casull45450 Posted December 31, 2012 Report Posted December 31, 2012 HAPPY NEW YEAR KEN!! and to everyone else as well!! I have been surfing ebay for a long time (1999) and i have seen leather tools sell for a wide range of prices.. Because of today's economy they don't bring as much as they did say 5-7 years ago however the really good tools like Krebs, Randall, Landis and so on still bring top dollar but ebay is an odd forum.. I have seen the Landis 30 listed with a starting bid of $400.00 and no one bids on it then one is listed a week later and a bidding war starts on the used dirty machine and it sold for $1,250.00 this was about a year ago. On average they sell on ebay for anywhere between $600 to $950 but this is for a used machine that may or may not work correctly when you receive it and will most likely at the very least have to have the blade sharpened.. If you were to call any of the major companies that sell used machinery to buy a rebuilt machine it could run you up to $1,950.00.. Your original price for the rebuilt Landis 30 was VERY Fair!! Now a couple of questions?? How much time on average does it take you to redo a machine.. How much would you charge to refurbish one for someone else?? And finally how about making a youtube video on how to use and adjust the machine along with how to properly sharpen the blade and installing it in the splitter Have a Very Safe, Happy & Prosperous New Year!! Bill Miles
Members Ken Nelson Posted February 5, 2013 Author Members Report Posted February 5, 2013 (edited) I just saw this post. You can pull down a manual for the landis 30 online, which will instruct you how to adjust it. You can get a new blade from Cambell bosworth reasonably priced and razor sharp. If you tear it down, and it is your first one, take pics of the tear down for a guide to put it back together. Clean it, Sandblast it, paint it, check out all moving parts reassemble and you have a like new machine. You may or may not have to have the drive rollers reconditioned. Hopefully if you buy one off of ebay there will be no cracks or broken parts because they are hard to come by. I ussually have about 2 days in one. I don't have the time to do outside machines now. I Have a Pilgrim 30 that is really good I would let go for 950.00+ shipping. Edited February 5, 2013 by Ken Nelson
Members BondoBobCustomSaddles Posted February 5, 2013 Members Report Posted February 5, 2013 I also think that Ken's prices are fair. I recently bought a Champion on ebay for $365+shipping. Once home, I spent 3 days cleaning, and generally going through it. As it turned out, the blade was in bad shape and it took a long time to get it back to razor sharpness, and the adjuster rods that put the pressure/and height adjustment on the lower roller, were missing so I had to make them. The top leather thickness adjuster handle was broken off and I had to make a new one of those. All in all, 3 days (24hrs X $35/hr, or $840) later and a couple of friendly notes from Bruce Johnson about how it works and what to look for and so on, I have a crank splitter that works like a new one. Mind you , I like to tinker with stuff, so this was an enjoyable experience for me, however; if I were going to sell it now, it would not be for less than $1,200. Bottom line, you get what you pay for, newby or old timer, if you are buying from the likes of Ken, or Bruce, you can expect to get your money's worth. They are fair and simply trying to make a few bucks like the rest of us. Bob
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