Dilemma - House sold - What to do next?


Janello

Recommended Posts

It's now a reality. I'm through attorney review and home inspection and I have a closing date of September 14th. This doesn't give me much time to make the dreaded decision. 

I can't bring them with me now, even if I wanted to.  I'll be a renter for about 6 months while we wait for the new house to be built, and I can't afford the limited space in the new home for a shop. This brings me to two options

Option 1 - Drop a connex storage trailer on my work property (boss man said okay) and store them for possibly a year until he moves the fabrication shop out of my building, at which point I can bring them in the building at work and use them again. The storage unit will not be temp controlled and I am a bit worried in a year from now, I will find rust all over the cast iron and just wish I sold the stuff.

Option 2 - Sell it all. I'm really leaning toward this if I can find a buyer that wants most of it. I don't want to part things out piece by piece, since that would take a long time.

 

On one hand, I can really use the money (buying boat) and on the other It would be nice if I can one day set everything back up. Meantime, I do have some really nice hard wood that will definitely be liquidated, and I want to offer it at a discount to anyone willing to show up in Bridgewater NJ with a trailer before September.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Used market is typically 50% of new(sometimes substantially less). So while the money may be nice right now, if you ever want to do this again, you will lose a lot of money selling your tools now. If you are done with woodworking that is a different animal all together.

Additionally I think you will find that most people do not want to buy an entire shop of used tools. They probably don't have all the money that would cost. Most people in the used market are looking for specific tools, so you will almost certainly need to piece it out. 

Regarding the storage option. My shop was in a barn in Maryland for about 6 years. I was using it during the warmer months but I am familiar with non climate controlled storage. If you can get access to the machined surfaces while it's stored you don't have to do much more than reapply some paste was once every few months. If not I would put a thick coat of paste was on (I mean really rub in a THICK coat) then put some cling film on top and press that into the wax so it provides an air proof seal.  That will hold you fine for at least a year so long as it's not repeatedly and directly exposed to rain water.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Aj3 said:

I think it depends on what machines you have.And the real value to you and Cl.

I was in your spot there would be 2 machines that I would not sell no mater what.My bandsaw and jointer because they work perfect.

Good luck

Maybe ... sell the things that you'd like to upgrade and store the rest?

The rest ... wax it down good and invest in silica.

Wait ... you're not building the boat?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was in a similar position. Well, without the ability to store my stuff... 

I wanted to upgrade my tools, so I decided to sell them. I was fortunate that a friend was over because he bought my pool table... he said, I should buy your entire shop. I laughed, and he started pulling out money. We agreed on a price that was fair for both of us, and I helped him load it the next day. I sold everything except my hand tools, drum sander and Festool. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been down this road before...thinking I was "done" with a hobby and selling everything and putting it in the history books...only to return to it later in life and kicking myself for letting go of what I had.  Interests are cyclical.  And I guarantee since you were clearly bitten hard by the woodworking bug, you'll eventually circle back to it sometime down the road.  Once your new home is built and you have your boat, you're gonna find yourself in need of a project and itching to build again.  How do you envision spending your golden years?  I'll be building in my shop, gardening, canoeing and fishing, tending to my property.  But mostly building.  Your dream may be different...but I can't imagine why. :)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm going through this in the next few months.  I'm gonna store everything until I'm in the new house.  I love my tools, and it took me a lot of time and effort to get where I am.  I expect I could buy them all again if I sold them, but I don't want to count on that and find out my money aint right.

Keep your stuff.

 

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting comments so far and I appreciate the advise. I'm not usually so indecisive making decisions, but this one has been tough and I will let everything soak in. Brains been in over load with everything going on. I haven't been a renter in 30 years and it's scary being homeless LOL.

The Boat... I am really looking forwad to owning. I've never had a boat in my life...not even a conoe. My first will be a brand new Cobia 26' Foot Center Console !

For those interested, pop on google earth and type in 8 bay breeze dr. Toms River NJ. The empty lot on the dead end will be my slice of heaven. The lagoon and beach to the NE is where my boat will be.

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Im looking at a move in the next 12 months, and im in the "sell, then upgrade" camp. Give us a list of tools, and did you buy them new? Nearly everything i have is used, and i have no problem selling some/most of it to buy something else at the new place. Moving my shop is about the last thing i want to do. Even worse in your situation, you are moving to a temp storage area and then moving it again from there to your house. That sounds horrible. I will probably sell my 12" jointer, just because i dont want the hassle of moving that machine...ever. Doing it once was shitty enough. Definitely do not move lumber, that sounds senseless. Ive sold a few thousand bdft of lumber on CL, and it isnt hard to move it at a decent price. You dont need to price everything at a buck a board foot to sell it. Personally, i see myself keeping the unisaw i restored, keeping the PM209 hh i bought new(would suck to take a 25-40% depreciation hit on a 1-2 year old tool), keep the cyclone, and keep the laguna bandsaw. Every other stationary tool can hit the market.

 

Tough one, but im interested in the discussion. It will eventually impact me, and it is worth taking the time to properly think it through. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Janello said:

Interesting comments so far and I appreciate the advise. I'm not usually so indecisive making decisions, but this one has been tough and I will let everything soak in. Brains been in over load with everything going on. I haven't been a renter in 30 years and it's scary being homeless LOL.

The Boat... I am really looking forwad to owning. I've never had a boat in my life...not even a conoe. My first will be a brand new Cobia 26' Foot Center Console !

For those interested, pop on google earth and type in 8 bay breeze dr. Toms River NJ. The empty lot on the dead end will be my slice of heaven. The lagoon and beach to the NE is where my boat will be.

 

 

Awesome.  Cobia 26 is a beautiful boat and perfect size.  I'm envious of your new setup, even if there's no room for tools :)

Buy this, if you don't have it already:

https://www.amazon.com/Chapman-Piloting-Seamanship-67th/dp/1588169618/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501685653&sr=8-1&keywords=chapman+piloting+and+seamanship

The bible of boating.  Every boater has (or should have) it.  I refer to my copy constantly.  It will help you avoid a lot of embarrassing rookie mistakes.  Pop it in your bathroom - it's great throne reading.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 years ago I moved to my retirement property.  I bought a 8'x20' shipping container to store my wood and tools.  With a little organization I was able to fit everything.  At the time I had a choice of renting the container or buying.  Rent was $80.00/month, buying was $2000.00.  I stored for 2yrs, and once my shop was built sold the container for $1500.00.  I did not prep the tools in anyway, and they came out with no rust or being any the worse from storage.  The container had side vents so the air circulated just fine.  That said, I spent my wayward youth on boats in Alaska, and I would be really tempted.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This being the internet I am going to go ahead and throw my completely unsolicited (possibly unwelcome) advice. 

Between my father and I we have owned 4 power boats over the years. Our current boat is a 25' Parker with a pilot house. Every boat we purchased after the first one was used, and frankly we would never consider buying a new boat ever again. Since banks have gotten into giving out decent loans, the price of boats has absolutely skyrocketed. If you are seriously considering buying a 100k plus boat, consider instead buying a 10 or 15 year old used boat for 20-35k, and building a shop on your property for an additional 20k or so. You will still be ahead and while it's very tempting to buy new with boats it's probably the least practical major purchase you will be making for a new item. You can hire a professional mechanic to look over any potential boat you would buy, rebuild the motors, rewire the whole thing if you wanted and still not approach half the cost of a new boat.

Sorry if this post is just a distraction, but I have more experience with boats then woodworking so thought I would throw it out there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Eric. said:

Don't be a dumbass.  Keep your tools.  You'll hate yourself eventually if you sell them...and you know this.

You forgot to also say "don't buy a boat". I've known too many boat owners to go down that road.  I want to spend my time in the shop :D

Seriously though, I am not aware of what tools you have or your feelings toward them.  If I had been doing this a few years and was still running a contractor saw and a benchtop jointer and planer I would probably sell them.  If I had hand tools of any quality, you would have to take them from the guy who killed me to get them away from me.

If you have decent quality large machines they are probably of a better quality than the replacements you will buy a couple years from now.  As to the expense, preparation for storage, care and feeding while in storage and the resulting condition when removed from storage, only you can do the math on that.  Can you "loan" them to another woodworker while waiting on the new digs?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have several contradictory feelings on this.

Tools similar to the ones you have now will certainly be available if you want to reequip at a later date.

I would never get rid of certain tools even if I was positive I never wanted to build furniture again. Some tools have sentimental value, and some are just too nice to part with. I mean...who doesn't want a set of Lie Nielsen chisels in their boat for those times when you can't find the bottle opener?

I don't think I would be able to get 50% (or better) of the value of my tools if I sold them. Who the hell is going to pay $6 for my bench cookies when I can't even find a use for them?

I have slacked off on hobbies, kept the gear, and never used it again. My dusty skis are almost museum pieces, yet they are still taking up space in the gear room.

On the other hand, I've slacked off on hobbies and have later taken them up with a renewed interest which could be said to border on obsession.

You're obviously a gifted woodworker. It would be a shame to hang it up. People have owned boats and had a workshop in the garage at the same time. In fact, it's almost a necessity.:)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I could understand selling the big stationary tools and storing the rest. The time and effort to acquire them again in the future  wouldn't be worth the meager funds you would get from selling them. 

A boat is a .... lined hole in the water into which you pour money. The best days in a boat owners life are the day you bought it and the day you sell it . My family has had boats all my life, fortunately I could only afford tools or a boat and chose to earn a living. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure I understand all the boat hate.  Yes they're expensive and a total pain in the ass...but so is woodworking.  If that's what John wants to do I can totally dig it.  I love boating.  I just don't get why it has to be an either/or situation..."I'm buying a boat so I'm gonna sell my tools" just doesn't make sense to me.  It's like saying I want a sandwich so I'm gonna pawn my stereo.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know your true passions in life, or your level of wealth. If I were presented with the options you posted here, I would forget the boat, sell the tools, and save for a nicer setup when the house is done. Assuming the house is not yet built, plan for shop space now.

 

Boats and workshops are both time sucks and money pits. Unless I was indepentdantly wealthy, I would not try to do both.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Who's Online   3 Members, 0 Anonymous, 43 Guests (See full list)

  • Forum Statistics

    31.2k
    Total Topics
    422.1k
    Total Posts
  • Member Statistics

    23,777
    Total Members
    3,644
    Most Online
    dave07
    Newest Member
    dave07
    Joined