saw this on 24hr

https://www.gunsinternational....cfm?gun_id=102688301

I guess in one hand it’s priceless, on the other hand the market of people this interests don’t exactly have that kind of cash laying around, nor does it’s provenance aid it’s purchaser from a business perspective outside of the value the equipment can provide. I can’t see Jerry’s clients wanting a “Fisher” style rifle built by so-and-so on his equipment. They wanted a Fisher rifle because Jerry made it. Not sure what to make of that, momma tried.

I think it's a fair enough deal and I wish all concerned well for the future.

Reality is, IF the purchaser has the skills but no equivalent setup: all that is required is to make either side of 20 fine custom stocks and the money spent on the purchase is earned back. For only that much work, they/he/she can own Jerry Fishers machinery and tooling. Probably no need to look for the blanks to do so, given the number that are included.

WAY harder to compile that hoard from scratch, and doing so would soak up WAY more time and effort than making the money back. Time spent finding/rebuilding/making what is in Jerry's shop would be substantial to say the least. Even if someone building up an equivalent setup values the time spent doing so as SFA, I reckon hindsight down the track would prove: coulda/woulda/shoulda purchased that gear and been in a better business situation.

Strikes me as a bargain, but maybe I am just depressed after buying a few groceries.

Everything is included in this sale less the building and of course the entire contents must be moved to a different location.

Worth only what the used equipment is worth on the open market.

Minus the cost of moving.

Home made specialty tooling is almost worthless on the market.

Machine tooling is machine tooling the guy that used it means nothing in pricing.

Now if he was selling it as a turn key operation. He would get a better price.

quote:

Originally posted by squeezenhope:
Strikes me as a bargain, but maybe I am just depressed after buying a few groceries.

Me too....

yea, tell me about it. I need to go pick up a radial saw (for free I hope) this week. hope it fits in the Highlander.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
Everything is included in this sale less the building and of course the entire contents must be moved to a different location.

Worth only what the used equipment is worth on the open market.

Minus the cost of moving.

Home made specialty tooling is almost worthless on the market.

Machine tooling is machine tooling the guy that used it means nothing in pricing.

Now if he was selling it as a turn key operation. He would get a better price.

I see it as a bargain, but a hard sell. Who currently has little to no machinery and tooling, has the skills for the trade, and has the spare $180k? I'd love to buy the Hoenig but that's pretty much it. I suspect she will eventually have to sell the items individually and will likely get all, if not more than what she's asking for now. I do wish her the best of luck with the sale.

I brought out a small one man machine shop.

But then I decided I didn't want to run a shop.

I made money selling off the pieces. Not a lot.

But I brought it right and did not have far to move it.

Part of the profit was keeping a small lathe I wanted.

The mill and other machine tools sold but it took awhile.

Unless the tooling was new in the package it was sold by the hand full for pennies. The new in the package stuff went for 25 percent of retail.

Hand tools are worth very little, cents on the dollar.

The custom made stuff was scraped or almost given away.

Well...a situaion that has no easy answers, To a professional machine shop...Compleetely worthless!

New guy with talent? (And $180K) would have to be brain dead to invest in old worn manual machines.

Leaves hobbyist! Can't you just hear the haggling?

Don't mean to be pessimistic, just reealistic

But..in my opinion, this is the bailiwick of an auctioneer or liquidator...gotta move on!

Leave it intact, create a museum out of it, and charge admission. Tons of touristas in Big Fork MT.
That's about all that can be done with it really.

quote:

Originally posted by Bitterroot:
Leave it intact, create a museum out of it, and charge admission. Tons of touristas in Big Fork MT.
That's about all that can be done with it really.

Better yet make in a non-profit museum no property taxes lots of ways not to pay any taxes

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
Well...a situaion that has no easy answers, To a professional machine shop...Compleetely worthless!

New guy with talent? (And $180K) would have to be brain dead to invest in old worn manual machines.

Leaves hobbyist! Can't you just hear the haggling?

Don't mean to be pessimistic, just reealistic

But..in my opinion, this is the bailiwick of an auctioneer or liquidator...gotta move on!

Been thru this with my families law practice. Several thousand law books, desks, machines, client base, files, files and files. Sold the office for a pittance. All books, files, furniture, pictures, 50 years of file went in a landfill...

Ufortunately, old stuff is not a value any more, even with a "name" like Jerry's on it.

Martin Hagn is a perfect example....

Buying Picasso's paint brushes does not make a wise investment. Buying a Picasso painting does..

It would be more work, but maybe in this case selling it piece meal would bring more $ for the family. I know I am not going to pay $200,000 for the whole shooting match, but I would sure pay some premium over fair market value to have a few tools or fixture or chisel or other artifact that came out of his shop. Maybe a way for more people to enjoy having something. But like I say, would be a bunch more work for the family.

John

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:

Buying Picasso's paint brushes does not make a wise investment. Buying a Picasso painting does..

Funny - I just happened to view a house listing today that had a "strong association with someone Hemingway knew." Hemingway never lived there, or even visited, but the guy was a friend of his...so...$$$$!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Bitterroot:
Leave it intact, create a museum out of it, and charge admission. Tons of touristas in Big Fork MT.
That's about all that can be done with it really.

I don't think the "tons of touristas" in Big Fork would have much interest.

Admission? In your dreams.

Celeste needs to get the stuff out of there anyway

You really feel his loss when you see and realize that he was the genius behind all of this equipment and the great rifles he used it to produce.

I have a friend that has a hobby workshop for cars, woodworking, metal working, machining, 3D printing, welding, etc that equals the best of all the categories (unfortunately, little in gunsmithing, but a really good CNC vertical mill for pistol work; but he might have bought a nice lathe recently).

He brought his sons up using all the gear and they still do actively - so that's his plan - hand-off!

Been going to public auctions since I was 11. Bought and (mostly) sold tens of thousands worth of items at local on-site auctions. For decades price did quite well. Times have sure changed, especially for used items. Seems like the person who came up with the assessment was shooting for the moon on value. Transportation costs are not cheap for heavy items like bulky machine tools, etc. Plus, any money spent on unused tools is nearly wasted. Re-sale for a few items at a time is time consuming and mailing and shipping costs went through the roof in the last 5 years. Slap $50,000 cash (generous) on the table and see what happens. If you feel it is worth less, offer less. Hope they have a fork lift to help load the moving van. 180K is going to scare most everyone away
Good luck to the Mrs.
CB

If you were going to spend $180k on a business, this would not be the business to buy.

If you were to spend $180k on tools and machinery, this would not be what you'd want to buy.

I was visiting Brux barrels awhile ago (couple years) and the guys were telling me of a retired professor that had collected Harry Pope’s barrel making equipment and then built a replica of everything. He was trying to find a buyer for the works and even had a fancy multi page magazine/flyer printed to show it. I believe Norman Brux and Ken both visited the ‘Shop/Museum’ and were really impressed with the quality of the work and equipment…as far as I know he never found a buyer.