mel jacobson on sun 30 apr 06
this is a constant topic here on clayart.
been going on forever.
remember:
the price of a good new wheel from axner is
now about 500 bucks...and that is a damn good
wheel. i have one, bought it, and use it.
every bit as good as the new brent...esp since
amoco bought brent.. i no longer promote the
brent. not until i find out who bennett's is owned
by.
there are many good wheels out there. thomas stuart is
powerful and reliable, if you want high end..none better than
soldner...in fact i just love the lockerbie `willie wheel`. like a
jewel. and a pacifica, made by laguna is a really good wheel, now that
the foot pedal works.
same for the bailley. great wheels. take your pick..they will
last far longer than your hands.
often we short ourselves by looking for used/junk
and forget that a new wheel is a lifetime investment.
same for a kiln. you will get many years from any
new electric kiln. change the elements from time to time
and it works like a charm.
i love old kilns, rebuild them, and love them, but it is
easy for me...have the tools and know/how. for some
it is just a big pain in the butt. and how often have we
seen and heard the saga about three phase/vs/single phase.
home electrics are always single phase. industrial/schools etc
have three phase. to convert is more expensive than most used
kilns are worth. make sure you know what you are getting.
you may be better off just buying new.
i have spent a good share of my internet life going over emails
from people who do not have a clue what they just bought.
`mel, can you give sharon and me a hand here, i am an electrical
engineer and my wife brought home this big old kiln...what the
hell can i do with it?` 20 emails later he hauls it to the land fill.
i remember when i brought home my first mc collough used chain saw.
looked clean. got a good deal...so i thought. about 200 hours of
bench time. never did work. now i fire up my stihl/brand new/011.
never fails me. works like a fine watch. can cut branches with one hand.
so...was the yellow devil a good deal. no.
was the 1966 dynakiln/L&L that i got free... i rebuilt, itc'd. new coils.
three solid switches...no computer a good deal free??...yes, of course.
it was good for me. but, maybe not a good deal for someone else.
your tools are like solid gold. you buy the best, acquire the best, use
the best...and it always pays a big dividend. well used, or used up
tools are not a good deal. quality used tools are like gold. but, you
have to know the difference. a dirty old compressor my seem like
junk..but give it to phil p. and he will have it running better than anything
you can buy on the market today. it all depends.
i am always stunned that people can spend $20,000 on a used car
and stand tall and tell everyone...`man, did i get a great deal on that
car.`
and the same person will buy a junk wheel or kiln....and whine for years
about it. funny perception.
life is full of them.
mel
have you ever, in your life, heard of a person that `did not get a good deal
on a house or a car`? or/their doctor is `world class`. what do you call
a doctor that graduated last in his class? doctor.
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://my.pclink.com/~melpots3
Ingeborg Foco on sun 30 apr 06
It always amazes me how much people want to charge for "used" equipment and
the fact that there are people willing to buy at those prices. (that's the
great thing about a free market society.)
Of course, the used equipment has hardly ever been used... right! I get
phone calls at my shop all of the time from people wanting to unload their
kilns, wheels, molds and hard clay of dubious temp and origin.
My most recent experience was a used Bailey wheel which naturally had hardly
ever been used. When an owner wanting to sell a wheel can't tell me how much
clay the wheel will center, my antennae go up. I was
actually interested as I could use another wheel since my Brent CXC is 25 +
years old and making funny sounds. I looked into my Bailey catalogue and
the wheel for sale was the lowest model,centers 50 lbs of clay . A new one
could be had for $150 more with a mfg warranty and all. Why on earth would I
want to buy this used wheel.!!!
Maybe it is just me and my skewed way of looking at things but if it is used
and in
good condition, it should be at least 50% less than the new version for me
to even show an interest.
If someone ever offers me a used wheel at a really used price, I might
actually purchase one but everyone seems to have an inflated idea of the
value of their old stuff. For that reason, I buy new. Whatever I buy, I
know the care it will get and will most likely last me a life time plus I
have the backing
of a manufacturer.
Just my 2 cents worth
Ingeborg
the Potter's Workshop & gallery
3058 Stringfellow road
P.O. Box 510
Saint James City FL 33956
239-283-2775
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