Fred Dibnah auction

May be of some interest, although most of the small stuff could be found at any auto jumble . Colin

https://www.i-bidder.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/adampartridge/catalogue-id-adam-p10145?archivesearch=False&page=1

I saw this yesterday, kind of mixed feelings about it.

I'd like to think that the stuff, if it must be sold off, will end up being used and not just sat on a coffee table.

Still think it's a bit sad to split up...

Jim

It's always sad to see an old boy's pride and joy up for sale.

I cleared my old Dad's workshop and he did his Dad's before him - and despite my best efforts I had to get rid of quite a lot of old junk that was coming in for that rainy day and there looks to be a fair bit of Fred's there too.

...but it makes the contents of my workshop seem quite modest - I clearly need some more stuff!

Jon

There's a fair bit there that will never find a buyer, but hopefully some will go to a good home.

How on earth do auctioneers decide how to make up the lots?

Various miscellaneous items to include a large nut and bolt, length approx. 18"

A brass standard lamp, a wheelchair, a 110V cable and an oil filled radiator etc.

An angle poise lamp, inscribed 'Made in England', and a pair of welding goggles (2)

A length of rope.

A plumb line inscribed 'Fred's spirit level'.

Neil

Lot 335, the mine headgear already has a bid on it. Now that would worry the neighbours if you erected it in the back garden..........

You could bid on the Beam engine, lot 325, on the pretence that you needed an original to scale it down accurately? Colin

The auctioneers rarely seem to know what they are looking at. "Lot 342 - A cast iron steam boiler...." I rather suspect not. I see all the machine tools are descried as "Victorian".

Often, stuff ends up getting split amongst different lots. I once saw a small CNC mill that had been dismantled - the knee and table ended up being sold to different buyer to the rest of the machine and controller, thus rendering it little more than a pile of bits. I'd pointed it out to the auctioneer staff but they couldn't give a toss and it sold anyway. Often it's just a way of shifting a load of old crap.

Murray

Auctioneers typically don't move things around, they auction them in place, grouping adjacent items into lots. When my employer's receivers gave me the task of assisting with an auction I was told not to try and sort like with like, any added value wasn't worth the time. If a machine had a nameplate that became its description, otherwise it was just "machine" or "press tooling". As far as tooling was concerned, if it was on the machine it was sold with it, if not it went in a separate lot, frequently with the cabinet on which it was standing.

Brian

IMHO Unless you are a Fred enthusiast why would you want to pay prices that are mostly high to start with then inflated by a 13% auction fee + VAT. Probably a long trip to collect/dismantle as well. The best bits have long gone. Photos of the items are also rubbish, too dark to see any detail.

I think a better idea would be to donate all of this stuff to places such as The Black Country Museum and similar places so they can be put it to use or preserved as Fred wanted in the 1st place.

regards

I'm not at all convinced these reamers would give a very accurate sizing to the holes, but they are all shorter than 8"

I'd suggest that the auction valuers aren't engineers, which might help answer Neil's comments regarding the make up of lots.

Bill

They're not, are they?! 'Plyers, Drill Harbours...'

John.

I once saw a machine being offered for sale here described as "A drum and lade" !!

The size of the drum,or type ie base or side drum was not given.

Makes you wonder !

colin wilkinson:

Thanks for the link - my enjoyment was increased once I realised you can click twice on the rather murky photos to get a larger image.

Unusual configuration for a beam engine...

My guess is the clothes were withdrawn as a hazard to public health

Neil

I think that many of those lots will be left unsold, the minimum bid price plus commission and vat will even deter the scrap boys from buying.
As others have said the Auctioneers have little or no knowledge of engineering items, I'm wondering what type the 14 meters are on the RSJ.

Emgee

What it shows is that Fred was capable of making things that worked without worrying about his chuck being 0.002" out of alignment, the lathe bed twisted a bit or a bit of surface rust on his reamers etc. This forum has umpteen worries about accuracy when time could be better spent on making something and using operator skill instead. Its a personal opinion of course !!
BobH

The value of all these items is really the story they tell of a life. As soon as you split the whole lot up and remove them from their context the meaning is lost and you are left with just the intrinsic price. I guess there is some pull in owning something that Fred once had but apart from that it's mostly junk. Most of what Fred had was factory chuck-outs in the first place, I don't think he was notable for paying for stuff if he could help it.

regards Martin

I suspect that much of that stuff is just things that came Fred's way and was put in the maybe useful store. I really enjoyed Fred's TV stuff especially the earlier programs. I would rather watch a DVD than handle a spanner that Fred may never have used. A shame the project Dibnah experience failed but Fred was the star not the hardware.

Mike

A lot of that tat has nothing to do with Fred. Caveat emptor.

I see the British Engineerium site is up for sale too.

Martin

Martin,

Do you mean that pumping station in Hove?

John