am I going to regret this?

sandman2234

Ihave been saving and talking to the wife about another gun. Kind of wanted another class III, so I have to save hard, and talk fast.
Got the OK from her, and was looking, when an older Friend calls me with a "deal". Seems He is going to have to have knee surgury on both his knees, and won't be using His Bridgeport milling machine or his Southbend lathe anymore.(He is 77 years young). Saw, drill press and all his tooling for what seems to be a good price.
Biggest problem is I am a truckdriver and am not home enough to really enjoy the full use of it. Should I just pass and go buy the machinegun, or do the "toolman taylor thing" and buy the mill?

Have Gun, will travel

4wheeler

Do you have any use for the machinery? Do you know how to use it safely? If no to these questions then buy the gun. If machinery is priced right,buy machinery,resell and then buy the gun. Just my 2 cents worth.

"It was like that when I got here".

magnumcreekranch

Buy the machinery, the class III will always be there.

NRA Life MemberHill Country ShooterBobbyLIVE TO SHOOT & SHOOT TO LIVE.

Iconoclast

Given our "friends" in Congress, I don't know that "the class III will always be there" but if it is truly a "deal" this implies the selling price is less than market value? So at worst you could do as 4wheeler suggested and increase the money you have available for a new weapon. The one caution I would have on that approach: how will your friend react if he "gives a deal" and you use it to make some bucks which, possibly, he could have made by selling at market to someone who was not a friend? Will he be hurt / angry?

sandman2234

Ah yes, the Friendship thing. Don't know if it would bother him, but it might, a chance I am not willing to take. If I buy the mill and the lathe, and all the other stuff, I will set it up in my garage and either use it, or wish I had time to use it. I lost a good friend a few years back over the purchase price of a horizontal mill he had been looking for, so I don't want to chance that. Good friends really are more valueable than a piece of equipment or money.
As far as the class III goes, I will have to start over saving the money to buy one, and the way it's going, it will take longer this time.We are trying to get completely out of debt, and that is eating most of our surplus cash.


Have Gun, will travel

sandman2234

And in reply to being able to use them safely, I guess a "yes" is in line. I have a Fray, all position milling machine now, which will do more than the bridgeport, but is limited by my not having enough tooling to fit it. The bridgeport has massive amounts of tooling with it, some of which can be used on the Fray.
Wife doesn't understand why I need two of them...kind of like guns, different calibers, etc.

Have Gun, will travel

Pelican

Yo Sandman, get the machinery and build yer own

The Almighty Himself Entrusted the Future of All Living Creatures to a Wooden Boat.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -"Audemus jura nostra defendere"

dheffley

Sandman,

If you decide to pass on the mill and lathe, let me know. I worked my way through school as a tool and die maker. I still have all of my tools, just need some new machines. dheffley@gte.net

Thanks

Save, research, then buy the best.Join the NRA, NOW!Teach them young, teach them safe, teach them forever, but most of all, teach them to VOTE!

beachmaster73

Sandman...I'd say get the machinery and just get a semi-auto and pull the trigger real fast....same effect. But the machinery will give you countless hours of fun when you decide not to go roving in your truck anymore. Beach

Alpine

You can never, never have to many machine tools. I consider the bare bones minimum to be two verticale mills (with digital readouts and servo drives), one horizontal mill, two lathes (one with digital readout), Mig & Tig welders, overhead crane, two shop compressors, and seventy ton press.
That is just bare bones stuff.

Edited by - Alpine on 05/07/2002 21:27:54

sandman2234

Well, they won't let me build the kind of class III that I want
to invest in (mg's), so I won't be doing that. Silencers and AOW's
might be a posibility.
Hey Alpine, I like your way of thinking. I was told by my welding
instructor that he could teach a monkey to run a mig gun, so i went with the Tig setup. Not sure why I need that big a crane, but I guess you can't ever have too much, right? My other mill is a Fray, all position machine. Kind of neat, as it has about 30" of travel on the head, to allow for angle cuts (head will actually travel, like the table does, but on an axis)
Pretty much made up my mind, just waiting to meet with him about what all he is going to let go with it.
Semi auto, with a fast finger doesn't produce the same effect. The effect i am talking about is as an investment. Semi's have not gone up in value as fast as the full auto items. But I am investing in semi's just to be sure, and spread my investment around...to be sure i don't miss any chances of good return on my money.

Have Gun, will travel

beantole

Sandman: I had a machine gun at one time and it was great fun......but this guy's friendship is more important and more fun and he may be offended if you choose a machine gun over his milling equipment. I say buy the guy's equipment. He may be gone soon and I think you'd regret not buying his equipment.

Bruce