla]

It takes about 1,400*f to affect the strength of steel, that hot would melt or burn off all the plastic and rubber in those machines. My concern would be if you can resell them for enough money to payback your initial investment and the cost of refurbishment. That would mean that you would need to get~$500. each for all 5 of the bandsaws. I don't think that the drill press's are worth much.Do you have space to store them and the ability to refurbish them?

 

[tealetm]

Well I think I’ve talked myself out it but mostly because I don’t want to make the drive.

There are 7 bandsaws (one Powermatic without a motor and base) and the two drill presses.

Yes the $15k is for everything. If everything “just” needed a cleaning and oiling I could profit a few grand reselling one by one in my area.

Thanks for the input though!

 

[nadogail]

The original owner of the tools may have been compensated by an insurance company and is probably trying to sell the tools that the insurance company has declared to be a total loss.

 

[PCustoms]

New and unused?

How long has he been holding them? Looks like old designs.

Pretty sure I there is an arc of shame on that drill press too....

 

[tealetm]

The original owner of the tools may have been compensated by an insurance company and is probably trying to sell the tools that the insurance company has declared to be a total loss.

Yes that is my guess- but I assume that the insurance company sold or gave the goods to this seller (who runs a disposal company of sorts).

 

[rsanter]

I think I would take a look at them.
I don’t see melted plastic so I think they may be ok.
Only way to know is go see

 

[Skyman]

Since you asked, I wouldn't call you crazy. But I wouldn't do what you're considering.

 

[mattthemuppet]

I think the price he’s asking is about the most you would be likely to sell them all for IF they were all fully functional. So he’s getting all the value out of them, which would leave you with none and all the risk

 

[41plym]

Run.

 

[Tynee]

I think the price he’s asking is about the most you would be likely to sell them all for IF they were all fully functional. So he’s getting all the value out of them, which would leave you with none and all the risk

I agree with this assessment. No meat left on the bone.

 

[slowtwitch73]

Remember it was 15,000 worth of tools.

If you were close.... maybe. And if you didn't put much value on your time. And if you liked rolling the dice.

 

[larry_g]

What I see is no melted plastic so they did not suffer to much heat. I would request that he open the covers and show the inside of them. If inside the covers are clean and good then you have a chance. If the paint is burned off the insides of the tin work then I'd shy away from them. My $0.02.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[M635_Guy]

I agree with the others that say the heat exposure looks to be minimal. I don't know what the impact of soot/smoke on the internals might be, but I'd want to know a lot about that before I put even half that much money in them.

 

[toolenthusiast]

The original owner of the tools may have been compensated by an insurance company and is probably trying to sell the tools that the insurance company has declared to be a total loss.

Yes, welcome to the thread

 

[driftpin]

"There's not enough meat on the bones for me at that price."
-Frank Fitz, American Pickers

 

[dutchgray]

Add up what good used examples of all those machines should sell for in a reasonable time frame and pay no more than a third of that total, by the time you've moved them, cleaned them and sold them there might be a third left for profit.

I would think $500 would be ok but $1000 would be too much.

 

[johnre]

I think I see all new power cords on everything in that first image. This is the part that's usually the most exposed in a fire, and of course if it's damaged beyond some threshold (conductors shorted or open), the machine won't even run.

So the seller would be highly motivated to replace these, even if it's only for cosmetic reasons. These are cheap to replace, as they are generic and you don't need to get them from the manufacturer. But virtually everything else has to come from the manufacturer.

Problem is, if these had to be replaced, but nothing else was touched, how much other hidden damage might there be?

 

[Whitworth]

Add in many newer tools have circuit boards in them and they certainly don't respond well to heat and fire hoses.

 

[the shifty jesus]

I’d be most concerned about the water that put the fire out, mixed with soot or whatever else burned, and then sat for a few days on/in everything. That stuff can get real caustic.

I helped to scrap half a Vespa shop years ago because of that, and the fire was predominantly next door. The only machinery that wasn’t screwed were the lifts.