Real Cost of Blacksmithing equiptment

[Glenn]

This all came about when the wife suggested I clean up around the shop and take a bunch of the *trash* to the junk yard. I had to explain that rust is a color and just because it is rusty does not mean it is unusable. The final truck load of rusty steel was valued at $200 by the junk yard. It was a token amount of material that had very little actual value, other than weight as scrap.

This difference between what has value and what was junk got me to thinking. When was the last time you made a list of the blacksmithing tools or equipment you have in your shop. The old buzz box welder has value, as does the forge, anvil, hammer, power hammer etc. If you have insurance, you will need the list of what is being insured and it's approximate value, or replacement value.

The easiest way is to purchase a roll of 2 inch wide tape and a broad chisel point black marker. Put the tape on the item and write the serial number and approximate value on the tape. Now take a photograph of the item then remove the tape. If you have a loss, the photos and serial numbers are a great help in recovering the items, or filling out the insurance papers.

Next go through the shop and locate all the *little items*, the chisels, punches, drifts, fullers, flatters, swages, etc. Put them in similar groups and take a photo. Collect the anvil tools, hardie tools, jigs etc and photograph them, keeping in mind that they are custom made specialty tools when arriving at a price. What would you expect to pay to have that tool made?

Then go after the rest, either in groups or as an overall photo. Be sure to get overlapping shots of the shop both inside and outside. Oh yes, photograph the scrap pile and the working stock you have on hand.

When your finished, DO NOT add it up, as you do not want to know how much you would have to spend to replace it.

[welder19]

A lot of people don't realize how important this is, a freind of mine had his house burn down a little over a year ago and he lost almost every thing, he had tons of antiques and stuff that he collected over the years (he is 74 yrs old) and he never bothered to document any of it, he lost thousands and thousands of dollars worth of stuff that the insurance co just will not cover. He had dozens of guns in 3 differant "fire proof" safes, expensive ones at that, and there isn't even hardly any remains of the guns or the safes and he will not get a dime for them, not to mention the $60,000 in cash that was in the house, because he has a business that he runs and requires having cash on hand, and they will not cover that either.
You may think that it will not happen to you but it can....at any time and without warning.

welder19

[MooseRidge]

Before the advent of the cheap digital camera, I ran a small side business documenting peoples "stuff", just as Glenn described. I used a small dry erase board for the larger item and their information (Make/Model, date bought, cost, serial number, etc...). The owner kept the pictures and I had the negatives (bank vault). Several times following a fire, I made new copies and the people were able to get much, much more from their insurance company.

These are records that need to be stored off-site, can be in an electronic format, but hard copies have a longer life. Several times in recent years new technology has driven away various forms of storage media and having a copy that no system can read does you no good either. These also need to be updated occasionally to remain current with your inventory and needs...

just my 2 cents worth....

[matt87]

Also remember that electronic storage media can physically age; don't know if it still happens but home-recordable optical discs (CDRs etc.) used to have a limited number of years before the dye faded and the data was lost.

[welder19]

Good old fashioned pictures are best.

welder19

[Nick]

What about the tools we make ourselves, which probably make up a good number of those punches, chisels, and tongs?

[Glenn]

Just because you make a tool does not mean it does not have value. Try to buy the same tool, or even something close, and you will get a good idea what it is worth to the merchant as he expects to sell it at that price.

Let's say you need the same tool 1 year, 2 years, or 5 years later, did you factor in the higher cost for the steel that was used, the higher cost of fuel, higher cost of everything else? The higher cost is the replacement value of the same tool. (Tell the merchant you only paid $X.xx for the tool a year ago and see what happens.) You can bet the merchant factored this into his price, so did you factor it into your price?