Went to an auction this weekend

[OneEyedMan]

This was year sixty for a local fire departments fundraising auction. They take consignments from the community and spend Saturday with four auction wagons selling for, in this weekends case, eight hours.

I’ve made it to three quarters of the auctions and am always struck by the amount of old power tools that go in the garbage at the end of the sale. During the sale you can buy any of three or four radial arm saws for ten dollars, old aluminum bodied drills, Sabre saws, and circular saws two for five dollars. Most of the old power tools simply don’t sell and after a free run on Sunday, everything left goes to the dump.

I did buy a decent cast iron Craftsman table saw with three almost new blades for six dollars but no one bid against me. If anything tool truck or red or yellow lithium shows up, it brings most of retail.

This is not the venue I’d take most tools to sell but it’s still striking how little value so many things have today. Between the insane proliferation of storage units and the wanton disposal of useable but valueless goods, tools or otherwise, it looks like we could survive a year of austerity with no manufacturing.

 

[LOW1]

There are still a lot of the old and heavy Craftsman, Delta etc table mounted stuff out there and in use. It reappears in public only when no one in the family wants to take over or has the room for dad’s stuff when he kicks the bucket.

And batteries Have made old silver metal plug in power hand tools obsolete. Thankfully. There is nothing wrong with a better product making an inferior product obsolete.

 

[lardy1]

I unapologetically still use a lot of corded tools. They have served me well over the years and paid for themselves many times over. Nothing at all wrong with innovation and I understand younger people's disdain for them. But I still enjoy my shop time and can still create nice things with them.

 

[four.cycle]

Air powered hand-held tools and corded hand-held tools are going the way of the wagon wheel - battery-powered tools have taken the market.
You can buy lovely, like new hand-held electric drills all day long for $15-$20 bucks on Craigslist around here. Last one I bought I paid $9.50 for - metal-bodied B&D in the case - like new.
Local pawn broker will no longer take your pneumatic hand-held tools for pawn or purchase - he can't give 'em away.
Corded stuff is going the same way - nobody wants it.

 

[Shiftless]

I did buy a decent cast iron Craftsman table saw with three almost new blades for six dollars

That’s a “you ****” deal if you ask me. I still have the vintage belt drive early ‘50s cast iron Craftsman table saw I inherited. Still works fine with the original motor hanging off the back end. I don’t see too many battery powered 10 inch table saws around.

 

[four.cycle]

^ True. There's another free Craftsman table saw on CL this morning. South King County.

 

[LOW1]

That’s a “you ****” deal if you ask me. I still have the vintage belt drive early ‘50s cast iron Craftsman table saw I inherited. Still works fine with the original motor hanging off the back end. I don’t see too many battery powered 10 inch table saws around.

And you can pick up an older Delta Unisaw for $250 or so if you are lucky. Although those things can cut your finger off they are remarkable saws and I think that in their day they were the ones to have.

 

[zendriver]

The stuff is donated so it’s most likely cleaning out the garage

I use some corded tools but not ones from 60 years ago

 

[four.cycle]

^ Unfortunately, fund-raising events which rely on "donations" get stuck with a lot of garbage "donated" by well-meaning folks who just want to clean out a garage or attic.
My sister's dance company used to do fund-raising auctions, but the amount of time and effort required disposing of the "leftovers" made them no longer practical. (I think Covid may have had something to do with that.)
I recall hauling an entire truckload of 35-gallon trash bags full of used clothing to a local "Value Village" - all "donations" that didn't sell at the fund-raiser.

 

[OneEyedMan]

The stuff is donated so it’s most likely cleaning out the garage

I use some corded tools but not ones from 60 years ago

There is a lot of garage cleanings there but the bulk is consigned. Any item that sells for less than $6 is considered a donation but the department only takes 25 percent of higher sales. For the Sunday equipment auction they have tiers of commission, over 1k is ten percent, over 10k is five, iirc. Best year I remember generated $75k for the department.

 

[CoThG]

That’s a “you ****” deal if you ask me. I still have the vintage belt drive early ‘50s cast iron Craftsman table saw I inherited. Still works fine with the original motor hanging off the back end. I don’t see too many battery powered 10 inch table saws around.

My dad had an early '60s cast iron Craftsman table saw that saw occasional use while he was alive. When he died, I gave it to a friend who's an avid hobbyist woodworker. He uses it frequently and says he really enjoys using it and that it's built like a tank.