There's a machinery dealer in my area (W. Washington) who has a 35-ton Scotchman ironworker for sale. It looks pretty old but he repainted it and did a good job but used cheap light blue paint. It runs on 220V 3ph power which I have available. It has a shear which can cut 10" wide 1/4" thick steel or 6" wide 1/2" steel. It also has an angle shear which can cut 3x3x1/4" angle (square cut) or 2x2x1/4" angle (miter cut). It also has a bunch of punches. New blades (not installed) for the angle shear and bar shear. Really old electrical controls, but functional. Little bit of cavitation whine from the hydraulic pump but no sign of leaks.
Basically, it's probably a 30 year old little ironworker. I could get a *lot* of use out of it but of course, being a machinery dealer, he is asking more than I want to pay.
Also, it isn't really very big as ironworkers go.
It does have the original manual (reproduced typewritten pages, looks very '60s).
He has been advertising it locally and seems to be having a hard time selling it. I hate to buy something I don't think I can sell.
If it were $800 I'd buy it in a nanosecond. If it were $3000 I'd pass without a second thought. Naturally, it's just low enough to catch my interest ..
What do you guys think of the usefulness, resaleability and value of such a machine? It looks quite a bit like these:
Grant Erwin Kirkland, Washington