New toy for the shop, finally moving up in the fab world

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After going out on my own 2.5 years ago, there has always been one tool I have really missed at my old job.   It was a GEKA 70S hydrocrop ironworker.  As many of you know a geka ironworker is the cadillic of ironworkers.  So after being spoiled with a geka at my old job, I have been dreaming of getting one for myself.  So for the last year I have been rolling pennys to buy a used ironworker of any brand that is bigger than my 10 ton bantom ironworker.  (Which is really limited to railing duty.)  Because I am getting sick of drilling holes and using my bandsaw on jobs that could be done faster and cheaper with an ironworker.  Well today I finally rolled enough pennys to buy a used ironworker.  But even better than coming up with enough money, was finding a killer deal on a used GEKA 50A hydrocrop ironworker.  Its been sitting for the last 7 years as guy who owned it closed his business dude to medical reasons.  The machine had a been used very lightly before sitting in his one man shop.  Its 60 ton capacity on the punch,  aka 1" round in 5/8" plate.  It can shear 4" by 4" by 1/2" angle. 12" by 5/8" plate, 1 9/16" squre or round solid bar.  It also has the productivity package.  So it has the auto stop bar for all the shear functions, X and Y measure guides for the coper and punch, work light, 40 punches which includes round, square, offset rounds, oblongs, etc. Now I just have to get it home, set it up, then find some work for the new toy.        Attached ImagesLincoln 300 Vantage 2008300 Commander 1999SA250 1999SA200 1968Miller Syncrowave 200XMT350MPA/S-52E/xr-15Xtreme 12vs Millermatic 251 w/30A  Millermatic 251 Dialarc 250 Hypertherm 1250 GEKA & Bantom Ironwokers
Reply:Sweet. Did it have a lot of the punch dies with it?"The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life." -Theodore Roosevelt
Reply:Nice score. Man I wish I had room for a bunch of equipment being sold for pennies on the dollar right now. BTW, if you don't mind me asking, how much cost is a killer deal on this machine?"Where's Stick man????????" - 7A749"SHHHHHH!! I sent him over to snag that MIC-4 while tbone wasn't looking!" - duaneb55"I have bought a few of Tbone's things unlike Stick-Man who helps himself" - TozziWelding"Stick-man"
Reply:Cograts XF - Good move finding that.Looks like a nice one, mounted on a wheeled cradle too. Voltage compatible with your shop's?Good Luck
Reply:Originally Posted by SandySweet. Did it have a lot of the punch dies with it?
Reply:damn, i want one too.nice score.
Reply:CONGRATS BUD it does take a lot of time  to save money and get the tools you need and want im still trying to find a engine driven welder for a low price my self all i need is a small one but they are tough to find round here any wasy congrats againLincoln Pro Core 125Lincolin sp 100Miller Big 40Lincoln Idealarc SP250miller matic 212http://www.facebook.com/hdwelding?sk=wallwww.hdweldingbeds.com
Reply:That's nice I hope it works out for you, lotta moolaI'm small, and I tend to think dollars in terms of heiffers.  10k would buy 8 two year old heiffers with a ROI, after overhead, of around 2k per year, possibly more.You have a lot of potential there, but be ready to sell it off in a heartbeat if it doesn't work out.  Don't let tooling up destroy the earnings that you already have.  If this thing doesn't generate adequate contribution to overhead lose it. It's hard to do, but don't let the rest of the business carry the new machine."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:It's obvious now that Farmersamm is really the U.S. treasurer. We no longer back the dollar with gold so we have started to back it with heiffers. No more wondering why there is so much manure that comes out of Washington. That's a nice machine with a lot of tooling. You'll have to keep it busy to recoup the cost but should open some possibilities. My thought would be a set of hex punches. That's one operation the guys with drills and mills can't do. And a whole bunch easier than broaching. AlA man is judged by what's between his legs...always ride a good horseMiller DialArc HFLincoln Classic 300DThermal Arc 181iPowermax 45Scotchman Ironworker(2) BridgeportsOkomota Surface GrinderAutoCAD 2010
Reply:Originally Posted by SmokinPRanchThat's a nice machine with a lot of tooling. You'll have to keep it busy to recoup the cost but should open some possibilities. My thought would be a set of hex punches. That's one operation the guys with drills and mills can't do. And a whole bunch easier than broaching. Al
Reply:Approximately 3 1/2 TONS of pennies, 20,000 rolls,  to buy one, start savin' boys... hmmm UR a goooooddd saver  Very keen machine, the big Ag fabricating shop I  buy from has something like that.Lincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools
Reply:They would displace the gold standard   I got my numbers all screwed up, I'm always thinking terms of pounds and 8.I've always bought 8's and larger, preferably open.  I think the last ones I bought were just shy of 800 bucks a head, avg weight around 880 or so.  That would work out to around 12 head for 10k, a minor differenceEven so, you're still only clearing around 250 per head/per yr in the long run.  I seriously don't know how guys do it when they have a mortgage on the land, payments on equipment, etc.  Free and clear land, and fully paid for equipment seems to be the only way to survive.Ability to produce hay is another requisite.  Buying hay can take a chunk of your earnings.  Some studies suggest that it's just as expensive to produce your own hay factoring in the cost of labor, equipment, and land ownership/lease.  I don't really agree with these studies though.  Old equipment if maintained will make for cheap hay on your own land.  My only equipment costs are diesel and parts.  Parts per unit usually wind up to be less than one new equipment payment.  I'm running around 4-500 dollars a year on each piece to keep it going.The market is rigged too.  Send in 4's and you get around 1.25, send in 7's and you get around .80.  Either way, you still wind up with relatively the same take home.  For a while it was good and prices were pretty much equal for all weights up to a point, but it's back to normal now.Dudes that really make out seem to be the ones with the virually free govt. grazing leases on public land.  Large acres, large herds, virually no land ownership/rental cost.  Good scam if you can get in on it.Didn't mean to trash your thread"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Swing it by Florida on the way home, I want to see what it can do   nice score
Reply:Wow look at that mobile base!   I'm trying to figure out how to make a good one for my new  (to me) sandblast cabinet..
Reply:use to use a similar one in a frame building area. Call them time savers for a reason.Welding EngineerCertified Scrap Producer
Reply:XF this definitely puts you right up there on the "YOU SUCK" scale for getting great deals.After 25 years you deserve it and it's really great to see you are rewarded.Buying quality machinery always pays off. I used to work for many years for Hewlett Packard. They always bought their equipment 'up front" so carried no debt. A very wise move on this purchase.A quality iron worker will just seem to attract work.Good luck with it and GREAT SCORE!!Sign on East Texas payphone: Calls to God 40 cents......it's a local call...
Reply:Good Deal you got thereAnd like you said no paymentsBacked my CATMA over your CARMA oops clusmy me  What would SATAN do ?? Miller Trailblazer 302 AirPakMiller Digital Elite  Optrel Welding HatArcair K4000Suitcase 12RC / 12 VSHypertherm PM-45Rage 3 sawRusty old Truck
Reply:Just saw this on Craigslist:55 ton Edwards iron worker $2000 single phase 220 volts , 90 ton edwards iron worker $2500 3 phase Radial drill with drills taps and clamps $2000 7 milling machines 4 late model 2 with tooling and clamps starting at $800 to $4000 can be seen in downtown Chattanooga Call after 3:00 PM http://chattanooga.craigslist.org/tls/1712031816.htmlMaybe this would fit your budget. I don't have space or knowledge or business, but I wish I had access to one.Burt _____________________Miller Syncrowave 250Millermatic 211Miller 375 Plasma Cutter Hobart Handler 12010FtDrillBit.com
Reply:It's paid for and that's all it matters. Good Luck and I hope it's very profitable for your business.BSSServices1997 F250 4X4 Powerstroke w/ Bobcat 225NT & tools1992 F450 SuperDuty 7.3IDI w/ Bobcat 225NT & more tools!
Reply:Awesome machine.  We have one in our shop.  It gets a lot of use.  All kind of dies you can get too.  We build architectural signs so punch a lot of plate and slotted holes.
Reply:Well the new toy finally made it home, well sorta.  Since I have no room in my current shop to store my new toy.  I was able to talk my parents into storing the geka in their garage for a short while.  (no place to store it where I live)   Hopefully if everything goes well I should be able to get into this new shop I want to rent in the next 30-60 days.  I will spend some time this week cleaning it all up and putting all the safety guards back on the machine.  Then I will post some more pictures of the new toy doing some work.Lincoln 300 Vantage 2008300 Commander 1999SA250 1999SA200 1968Miller Syncrowave 200XMT350MPA/S-52E/xr-15Xtreme 12vs Millermatic 251 w/30A  Millermatic 251 Dialarc 250 Hypertherm 1250 GEKA & Bantom Ironwokers
Reply:I have had the next size down of Geka, the MiniCrop, for about ten years now. I love it. Its true, Geka's are one of the best ironworkers ever made. It has paid for itself many times over. When you can punch holes in half inch plate effortlessly, or shear hundreds of pieces to length in an hour, you save a LOT of time.I bought two extra sections for the cut off stop on mine, so it goes out to about 12 feet.That way, I can cut any size piece from a 20 footer. The Geka has an electric cut off gage- you set the stop to the length of piece you want, say, 40", and then just shove the 20 footer in till the end hits the stop. The shear automatically cuts your piece, which falls to the floor, and you shove the 20 footer in again, repeat til you have cut it all up.This one feature alone, which comes standard on exactly NO other brand of ironworker, saves so much time and money its amazing. No more measuring, marking, squinting, cursing when you accidentally cut on the scratch, not the mark. No more wasted parts the wrong size, no more vise grips holding old tape measures to cobbled together frames. You just set the stop, which has stainless steel rulers inlaid right into it, and cut. And the part is the right length.Same thing with the punch table- quick adjust stops in X and Y, with stainless steel rulers, so you dont measure, mark, or center punch. You want it centered on 2" flat bar, and 3" from the end, in 30 seconds you set the stops, you punch, and the hole is in the right place.A couple of other companies, after ten years or so, are now offering accessory punch tables or cut off stops, for a thousand or two dollars extra. Geka rules.Plus, they are made in the Basque country, with completely unreadable text on the name plate in Basque, which is seemingly all consonants.
Reply:Sweet machine.  Your the right age, before you know it many years will pass, the machine will have paid for itself and you still have it.GeezerPower Mig 255C185 TIGBlue 175 MIGRanger 8 Kohler 20HP1974 5K Lincoln/Wisconsin Powered (Cherry)Victor/Harris O/AK 487 Spool Gun
Reply:Saaa-weeeet! For gods sake don't get your finger stuck in that thing!Regards,RobGreat Basin WeldingInstagramBlue weldersRed weldersMy luscious Table DIY TIG Torch cooler
Reply:I wish i knew what that was...... But more than that, I wish I had one.http://www.youtube.com/user/c599209/videosNice I ran an ironworker off and on a few years ago when I worked for a piece rate shop. Was a bit bigger than that one but not nearly as nice. We had a big old box full of cobbled together jigs and stops. That electric stop would have been the berries. I wore the leather off more than a few pairs of steel toes working the foot pedal where the safety cover would rub.  I can still remember cutting 3/4" x 2" bar 30" long for lifting arms for tillers. We would cut 4 sticks at a time. Shove the stock out to the stop, step on the pedal, CLANG!!! Just made $0.92 ($0.23 times 4)  You could cut about 200 pieces in an hour, so $0.23 times 200 = $46 that was a good hour.
Reply:Originally Posted by Robert HallSaaa-weeeet! For gods sake don't get your finger stuck in that thing!
Reply:You should enjoy it in good health.
Reply:Gekas are awesome you got a great deal I once worked for a company that had a 100 ton machine. It would do 1 1/4 holes thru 1 plate!
Reply:Originally Posted by newtivfGekas are awesome you got a great deal I once worked for a company that had a 100 ton machine. It would do 1 1/4 holes thru 1 plate!