philip in china Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 A thought crossed my mind the other day as I was working in the shop. Imagine something happened whereby you lost everything from your shop. How much would you have lost? Before you start counting, though, just remember that the cost of your tooling should include your time spent making it. Even if you count your labour in at minimum wage, and I like to think most of us are worth more than that, it really must be a huge figure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 What's it's worth?about $700,000. What the insurance would pay? About $123.00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillon Sculpture Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 Not much $ but a lot of potential :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWHII Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 I was asked this by my insurance agent. I was dumb founded to come up with a anwser. He came by to look and said to video all of it. Open all the drawers, boxes, and show everything and if anything where to happen we would figure it out then and for now we would through a round number at it. I still have not done it. It would be easy to figure out all the large items but the small ones add up fast. I know I am really under insured. :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 Materials to build forges, power hammer, belt grinder, anvil, tongs, jigs, dies, etc. .................As little as possible My time to do it all...........................................................................................................Ten years and counting Personal satisfaction .......................................................................................................Priceless Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 My wife seems to think its worth about $100,000 I told her she was crazy.... Divorce you know..... My Great Grandfather and his fathers set of Pattern Makers Chisels and Layout Tool can't be replaced. So I guess my shop is priceless but then I'm the only one who feels that way.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianinsa Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 A freind of mine who had a wholly owned machine shop, had a fire. Years of soluble-oil etc. soaked in the concrete of the floor caused a mayor fire. the insurance adjustor added up the value of nuts and bolts(years of acumulation)in his stores at replacement value at trade price and told him that he was 70% underinsured!(the replacement value of new nuts,bolts bearings,motors etc.) was aprox.equal to his total sum assured)He too was a pack rat for goodies and gubins. Also he had valued his tools and equipment at his cost and not at current replacement value. The net result was they were only liable for 30% of the claim less the exsess. Unfortunately much of his equipment was financed. So now he has no shop of his own and large amount still due to the bank. We now specifically exclude incomplete goods, stores and books(replacement value is beserk) from our cover, and still I know that I am way underinsured(but what can you do?) I would just have to get my lawyers to argue that I intended to replace like for like i.e. 40year old anvil for 40year old anvil. I believe that they don't consider flea markets and pawn shops as valid vendors? Despite my contention that to me they are a major/invaluable source of tools! Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianinsa Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 My wife seems to think its worth about $100,000 I told her she was crazy.... Divorce you know..... My Great Grandfather and his fathers set of Patturn Makers Chisels and Layout Tool can't be replaced. So I guess my shop is priceless but then I'm the only one who feels that way.... When I got divorced from my first wife my lawyer(a woman) got me to video the contence of my both mine and my wife's clothes/shoes (and bags) cubdoards and drawers then she put a value to them on an item by item basis.........wow! they equaled the crazy value she had put on the contence of the garages plus my clothes........... she kept her stuff and I kept mine! Good luck Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 There is only one good way to keep your soon to be ex wife from taking your stuff in a divorce... Give it to her first... :huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpotter Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 I used to work for a machinerey dealer and we would have to appraise shops and for the most part they had negative value, the cost of moving the machines exceeded the value of the machine. I have a whole shop full of WWII era heavy lathes and mills and I know that if I was to attempt to sell the stuff for anything above scrape or half of scrape it would sit. If I were to have an auction the only people who would show up would be scrap buyers. I have a theory and it is my 2 men and a pick up truck theory. If a machine can be moved by two men and a pick up it is worth alot of money if you need a semi and a forklift it is nearly free. If you need multiple forklifts and a crew of riggers you need to pay to get rid of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 A comment about the Insurance side of this, don't forget to add in the cost (to you and the client) of items lost while they are being manufactured. While these may not have an open market value unfinished, the cost to remake it all and the down time to your client receiving it will cost you. My agent suggested I add in $5000 for this to my blade shop. K potter statement about heavy equipment: I got a lovely Mutaw Blueprint table (complete) and a 36 inch metal lathe for free, because of the cost to have them moved when that business lost its lease. They had a forklift there to load it for me, and the landlord for my old electric company property had one I could use to unload it at my shop. Plus I owned a 5 ton straight truck to carry them. These both went with the property when I closed due to the cost for me to remove them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urnesBeast Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 I had full replacement insurance on my hobby shop. I felt I came out very well after a 100% loss fire. I had nothing but hand tools. I still would rather I did not have the fire, but it set me on a path that got me to move out to the country where the neighbors appreciate having a blacksmith, a shop four times the size and generally a better lifestyle. Most of the money went into rebuilding a shop that got closed down by a spurious zoning board decision. I felt the full replacement value made the whole thing more pleasant. I had ZERO problems with the claim from Liberty Mutual. Full replacement cost insurance was so worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petere76 Posted December 13, 2010 Share Posted December 13, 2010 Gents, You need a replacement cost policy rider. Business usually use this for equipment kept in leased spaces. Sometimes they have loss of use riders that cover the loss of the tooling till its repalced. The other technique is to insure the building and "content" and make certain that you photo document all tooling and equipment in the building. if you have welders and they have low hours...make sure to have a photo of the hour meter. If you have a roll away tool cabinets filled with Snap-On or other similar high end tools show a draw by draw photo log. In the end it comes down to documentation and the more documentation you have, the more you will recover in the event of a loss. If, in your opinion, the estimated coverage is less than replacement cost, up the content portion of the policy accordingly. If you have theft as well as fire, some companies may require a security system. It need not be fancy or electronic, just a secure perimeter will suffice. Again document the security features to assure your compliance. Good coverage is really pennies on the dollar of value and well worth the small cost and the the time spent in documenting the equipage. Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zampilot Posted December 18, 2010 Share Posted December 18, 2010 Since 'inheritance' is usually not divisible in divorce, all the stuff you have came from your grandpa and Pa so it's none of her business. But I'm not a lawyer and I dont play one on TV! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connor bachmann Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 the "two men and a pickup truck" hypothesis is the exact reason I keep my shop as simple as possible. I have a set of hammers (about $100 for all of them) a box full of files and chisels ($10) a homemade forge ($80) a peter wright ($270) hardy tools (self made, $50) a russian cast steel ASO ($100) a leg vise ($100) about $660 that's about a month of work at a minimum wage job, plus months of searching (though, I don't think I'll ever buy another ASO) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 There is only one good way to keep your soon to be ex wife from taking your stuff in a divorce... Give it to her first... So if i give it to her first does that mean she has to give half of it back to me in the settlement? Can I pick and choose.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Never really thought about it, but I would have several layers of figuring to do. I have the smithy, my machine and fab tools, precision measuring equipment, various power/hand tools, gunsmithing stuff, leather working tools, and more. Some tools are priceless due to the sentimental value since they were from my Mom, and Dad. To replace just the measuring equipment would be around $12K even though I only have around $1,000 into them. Just about all of my tools are secondhand. I was paying 10 cents on the dollar for my machine tools at auctions. At least with what we do even after a fire some items are still usable, as well as identifiable. Not like photographs, or other burnable items. But to answer your question I would guess around $3 k at the moment for just the smithy. It would have to be a loss to theft, as there is absolutely nothing to burn. It is an open air area, and the walls are made of empty 55 gallon drums. Metal, sand, and gravel don't burn too well, although they do feel like they are on fire during the summer. Fortunately I have trailers, and forklifts to handle my machine tools (my big lathe is 7,000#)if I ever had to move them from here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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