An abundance of riches - auctions galore

It has been a number of months since I have attended an auction. Now, there are four of them in the span of a few weeks. First up is this one: AMF Metals in Seattle on January 26th. I will probably not attend as there are few things that I am interested in with the exception of the Beverly Shear and I already have a Harbor Freight knock-off that works great for light-duty work (a new B3 is about $700 and worth every penny if you are cutting out complex pieces of sheet metal). Next up is this one: Weldco Beales Manufacturing on February 1st in Tacoma, WA. I may hit this one as they have three Acorn Tables (click the link for a photo of someone else's table) and I do need to get one. No photo though so no word as to condition and I have seen some really rough ones. Next up is a Bellingham classic: Aluminum Chambered Boats in Bellingham on February 3rd. I will be attending this one just for the social aspect -- not expecting to buy anything. ACB was in business for 13 years selling boats to the military and police departments as well as personal sales. An excellent product and at their height they employed over 100 people. When they shut down last November, they only had 35 employees although there are a lot of suppliers and other vendors that will be impacted. Here is the November Bellingham Herald article on their announcement to close. Finally, we have this one: Ideality on February 10th in Stanwood, WA This is a big CNC machine shop and there are a couple of pieces that I will be bidding on if the price is right. The key is to get the exact make and model number and then research the item online. Check ebay auctions, check online forums for reliability issues. That kind of thing... Should be a fun two months. Auctions are pure theater -- when there are two people bidding on an item and the price gets towards serious money ($5K and up), the dialog between the auctioneer and the bidders can be amazingly intense. Fun stuff...