Machinery Prices

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2020

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Having read various posts on the "exorbitant" price increases of recent months, I wonder what planet do some of you guys inhabit ?
I was going through some old paperwork when I discovered an official Price List for my Inca machines. Now, Inca was a Swiss woodworking macine manufacturer now defunct, which made high quality machines mainly for the DIY market.
The 7" Table Saw cost £350.72 without motor,this cost another £183.00. Of course table extensions, stands, fences etc were extras.A quick calculation of the price if you bought the saw with all the extras and jigs was a very reasonable £1800 The planer thicknesser and bandsaw were similarly priced with motors, stands etc all extra.
Sort of reminded me of the good old days when, if you bought a car, heaters external mirrors and radios were extra.In fact some manufacturers charged extra for the passenger windscreen wiper. But the date on my Inca price list is 1983 .So let's have no more complaints about prices (Festool excepted)
 
Forum members are entitled to discuss whatever topics within reason that they choose...and if that's machinery prices, so be it. If the discussion is not to your taste, I suggest you go and find some other forum. I, for one, will discuss machinery prices on this forum...end of story - Rob
 
Come on Rob stop sitting on the fence :D :D

BTW I fully endorse your views.

Harry
 
Your argument makes no sense, the cost of the pound is different now so it means very little.
 
Good machines are expensive, they should be as the materials and work involved in manufacture and quality control is greater. Even then, some machines may be more expensive due to name and reputation over and above quality.

Cheap machines are cheap for a reason, unless they are on special offer or on sale. Sometimes a cheap manufacturer makes a mistake and produces something that is really exceptional value for money. Sadly these items are often withdrawn and replaced with rubbish fairly quickly so word needs to get out before that happens.

Also, not everyone can afford the best straight off so price and quality will need to be discussed to determine what is the least bad choice for someone with limited funds.
 
You know when you make a post on this forum, it can easily be interpretated as an aggressive post, although the person that posts it doesn't mean it to be so.
Then the person who reads it, may get upset, and answer it with reply that he would normally not do.

The mistake this guy did was to make a statement......which he probably intended as either a question, or was just making a comparison on prices from the past, and thought, gee, bet the guys on the forum would be interested to know this!'

However as the guy joined in October 08, and this is only his 3rd post.............???????????????????????????
Makes you wonder why he is a member, and made such a strange rammble about prices.



Mike
 
dicktimber":2m2a99ev said:
You know when you make a post on this forum, it can easily be interpretated as an aggressive post, although the person that posts it doesn't mean it to be so.
Then the person who reads it, may get upset, and answer it with reply that he would normally not do.

The mistake this guy did was to make a statement......which he probably intended as either a question, or was just making a comparison on prices from the past, and thought, gee, bet the guys on the forum would be interested to know this!'

However as the guy joined in October 08, and this is only his 3rd post.............???????????????????????????
Makes you wonder why he is a member, and made such a strange rammble about prices.



Mike

Thanks Mike,

I was only trying to make the point that machinery prices are more reasonable now than when I first bought ...25yrs ago.

Sorry if I got up everyones nose. I will attempt to write more clearly with less of a ramble. Gimme another chance.
 
2020":gbekilod said:
dicktimber":gbekilod said:
You know when you make a post on this forum, it can easily be interpretated as an aggressive post, although the person that posts it doesn't mean it to be so.
Then the person who reads it, may get upset, and answer it with reply that he would normally not do.

The mistake this guy did was to make a statement......which he probably intended as either a question, or was just making a comparison on prices from the past, and thought, gee, bet the guys on the forum would be interested to know this!'

However as the guy joined in October 08, and this is only his 3rd post.............???????????????????????????
Makes you wonder why he is a member, and made such a strange rammble about prices.



Mike

Thanks Mike,

I was only trying to make the point that machinery prices are more reasonable now than when I first bought ...25yrs ago.

Sorry if I got up everyones nose. I will attempt to write more clearly with less of a ramble. Gimme another chance.

Tha fact that you took the trouble to reply and explain, is goodenough for me, Mike.

Rich.
 
Thanks for the "blast from the past" 2020, i never knew
that machines came without motors etc. :wink:
 
I think that 2020's point is valid.

In real terms, middle of the road woodworking machinery is far cheaper today than it was 25 years ago.

There again, in real terms pretty well everything is cheaper than it was 25 years ago due mainly to the arrival of far eastern imports on a collossal scale.

The professional end of the market is still dominated by European manufacturers however, and prices remain high.

Which is why every pro I know buys second-hand cast iron. Hardly anything in my shop is less than 25 years old!

Cheers
Brad
 
I don't buy much in the way of new machines unless it is hand held electric machines. To me the prices are out of wack with new equipment. £2800 for a reasonable table saw? I mean come on...

While it is true that in the late 1700's it cost a joiner one years salary for his hand tools, i think times have changed. Here in the UK people pay about 1/3 more then people do in Canada for tools. Why? Less people here? nope. Longer supply line? nope.

I"ll tell you why. It's sheer incompetence. No one here has the vision well not all true. Look at tesco they seen the potential for something better and they did just that now they are all over the place and who is going to be able to compete with them now? No one. There isn't enough land to justify putting up another grocery store just for competition.

Same thing with tools. Tools don't need to be as expensive as they are but because there isn't a company willing to take a risk like tesco did we will pay the high prices and justify them some how. Customer service and product availability is deplorable in many sectors of industry and hobby. And we pay to have incompetent chimps serve us at a high price.
 
well I agree that prices are lower now than 40yrs ago - definitely!

I remember buying a £12 black and decker router that was absolute and utter rubbish!

the depth adjustment was a large aluminium post on which the router body slid up and down this was fixed with a screw that stuck actually into the soft aluminium post!

and £12 was over half my weeks pay back then :oops:
 
To be absolutely fair, their are some tools that just seem insanely expensive when viewed for what they are. I've seen new hand planes at several thousand pounds each, even though custom built. But I would use the Joint Genie as an example. £100 for a non-motorized dowel joint jig which isn't THAT much different in principle from a pocket-hole jig. If I'm made of money, somebody forgot to tell ME! :shock:
 
Thanks Koolwabbit for interesting statistics on wages; Mikepooley for his observation on the Black & Decker router; Aidan ... That guy kills me... ; Night Train's contribution was very relevant and Brad's point on many professionals opting to buy "old" second-hand machines was eye opening.

When I started hobby woodworking in the 70's and 80's I was on "industry average wages" and could just afford basic hand tools ;Record / Stanley / Marples / Black & Decker. Inca machinery was collected over the years. All the tools were unaffordable.

I gave up woodworking for 10yrs due to an illness and have recently recovered (my health and my interest in wood)

For the last 12 months I have acquired a Record Bandsaw ,Record Tablesaw. Triton Router and Hitachi Drills and Drivers etc I was like a kid in a sweet-shop.

Without exception these have been vastly superior to my previous machines both in accuracy and more importantly in affordability. I am still on "average industrial wages" .

This is not a gloat, I know there are many people struggling due to the recession and I feel for them.
 
Some weeks ago I picked a bunch of woody mags from the early 70s, to the late 90s, and three things struck me immediately.
In the very early ones the projects tended to be much more DIY style rather than cabinetry for example.
Secondly the prices of machinery were, in the context of earnings at that time, considerably more expensive than today.
Thirdly the machines for the hobbyist were much more basic than those available now.
Oh, and Devon Woody was in one of them!

Roy.
 
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