I would continue to pursue Harbor Freight. It seems that every year or so I get email from their President extolling himself (perhaps rightfully) for making huge donations of tools & equipment to public school shop classes. Surely they'd be interested in your project - I know I would like to see the videos.
Ok, I sent a request off through corporate media to HF. We shall see if that goes anywhere. PM was gungho to sell me a machine, but Matt didn't even offer a discount. Of course he doesn't even have one in that class. Jet said they would forward my request to media relations. Nobody else I have contacted has responded. If worse comes to worse, I'll buy one, strip it down, and repaint the colored bits a nice neutral green chartreuse so nobody knows what it is. Then when I am done I'll figure out how I want to dispose of it. LOL.
Ok, I sent a request off through corporate media to HF. We shall see if that goes anywhere. PM was gungho to sell me a machine, but Matt didn't even offer a discount. Of course he doesn't even have one in that class. Jet said they would forward my request to media relations. Nobody else I have contacted has responded. If worse comes to worse, I'll buy one, strip it down, and repaint the colored bits a nice neutral green chartreuse so nobody knows what it is. Then when I am done I'll figure out how I want to dispose of it. LOL.
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Much of the stuff at the pawn+second hand tool store is on consignment.
I am not even remotely interested in pawn shop stuff. I don't even go to pawn shops anymore. I haven't been in one in years. Once in a while I see one and I'm briefly tempted, but I never have the time. Everything I've ever found in a pawnshop that I wanted was priced higher than retail. Usually higher than list. It really brought it home to me when I worked in a tool store. We sold brands like Makita, Milwaukee, DeWalt, Delta, etc. (not so much Delta anymore) Good name brands. I would see the same brands in a pawn shop. Models I was familiar with because I just sold one, and they would be priced higher than full list.
"Well you can negotiate." Yes you can. Sometimes if the person you are dealing with likes you and their spouse didn't give them a hard time before work that day. Then you can negotiate down to maybe retail or marginally below retail for a USED TOOL of UNKNOWN condition.
"Well, you must not be very good at negotiating." That's not true. I do know how to play the games and pull the tricks if I care to spend the time. I grew up in business, and at 4 years old purchased items to put on the shelves in my parents store with Christmass gift money instead of just spending it or letting it devalue in the bank. I have some background in business, negotiation, and sales. Still its possible I might be a terrible negotiator. That's not true, but you don't know me. I will say that when I negotiate I take into account all of the cost. If I go to a surplus salvage yard I'm going to have to dig the piece of metal I want out of the stack and haul it to the truck myself. Then the manager/owner is as likely as not to try to renegotiate the price before I load it for some "reason" or another. Similar time wasting occurs in a pawn shop if you don't just get stone walled.
So yes, its possible I might be able to get a used tool for less than new retail but it could cost me a lot more than that in time and effort. If I buy it in a retail store I can walk in, pay, and walk out. If I order it on line I don't even have to drive to the store, and I can likely get it for less than retail. Almost certainly if its not a price fixed item and I spend less time than it takes me to drive to the store.
Regardless all those things have value. Not just the money I hand over.
... and lastly I never mentioned a pawn shop, junk dealer, surplus store, or salvage yard as an option.
I have mentioned PM more than once or twice in this group. PM is a shorthand for Precision Mathews. I have often referred to my big (big for me) PM1440ELB 14 by 40 engine lathe. They are a branded import dealer with a better than average reputation for quality control. Always better than Harbor Freight and often (not always) better than Grizzly, Wen, or Jet. They are not a pawn shop. LOL.
I am not even remotely interested in pawn shop stuff. I don't even go to pawn shops anymore. I haven't been in one in years. Once in a while I see one and I'm briefly tempted, but I never have the time. Everything I've ever found in a pawnshop that I wanted was priced higher than retail. Usually higher than list. It really brought it home to me when I worked in a tool store. We sold brands like Makita, Milwaukee, DeWalt, Delta, etc. (not so much Delta anymore) Good name brands. I would see the same brands in a pawn shop. Models I was familiar with because I just sold one, and they would be priced higher than full list. ...
-------------------------- I meant you might SELL the mill at one, on consignment.
My apologies. I didn't even think of selling at a pawn shop. I did not know any even did consignment sales.
Tangent Alert:
Many years ago in a land not to far away during my single life. I stopped by to see a couple young women I "knew." A buddy of mine stopped by and we all decided to go out dancing. I had a couple long guns in my car (hatch back) and I didn't want to leave them visible in front of some bar. I asked the young ladies if I could stash them in their closet so nobody busted my windows to steal them.
For some reason (I think I was hustling pool) we wound up finding our individual ways to get "home." A day or two later I stopped by to pick up my stuff and the long guns were gone. One of the young ladies had moved out, and the other had an ex who was a recreational druggy. I knew them all. The one still living there was cagey and admitted nothing. There was not much I could do accept report them stolen.
A few days later I stopped by to visit yet another buddy of mine and found the young lady who had moved out staying with him. I talked about my missing guns and when she looked nervous I said, (just to see if there was a reaction) "I should probably check the pawn shops. I bet your room mate pawned them for drug money." She turned white. I don't mean pale. I mean white. Like a sheet of paper white. I had never seen that before. So I asked rather pointedly, "So do you know what happened to them?"
"She said you gave them to her."
Being somewhat quicker than I had been the other night I said, "Here's the deal. I'm going down to the police stations to let them know what happened to my guns. You can come with me and tell them the truth and I will ask the city attorney not to prosecute you. I just want my guns back."
She said ok, and off we went. The poor cop who caught the case didn't know what to make of me walking in with one of the thieves in tow. She explained what happened and where the other young lady was likely to be found and they sent a car to pick her up.
When they got back with the other thief. I asked the cop if he would leave us alone to talk for a minute. He didn't like that at all. I promised to sit in my chair and not move and he could listen at the door for screaming or sounds of a fight if he wanted.
I told the other woman I just wanted my guns back. If she told the cops everything and I got my guns back that day I would ask the city attorney not to prosecute her just like I had the other one. She told me where the guns had been pawned and said she had the pawn tickets in her apartment. She said she wasn't sure if she had enough money to cover the pawn tickets, but her new boyfriend might be willing to help.
I spoke loudly and (I'm sure he was listening) and asked the cop to come back in. I explained my position and he said he would have to run it by the city attorney. The city attorney agreed, but passed back that I couldn't come back in the next day and change my mind.
The cops called the pawn shop to let them know I would be picking up my guns, and I volunteered to give both young ladies a ride home. I wanted the pawn tickets and the money to cover them. I thought the poor cop was going to have a fit, but I convinced him to let me.
We arrived at the apartment building and she headed off to get the pawn tickets. I waited in my vehicle in the parking lot. When she came back out she stopped to talk to a young marine and his buddies who were working on a car. I was a little hesitant that might go badly for me, but I was armed. I could see him taking up a collection from all his buddies of all their cash and change. Finally she brought me the pawn tickets and a couple handfuls of money.
She was a couple dollars short. I took it anyway. I figure a couple dollars for being young and dumb wasn't to costly of a lesson. As we drove away I could hear the new boyfriend reading her the riot act. I could still hear him yelling when I turned the corner.
At the pawn shop the owner was furious about having to turn my guns over to me. The reason? Well he thought he had made a big score. He had pawned those guns for about 5% of their value. I mean real what I could sell them for value. I just smiled and reminded him that the cops knew the guns were here and had told him to hand them over. "Be glad I have a level head and just want my guns back without waiting for a trial. If I hadn't done that they would have seized them for evidence and returned them to me after the trial and you wouldn't have even gotten your pawn ticket price back. Now, here are the tickets and the cash. Please hand them over."
And thus was begun my dislike of pawn shops. LOL.
In retrospect I'm not sure how I was so cool and level headed through all of that. It wasted part of my morning and most of an afternoon, and I got a bit of a reputation (I didn't deserve) with some of the local PD.
My apologies. I didn't even think of selling at a pawn shop. I did not know any even did consignment sales.
Tangent Alert:
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Wow, that was a close one, I'm not sure I would have handled it as well.
Although I've driven in European city traffic with classified material and a loaded M-16 during a terrorist scare I have no good stories to tell of it, very fortunately.
That sounds like a story all in and of itself. Seriously though some years back I ran a fishing club, and among our members were some Army guys who did intelligence work in the UK. I have heard a story or two. We do not have a large regular army contingent here, but some of the special forces and intelligence guys do advanced jump training at YPG. Its also the home training area for the Golden Knights exhibition team. I had a training officer call me once to say he would not make a tournament because one of his guys had a bad landing and he was going to be up all night.
As a sort of side note to that I have to drive across the drop zone at YPG to get to one of my favorite places to launch my boat. There are a few crosses sprinkled across the drop zone from people who did not make a good landing. Those scare me more than the jump would. "Yes ma'mm. Your husband survived the jump but died of complications from the timber cross up his bunghole."
That sounds like a story all in and of itself. Seriously though some years back I ran a fishing club, and among our members were some Army guys who did intelligence work in the UK. I have heard a story or two. We do not have a large regular army contingent here, but some of the special forces and intelligence guys do advanced jump training at YPG. Its also the home training area for the Golden Knights exhibition team. I had a training officer call me once to say he would not make a tournament because one of his guys had a bad landing and he was going to be up all night.
As a sort of side note to that I have to drive across the drop zone at YPG to get to one of my favorite places to launch my boat. There are a few crosses sprinkled across the drop zone from people who did not make a good landing. Those scare me more than the jump would. "Yes ma'mm. Your husband survived the jump but died of complications from the timber cross up his bunghole."
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Hah!
When I was young I read that a combat jump landing was like falling from 18 feet, so I had to try that from roofs. My knees and feet never fully healed.
Lufbery and his comrades 'Whiskey' and 'Soda':
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