Pugh auction this Saturday

[RogerS]

The catalogue is now out on their website http://www.hjpugh.com. Lot of wood..bit unsure if it's green or seasoned. Quite a few tools including a Kity spindle moulder and Jet 12" planer thicknesser.

Now all we need is for the snow to go.

Who's going. If the weather stays bad then prices could be keen.

 

[Charlotte]

I'm banking on the weather being bad so that the prices are keen!

 

[bobscarle]

I would like to go, but the weather needs to improve a little first. Could be some bargains if the crowd is a little thin.

 

[slimshady]

I have slipped occasionally on the slope (with the expected snow I'm putting on crampons) whilst attending this venue.
Nothing too major, just a couple of planes + oil stones + a couple of pieces of timber that I could "butcher" in the name of art.
I too, is very hopeful of icebergs :twisted: on the roads in the hope that the timber is more receptive to my limited means.
I'll be the one who tuts loudly when I get to my limit and blame it all on global warming. Well it can't be anythiing else.

Slimshady

 

[Jaybee24]

Anyone ever made a sleigh?

If Yes then post the plans and we can all go.

 

[Charlotte]

Whoever it was I met there today and let me get those cramps, sorry I didn't get to say goodbye but I owe you a pint sometime! Good luck with those saws!

 

[RogerS]

A thin turn out but in retrospect that meant that those who went were keen to buy and so I think that prices maintained themselves well. There was a beautiful large slab of 25 year air dried elm that would have made a great table top and went for £180 IIRC. If I had the spare cash I'd have been bidding.

In hindsight I wonder exactly why people buy at these auctions especially if the stuff is green (as everything was that I tested). Do people have the luxury of being able to work to a three/four year timescale? Take a punt that that bit of wood might be useful sometime in 2014?

In my case the answer is partly yes and partly no. I need some long elm to make a door surround and architrave. Two options ...buy some floorboard ..I can just imagine the comments...you only want how much? two boards?...or buy green and rely on the fixings to keep it in place. So I bought a slab of green elm and lost my nerve and got carried away with the price. Hardly a bargain. I fancied a bit of walnut and so bought a couple of pieces for £20 for stock. Watch this space in 2013.

It also pays to check first by phone and clarify some items if travelling a long way.

Who'd have thought that a Jet thicknesser planer 12" would actually turn out to be only a bench top thicknesser?

Or that an Axminster 24" sander would turn out to be one of these

 

[big soft moose]

On the rare occasions that i buy from these auctions I tend to buy green wood for turning - and then part turn it into platters/ bowls etc , let it move, and then finish the turning - the process shortens the seasoning to 6 months to a year ands also has the advantage that the bulk removal while green creates hardly any dust.

 

[squib]

Hi Charlotte, good luck with the cramps and that huge holdfast!!..it was great to meet you and more to the point good luck with your cupboards.
PS...i spent far too much and haven't even looked in the boot yet as the bits i bought all came in boxes of other stuff...........apart from the nearly new axminster router for £25.....is that a gloat ?
Jasp.

 

[slemishwoodcrafts]

Hi,

out of interest what did the sander end up going for?

Regards,

Michael

 

[RogerS]

I don't know. I left long before the end. The results will appear on the website soon.

 

[squib]

i think the sander went for £300, but not totally sure as i was loading.

 

[Anonymous]

I got fed up with these auctions a while ago. I'd sit there for ages waiting for the few bits I was interested in to come up. Then they'd go for loads more than I was willing to pay.

The other reason I get fed up was because I felt I could use the time better in the workshop making things. I completely forgot about the auction this morning but I spent the time working on my second window frame for the workshop.

That's not to say I haven't bought stuff from these auctions. I stocked up on timber the first couple of times I went. Most of it has split to some extent or other but I still make good use of it.

Dave

 

[jimi43]

I went to one in Maidstone ONCE...that was all for me I am afraid.

Load of old tat that they ramped up to be "industrial machinery"...stuff from B&Q and a MIG welder....which I too waited around ages to try to bid and in the end it went for more than a new one!

I suppose it depends on the auction and I simply love the atmosphere and excitement but I was put off by that one...I think I will stick to bootfairs!

Jim

 

[Smudger]

It's different if you can bid by letter or email, as you can with Tony Murland.
Just decide what you are prepared to pay and put it in as your max.
A mate of mine does that a lot, never spends more than he wants, and gets some nice surprises.

 

[LocalOak]

I went this morning but arrived too late for the bits of wood I was after and then decided it wasn't worth waiting for the cramps I need. Glad you got them Charlotte.

There were a few planes that I liked the look of, a Stanley jointer and a box of wooden planes including a nice big jointer. I also had a brief think about the Axi router, well done for that Squib and I'll rest happy that you got a bargain...

And I'm going to guess I might have met Charlotte and Squib. Squib, I had my 19 month daughter with me who was prodding around the tools a bit and we had a brief chat about there being nothing sharp enough to do any damage. You were with someone who I just sort of feel might have been Charlotte. Am I right or am I barking up the wrong tree?

And as far as buying wood there, I still have some decent chunks of very very cheap Yew and Maple bought there two years ago, now bone dry and waiting for inspiration. I was after some contrasting dark wood, walnut or mahogany or something, but not a huge amount and 6'x12"x3" boards are just too big for me and my little workshop. There were a couple of lots I would have bid on had I arrived earlier.

Anyway, I decided not to hang around as it was really wood I was after so we had a really nice lunch in a cafe and came home without bending any plastic too far, so that is probably a result of sorts. Though it does mean I still have to decide what big cramps to buy.

Next time a bit more planning and a bit less "oh what the hell, lets all go".

Toby

 

[Charlotte]

Umm, not sure it was - I was the 6' one with purple hair, black glasses and a green/pink snowboard jacket getting outbid by £2 on everything. did well on the cramps though

 

[jimi43]

Do you know of any such online auctions Dick?

I searched in vain for one..that would be my ideal solution...I bet you can get some serious bargains.

Also...you know they have these fairs...where they sell old tools and machinery....they seem to be few and far between lately....I would love to go to one of those and browse.

Jim

 

[Smudger]

It's not on-line - it's the Needham Market auction (I think there are two a year). You can certainly get a printed catalogue (at a cost) which is a fascinating document by itself - it isn't often you see a seventeenth century executioner's axe for sale - and you can bid by post or (I think) by email, and you don't have to go. After the auction they get in touch and tell what, if anything, you have won.

The lots for the last auction are online here, but the website doesn't have any details of the 2010 auctions yet.

My pal who has been several times tells me that there are many 'mixed lots' which are worth a punt, but that you tend to end up with a lot of block planes (I know, he gave me one), and the sellers in the car park can have some interesting stuff at good prices.

I've never been, so someone who has might like to chip in and tell us more.

Tony Murland's website

 

[LocalOak]

Umm, not sure it was - I was the 6' one with purple hair, black glasses and a green/pink snowboard jacket getting outbid by £2 on everything. did well on the cramps though

Charlotte, I know exactly who you are, well at least I recognise your description of yourself. My only distinguishing feature was the small, voluble and unutterably cute (yes I'm biased) little bundle who called "daddy" loudly across the room from time to time.

I had my eye on those cramps but as I didn't get them am delighted you did. [edit] Sorry, got confused with another posting, too much home made ginger wine, 60p a bottle and lethal...[/edit]

Toby