Help with pricing a used ShopBot!

[MogulTx]

Guys,

I started about 3 years ago with a PRT 4 x 4. I upgraded to a PRS 4 x 8 mostly due to wanting to work parts that were larger without needing to index the part, etc. I then found out that I could buy my raw material in 5 x 10', so I upgraded again. That PRT 4x4 was a VERY valid machine. It did very good work and PartWorks was a perfectly operational program- ESPECIALLY FOR A NEWBIE who did not know how to do a lot of fancy stuff ( still don't as far as I am concerned!). I didn't upgrade the first time for speed or for newness. I DID upgrade for some of those features on the second time around... My point being that an older machine may well be suitable for a "learner" machine.

I am not a proponent of any one machine, nor am I dogging it. One has to choose for one's self. If I operated mine 8 hours a day and had a steady stream of work and customers who pay for said work, then a new or new-ish machine with the faster cutting capability is WELL advised ( and IF your budget will handle the expense)... but let's not try to figure all this out and tell the person to "so this" or "Do that"... because we do not know all the points he will use to make his decisions.

Some of the best things I have learned on these machines, I learned because I had to figure out how to do the jobs I agreed to do... THAT is a learning experience. I had to figure out how to deal with a machine that was not functioning properly when I got it ( which many of us have had to do because of poor assembly on our part, or what have you!)...

My recommendation for us: ASK HIM what his parameters are. ASK him what his needs are. Ask him what his budget is. ASK him if he is prepared to gut it out a little bit. How many of us turned the machine on when we got it and had perfect parts in a couple minutes? (Answer: Absolutely NO ONE, except maybe a desktop guy who pulls his out of the box and plugs it in!) We should give him insights as to the things he may need to be concerned about. Give him insights on the advantages of the older machines. And finally, give him room to make a solid decision with no recriminations!

And as a guy who has benefitted from the wisdom of more than a few of you. Thanks for being concerned about the next 'botter. Thanks for being great guys and gals. Let's help him get started and get him working on his projects...

Monty

[mark_stief]

Well said Monty I agree with everything you said older machines can work just as well as something new

[scottp55]

Again, Well said Monty. Funny, Taking the Desktop out of the box and carving perfectly within hours was exactly what we wanted--and it did (Well almost)

[SomeGuys2007]

The seller uses "Partworks". I have a benchtop already and use Aspire to run it but I am concerned that the G code that Aspire writes will not work with the older model Shopbot.

[SomeGuys2007]

Guys,

I started about 3 years ago with a PRT 4 x 4. I upgraded to a PRS 4 x 8 mostly due to wanting to work parts that were larger without needing to index the part, etc. I then found out that I could buy my raw material in 5 x 10', so I upgraded again. That PRT 4x4 was a VERY valid machine. It did very good work and PartWorks was a perfectly operational program- ESPECIALLY FOR A NEWBIE who did not know how to do a lot of fancy stuff ( still don't as far as I am concerned!). I didn't upgrade the first time for speed or for newness. I DID upgrade for some of those features on the second time around... My point being that an older machine may well be suitable for a "learner" machine.

I am not a proponent of any one machine, nor am I dogging it. One has to choose for one's self. If I operated mine 8 hours a day and had a steady stream of work and customers who pay for said work, then a new or new-ish machine with the faster cutting capability is WELL advised ( and IF your budget will handle the expense)... but let's not try to figure all this out and tell the person to "so this" or "Do that"... because we do not know all the points he will use to make his decisions.

Some of the best things I have learned on these machines, I learned because I had to figure out how to do the jobs I agreed to do... THAT is a learning experience. I had to figure out how to deal with a machine that was not functioning properly when I got it ( which many of us have had to do because of poor assembly on our part, or what have you!)...

My recommendation for us: ASK HIM what his parameters are. ASK him what his needs are. Ask him what his budget is. ASK him if he is prepared to gut it out a little bit. How many of us turned the machine on when we got it and had perfect parts in a couple minutes? (Answer: Absolutely NO ONE, except maybe a desktop guy who pulls his out of the box and plugs it in!) We should give him insights as to the things he may need to be concerned about. Give him insights on the advantages of the older machines. And finally, give him room to make a solid decision with no recriminations!

And as a guy who has benefitted from the wisdom of more than a few of you. Thanks for being concerned about the next 'botter. Thanks for being great guys and gals. Let's help him get started and get him working on his projects...

Monty

Monty, that was very well said.! Thank you for your input.

[jerry_stanek]

I have some shopbot files that were made for a PR and still run them on my PRS I made files in Aspire to run on my PR that had a dos based control software so yes you will be able to use Aspire for that machine.