the opportunity i fell into

[teakwood]

The big neighbor teak sawmill closed, 150 jobs lost, what a shame, it's sad. the foreman there called me up and told me everything is for sale, come have a look. so i went with the idea of getting a kiln, they have 6 of them, at 18k that was too steep for me, but i saw alot of useful equipment so i started buying, good prices too. Ended up with a 10.5m log conveyer which will replace my manual roller tables, forklift (the old one is giving me a hard time), jointer, shaper, table saw, big sliding table saw, dust extractor, ...

Will sell everything i don't need or have space for and have my stuff for almost free
 
the old manual rollers



the old allis chalmers forklift






after cleaning up this machine is awesome, they used it once, 3.8m capacity sliding table saw, 7.5hp, 1000$, i think i can get 4k out of it

[moodnacreek]

That's the way it goes. One man's loss is another man's gain.  All my machinery came that way and low priced. The real cost for me has been the work of setting up sawmill machinery and making a living at the same time. Centering your interests and recognizing a bargain and going forward, after all you only live once. I am happy to hear you could pull it off.

[OntarioAl]

Teakwood
Do you know why the company failed
Cheers
Al

[Bradm]

Very nice.  I did have a laugh on how the forklift was moved - first time I've seen an excavator with a forklift hanging off the end of the boom.

[customsawyer]

Glad you were able to score some nice things. Those little forklifts don't look like much when you walk up to them but man can they lift some weight.

[nativewolf]

Congrats!

Taking bets on teakwood keeping the tablesaw.  

Is the pile of cutoffs on the ground for charcoal or kitchen fuelwood?  

You'll spend even more $ on more concrete for a larger pad :D.

[teakwood]

Teakwood
Do you know why the company failed
Cheers
Al

Costa Rica is way to expensive to produce a product for the world market, we pay more for fuel, electricity, parts, tires, food,... than you guys in the US. 
One low level worker earns 30$ a day plus another 30$ additional for holidays, insurance, 13. month salary,.... (that doesn't sounds like much but multiply by the month and by 100-150 workers it adds up)
compared to asia where a worker earns 3$ a day, no insurance, 12 hours a day, no complaining, no rights.
the other problem is the people here are not the most efficient, probably 1 or 2 good worker out of 10. the rest just shows up for the salary, working speed equals snail pace.
the foreman told me company policy was: same salary for same worklevel, and that's just plain wrong. a good worker needs to earn more than a bad worker. with same salary the good one gets frustrated and bad one thinks, why should i get better.
they paid like something around 30-40k $ for electricity a month, miscommunication between the two areas, the sawmill and the production area (panels, beams, finger jointed boards,...)
they needed  40cm long pieces of 2x6" , the workers just cuts a 6m long beam in pieces  :

bossman changed 4 times over the last 3 years 
   

[teakwood]

Very nice.  I did have a laugh on how the forklift was moved - first time I've seen an excavator with a forklift hanging off the end of the boom.

I don't have a ramp and the truck was a normal flat bed  :D

[teakwood]

Glad you were able to score some nice things. Those little forklifts don't look like much when you walk up to them but man can they lift some weight.

it's a 2.5 ton, way stronger than my old 1.5 to allis.
it's a 2016 but with 36k hours! that thing worked 15h/7days for the last 6 years. now it will have a easy and good life with me.
yesterday i unloaded a truck, men what a difference, and now i have a side movement lever  :D  

[teakwood]

Congrats!

Taking bets on teakwood keeping the tablesaw.  

Is the pile of cutoffs on the ground for charcoal or kitchen fuelwood?  

You'll spend even more $ on more concrete for a larger pad :D.

Dang, i would love to install the table saw here, but i really don't us it much. I no longer make furnitures and don't have the space for it. it needs something like 8m x 5m
the cutoffs i give away to people for cooking

[newoodguy78]

You'll like that side shift lever. Adds another level of versatility to a already extremely handy machine. Good score. 

[barbender]

I'm drooling over that sliding table saw!

You confirm what I've heard about Costa Rica about the laborers- most migrants that make it up here are hungry and will outlook just about anyone so I just kind of assumed it was like that down there. But people told me, no it's about the complete opposite.

 Interesting what you say about labor costs. Even though those rates are dirt cheap compared to the US and Europe, it's pretty expensive compared to Asia. All relative in that sense.

Sweet forklift, too!

[Mooseherder]

Some of those cutoffs would make wood turners drool I bet.  The beauty is closest or in the pith. :D ;)

[teakwood]

You confirm what I've heard about Costa Rica about the laborers- most migrants that make it up here are hungry and will outlook just about anyone so I just kind of assumed it was like that down there. But people told me, no it's about the complete opposite.

It's not all their fault, the education was outstanding 40 years ago i've been told. now it's bad, to say the least. then there is no tecnical education after school, you ether go to a university and study become a theorist or you go to work, which is normal bonebreaking work, as construction or agricultur jobs, for the dumber ones and the poorer ones who can't afford private university's. there are no technical workers created, like mecanics, plumber, bricklayers, carpenters, .... so where could they learn something like this!??


then there is the heat, that's probably why they move so much slower as we do. to guard energy. that's my theory :D


then, who want's to work for 600-800$ a month, you can not survive in CR with this kind  of money, it's just way too expensive down here. and never the less there are millions who have to do it, and with wife and kids, and they all have kids :D.


you can't generalize, the people are very friendly and we also have very very good workers. you just find them and hold on to them, that's what the big companies don't understand.


I pay more than minimum for my only employee i have, he is sick for 2 days i pay him full salary, he needs something i help him out. but the guy is 57 and will outwork a 20year old all day, never fails a day, always 15min early to work,....
I help him, he helps me  

[teakwood]

I'm drooling over that sliding table saw!

men. i'm really looking for a place where i could fit the thing. if it would be a 2.4m sliding table saw it would be a no brainer, but it's the top model with 3.8m capacity

[teakwood]

Here are some pics of the sawmill



the ovens



the big 100m3 ovens, they have 3 of them






thats the secondary plant




a 1.2m capacity planer, 4 sider


8 head moulder, 85k $

5x four sider moulder, 

panel press

live edge table tops

[nativewolf]

I'm telling you pour the concrete and put up the roof.  You'll never get a table saw like that at that price.  Awesome machine.

So the mill had plantations as well?  I see the 3 wheeled dangle head harvester.  


You could have bid on the moulder (weinig?) if you had more space.  

$85 for  top weinig 8 headed molder is not bad at all.  How much did the 4 sided go for?

Kilns seem to be a pain to move.  

CR has been corrupted by having too many Americans resettle there, skews the economy.  I am surprised there is no for profit technical school, there will be a huge need.

[bigblockyeti]

Looks like a bit of a jackpot but not so great for the 150 employees.  I've wanted a slider for a long time but just don't have room for it.  There's four for sale around me right now between $700 & $1000, I think CNC is making them obsolete in many markets.

[Southside]

Equipment looks a lot better than mills that close up shop around here.  Run them into the ground for the last few years then off to auction it is.  

[moodnacreek]

From primary break down to kd and dressed . You have to wonder if that can actually be done anymore.

[barbender]

NW I think that 3 wheel is set up as a loader.

[Resonator]

X2. If you look close it's a Bell with a by-pass grapple and an "extendahoe" style telescoping boom.

[customsawyer]

Some might nice looking equipment in them pictures. Would you be able to get any of the wood inventory at a discount, and sell it?

[teakwood]

the lumber will get sold last, so maybe i buy some, depends on price. although i have my own trees standing in the plantations so why spend money on logs. 

[teakwood]

I'm telling you pour the concrete and put up the roof.  You'll never get a table saw like that at that price.  Awesome machine.

So the mill had plantations as well?  I see the 3 wheeled dangle head harvester.  


You could have bid on the moulder (weinig?) if you had more space.  

$85 for  top weinig 8 headed molder is not bad at all.  How much did the 4 sided go for?

Kilns seem to be a PITA to move.  

CR has been corrupted by having too many Americans resettle there, skews the economy.  I am surprised there is no for profit technical school, there will be a huge need.

you really got me thinking, i kinda found a space where it semi fits, in my old wood storage beside the woodworking shop, i will place here there but without concrete first. if it gets used i later do the floor right.
I have way too much to do right now.



this company are two daughter firms, one was the indusry (sawmill) and the other is the forestry, they own about 12k hectares of teak plantations and will still be operating. just sell round wood, logs. they have 4 or 5 tricycle machines, the one in the foto was for loading logs into the green chains.




there are 5x four siders for sale, 13k -85k. i already have one moulder so i don't need another one.



the 4 sider planer went for 25k, was pretty new. was a kupfermuehle, i think german brand. 1.2m helical spiral cutter with about 500 inserts :D. 30kw motors

[teakwood]

Equipment looks a lot better than mills that close up shop around here

the company (swiss and german investors i think) started invest about 8years ago in the sawmill, that's why everthing is still new. they added the big kiln one year ago!

[teakwood]

CR has been corrupted by having too many Americans resettle there, skews the economy

that's not true, we have a lot of foreigners living here or having second houses, but the are an important link in our economy. who do you think buys my expensive teakwood?  95% of my sales end up in foreigners houses ;)

[nativewolf]

 Well in that case we need more Swiss business magnates with homes in CR. 

Speaking of that how is the other side of things- the quarry doing ok?

[teakwood]

Well, i had a good second year with the quarry, can't complain. although the last 4 month had been very slow, too much rain this year. there is a possible big contract cooking, but nothing in writing yet.



the slow quarry gave me time to improve the lumber side of the business. a load of my lumber came back form the oven and half of the 1x6" are still wet, i can feel it by just the weight,  :-[ arg-smiley , I pay alot for  transport, the oven is 160km away and the oven costs, ughhh. my own kiln will be inevitable in the near future. but i would love a small kiln, like a 20" container would be enough, not sure if the small kd150 would be sufficient  for this size.

I have 30 trees laying in the woods since 3 weeks and can't get them because of the mud, so no sawing until it dries up. between lumber orders i'm doing repairs and improvements to the sawmill. we put the log conveyer in

out with the old

and in with the new

[nativewolf]

Looks great, power is nice.  Have you considered an idry kiln?  Pricey but short turn helps small business manage inventory.  

[teakwood]

Money is what i don't have, i have intelligence, good ideas and a endless drive to work. all my incomes are invested in improving my operations. can spend 10k on a oven.  

[stavebuyer]

The most important skill an Entrepeneur needs to master is hoarding cash. Many items will "pencil" out and make money using debt as leverage, but few will work out as well as having the cash on hand to acquire assets in distress for pennies on the dollar. 

[caveman]

, I pay alot for  transport, the oven is 160km away and the oven costs, ughhh. my own kiln will be inevitable in the near future. but i would love a small kiln, like a 20" container would be enough, not sure if the small kd150 would be sufficient  for this size.

Raul, have you considered building a solar kiln?   I have only spent about a week in Costa Rica, but the weather and heat seemed similar to Florida during the summer.  We built one several years ago and plan to build another when we get around to it.  With roof polycarbonate that is several years old and dirty, our loaded kiln temp this week at three in the afternoon was 40 degrees F hotter than outside temperature (80 outside, 120 inside).  We built most of our kiln out of repurposed junk (chicken house insulation, plywood we got out of a dumpster, ash beams from industrial pallets, pre-used hinges, metal from industrial pallets, and wood we sawed).  Our kiln does a good job drying lumber.  It is the only thing we have that makes us money that does not require us to be there while it earns for us.

I have enjoyed following your progress over the years.

[YellowHammer]

the lumber will get sold last, so maybe i buy some, depends on price. although i have my own trees standing in the plantations so why spend money on logs.

That is some good looking stuff.  So I may have a little different take on things, but that's normal for me :D :D

When I'm looking to upgrade stuff, I won't buy backwards.  Equipment has to do two things, it has to increase production while increasing marketability, whatever that is as each market is different.  This strategy does two things in conjunction, it increases quantity produced and also increases the amount buyers want to buy.  Increasing either one alone doesn't help much.  I won't buy anything that doesn't do both, even if it's a great deal, except to resell it.

Sawing lumber and selling it takes time and effort, I do it, but I also invest in lumber sales.  In the investment world, a good passive rate of return is a doubling of money every six years.  That's about a 12% rate of return.  Sometimes in the lumber business it's possible to double money in 6 months, 6 weeks, even less in some instances.  If I can buy lumber then sell it for a higher price fairly quickly, and and am sure I can do it, then it is a zero risk, relatively quick, passive investment.  Free money.   Invest based on your knowledge of the local lumber market, only buy what you can sell, but get what you can and flip it.  It's no different than buying equipment to resell, except with equipment, I'm never sure what price I can get, with lumber, I know exactly what I can get so it's even less risk.
     

[nativewolf]

In that case why not build a couple of solar kilns?  Have you heard of those?

[nativewolf]

In that case why not build a couple of solar kilns?  Have you heard of those?

I see caveman already asked the question 

[teakwood]

Raul, have you considered building a solar kiln

:D my name is Ramon. I had a poorly built solar kiln about 15years ago, didn't work very good. the problem i see is for example this month we had rain every day, sun maybe came out 1h a day, having a solar kiln would be frustrating. the rain season is 8 month of 100% humidity and in the dry season i can air dry a 1" board in 3 months  

[caveman]

Sorry, Ramon.  Like I said, I was only in Costa Rica one week.  Regardless, the work you do and the amount of expansion you have made over the years is impressive.  

[teakwood]

If I can buy lumber then sell it for a higher price fairly quickly, and and am sure I can do it, then it is a zero risk

Of course i know that, but i didn't saw any measurements i got a good market for, and the employee did told me that he doesn't think that the lumber will sell at a cheap price. so if it's market value they sell it's not interesting for me.

[nativewolf]

I think it will still heat and aid drying.  I would encourage you to try a well built one.  You have the best wood possible for lumber, use off cuts etc.  you know more than the 15 year younger self.  Buy good fans and insulate so that your heat is captured and kept.  Pinewoods assisted his kiln with a moderate amount of added heat.  In the dry season your issue would be not drying too fast .  The advantages for you vs us in VA here is the high avg temperature, I think if you carefully examine the solar kiln threads you would find some ideas that would work.  Then you could build 2 more and have a set of kilns slowly and carefully drying.  In a worst case you would have a need to rush and add heat.  

[nativewolf]

Alternatively buy a used insulated shipping container that fell off the boat in the Panama Canal  :D,  lots of good threads on conversations to kilns.  

[Satamax]

Glad you were able to score some nice things. Those little forklifts don't look like much when you walk up to them but man can they lift some weight.

it's a 2.5 ton, way stronger than my old 1.5 to allis.
it's a 2016 but with 36k hours! that thing worked 15h/7days for the last 6 years. now it will have a easy and good life with me.
yesterday i unloaded a truck, men what a difference, and now i have a side movement lever  :D  

Teakwood, is it French made? Or manitou outsources the small forklifts for foreign markets ? 
I don't even know if manitou is still french owned anymore. Might be Terex/poclain now. 

[teakwood]

Yes it is french made, it's a pretty new model, 2016.

I think it will still heat and aid drying.  I would encourage you to try a well built one.  You have the best wood possible for lumber, use off cuts etc.  you know more than the 15 year younger self.  Buy good fans and insulate so that your heat is captured and kept.  Pinewoods assisted his kiln with a moderate amount of added heat.  In the dry season your issue would be not drying too fast .  The advantages for you vs us in VA here is the high avg temperature, I think if you carefully examine the solar kiln threads you would find some ideas that would work.  Then you could build 2 more and have a set of kilns slowly and carefully drying.  In a worst case you would have a need to rush and add heat.  

Man, you guys really have me thinking, the solar kiln is growing on me. instead of spending 20k on a electrical kiln i think i can made a solar for under 3k. do i still need a computer assisted system with inserted lecture reading pins? or is it just all manual?  can i ad an outside furnace and direct the heat/smoke true the kiln with a stainless pipe and out of the other side of the kiln so it adds heat? maybe above the fans, so they suck up the heat of the pipe

[YellowHammer]

A solar kiln is just a box that raises the local temperature above ambient, which can be done with any heat source.  As the temperature goes up, the moisture carrying capacity of the air goes up also.  The heat drives the moisture out of the wood in to the air, moisture laden air goes out the vents and the replacement air is heated and the cycle continues.  It doesn't take much heat to greatly increase the carrying capacity of air.

The biggest issue, as you've already surmised, is that without sun, solar kilns go very slow.  We put a load in ours one time in November and got it out in February.

I would not base my business income on the reliability of a solar kiln. So then you add auxiliary heat to the kiln, which you also have already concluded.  At that point the solar is redundant.  Just use the aux heat to run the kiln 24/7/365 and get a more reliable, higher volume load and faster turn round times.

By far the fastest and most production style way to dry wood is using an external heat source to heat the incoming air.  If you google "direct fire" kilns or even "steam kilns" there is lots of information out there, and with a direct fire kiln and wood that has a high allowable moisture removal rate (I assume teak does?), then drying can be done exceptionally fast with only the cost or effort of the fuel energy being the limiting factor.  In the past, I looked at one unit that used a direct fire propane burner, several using oil fired wood boilers, and of course, the cheapest is a boiler fired with wood waste.

Personally, after owning a solar kiln and relegating it to what it's really good for, which is drying wood slowly, I would be building a wood fired kiln in a heartbeat, and the amount of wood it would dry could be in the tens of thousands of bdft feet per month.  All it takes is lots of waste wood and a heat exchanger.  Typically, the exhaust air from the combustion process needs to go through a heat exchanger, such as a OWB or similar, to get the heat exchange rate up though fins and not just pipe, unless a lot of loops are used.  

You'd need to find the maximum allowable drying rate of teak and stay under it.  Computer controls are not necessary.  You'll need a good moisture meter.  Constant heat into the kiln, 24/7 with fans running.  Set the vents to maintain a moderate temperature dependent on you max allowable moisture removal rate, then dial back the temp or manually adjust the vents, not different than an old style kiln.    

You'd need an insulted building or a box, an OWB would be preferable, some fans and some vents and the allowable moisture removal rate of teak.  We have good old country boys out here in Alabama that dry 15 to 20 Mbf at a time with old school OWB waste wood fired lumber kilns.  One even uses temperature controlled attic fans to maintain his temp.    

[Dom]

Do you fellows think a mini split/heat pump would work ok for a small kiln? It doesn't produce huge heat, but relatively cheap to buy and to run on electric. I know they are popular around here for green houses that need a bit of heat in winter.

[Claybraker]

 i think i can made a solar for under 3k. do i still need a computer assisted system with inserted lecture reading pins? or is it just all manual?  can i ad an outside furnace and direct the heat/smoke true the kiln with a stainless pipe and out of the other side of the kiln so it adds heat? maybe above the fans, so they suck up the heat of the pipe

Just a thought in addition to the equipment available have you considered any of the human capital? 150 people out of work maybe one of them has experience operating those kilns.

[caveman]

It doesn't take much heat to greatly increase the carrying capacity of air.

Even on cloudy days, our solar kiln gets 15-20 degrees above outside temperature.  When it was new, with clear roof panels, it would get 60 degrees above outside on sunny days.  We used to run a household dehumidifier at night to pull more moisture, but we get flatter wood, especially hardwoods, without the dehumidifier.
Ours has 3" of foam insulation in the walls and 1.5" of foam under the plywood floor.  We usually air dry our wood to 20% mc and then put it in the kiln for a week or so to finish it off.  1" pine or cypress straight off the mill into the kiln may take a month or more to dry depending on the weather.

 

The probe that reads outside is actually inside the kiln.  With the cheap thermometer and humidity meter, the humidity will be low inside the kiln (like it is here) when the wood is dry.  Our daytime humidity is often above 90% in the summer.

[Ianab]

i think i can made a solar for under 3k. do i still need a computer assisted system with inserted lecture reading pins? or is it just all manual?

Because a solar kiln dries slower and reconditions the wood each night as the kiln cools off the control isn't as critical. So you can manually adjust the vents. or cover part of the collector, if you need to slow the drying rate. 

The fancy electronic controls are needed when you are forcing heat into the kiln 24/7 to get the best safe drying speed. Then you need more precise control of the temp and RH. 

[Satamax]

I wonder if a mixture of solar and rocket mass heater kiln could function. 

[teakwood]

Set the vents to maintain a moderate temperature dependent on you max allowable moisture removal rate, then dial back the temp or manually adjust the vents, not different than an old style kiln.    

How do i know the max allowable moisture removal rate of teak, not much info around about teak drying. what i know it is an extreme easy wood to dry, doesn't bow, warp, cup or crack even at a high water removal rate. they dry 1" in the kilns in 14 days and i didn't see much more cracks as when i air dry the wood.

a question about the vents: if my outside air has 100% at 27 degrees and the solar kiln isn't a design that can heat air fast and efficient why would i want to let outside air in? isn't it way more efficient to extract with a dehumidifier? i could put two in there or a more industrial one if they can't keep up 

[Satamax]

Ramon, do you have much wood waste?   You could do a rocket  stove kiln. 

[teakwood]

Yes yes, lots of waste. i was thinking of some sort of stove. what's a rocket stove kiln?

[kanoak]

I recommend seriously looking at solar and/or thermal kiln options available and the economics of each.

I just landed an old Solar Dry Australia SG22 box; 6k bdft capacity in a 40' container profile. Ill get around to posting the build in the drying and processing board. I am off grid with a serious wet season too; a boiler is in my future. Quite impressed with their design which uses a solar drain-down system with heat exchangers and auxiliary propane. I am going to change this around a bit. I am going to have some learning, and building to do.

I calculate that at my site, I will to need 20kw of solar pv generating capacity to power the two circulation fans and brains continuously. Heat has to come from somewhere in these designs, and a boiler can kill two birds with one stone. If you are doing a water system hydronics is real. I grew up with home-made solar hot water. Lots of gotchas.

I started using slabs to edge around the yard and along fences. Might be a market, or at least an upcycle around the hacienda.

Never kiln dried any yet, but Teak has been one of the most forgiving woods I have worked with.

[teakwood]

Nice score! I have a self made solar hot water system since 15years.

a 20kw solar system here would set you back 10k 

[kanoak]

If I can get this pv system in for 10k Ill be tickled!
I grew up with home made solar hot water; still using the system although I had to replace the panels dad made after about 25 years when the ferns growing out of the 2x4 frames started to make too much shade. People look at me like I am talking black magic when I tell them I get a free hot shower most of the time and start explaining the physics of a thermosiphon.

[YellowHammer]

a question about the vents: if my outside air has 100% at 27 degrees and the solar kiln isn't a design that can heat air fast and efficient why would i want to let outside air in? isn't it way more efficient to extract with a dehumidifier? i could put two in there or a more industrial one if they can't keep up

The most efficient way, money wise is to vent the hot air and moisture it contains.  That's free, and since a solar kiln is a slow, basically passive system anyway, wasting heat and reheating isn't generally an issue because if there is a lot of sun, it will heat up fast so venting works fine because it's making more heat than is need.  If there is no sun, then venting doesn't matter because there isn't any heat to waste, its just a shed with a clear roof.

Dehumidifiers work fine, I used a Wal Mart 30 qt on in mine in the winter.  However, hp is cost of electricity, whether it is a Nyle DH unit or a Walmart dehumidifier.  Hp per Hp electricity usually cost the same.  Generally, the best rule of thumb is 1/2 hp compresser per thousand bdft for a dehumidifier.

So whether you're running a Nyle, and Ebac, or a couple Discount Special dehumidifiers, the cost to run will be about the same.  Unfortuanlty, home and even commercial units are not designed for the continuous activity and sometimes slightly corrosive environment in a kiln, so will rot out.  I generally had to replace my homeowner dehumidifiers every year or so, where the Nyle and similar units are built with corrosion proof or resistant parts so will last much longer.

The most economical way to kiln dry lumber, by far, except for labor, is to stick build a small kiln and use a heat exchanger with waste wood to heat the air, and cheap electric fans to vent the hot air outside.  So the only electric used is what's needed to run the fan deck fans which blow the hot air through the wood.  Both a solar kiln and a conventional DH kiln can be "assisted" or run this way.  Some people who buy DH kilns will slowly convert them to waste wood boiler style kilns and almost never use the dehumidifier, except in emergencies.

All you need is heat and venting for a kiln.  The more long term heat you can get into it, the more venting of moist air you can do, and the faster the wood will dry.  Boilers are better than rocket stoves because a kiln is more like a smokehouse (with no smoke) than and oven  Slow and steady heat over a couple weeks does the trick, not just a blast of hot air.  Temperatures of 120 to 180 can be used.

Put in a load of teak, get the air temperature to 120F or so, generate enough excess heat to have the vents slightly open (not much) and still maintain temperature for couple weeks until the wood dries out, and that's a kiln.

[teakwood]

Taking bets on teakwood keeping the tablesaw.  


 

 


Sold!  :'( but I did it barge style, with a tremendous profit. Could get used to the easy money work

[barbender]

Well as long as there was a huge profit, I think I can understand😊

[teakwood]

Lets just say that after the deal with the table saw the Manitou was free  :D

But i didn't rip the guy off, he was darn happy and told me that his business is growing crazy and he was looking for a sliding table saw since quiet a while. i would bet that there are not more than 30 sliding table saws in Costa Rica and none of the used once for sale is as good as this one. the price was still cheaper than import one.

[bigblockyeti]

So there might be an import opportunity for quality used european sliding table saws into Costa Rica?

[Resonator]

As a business it's best to not grow too attached to a piece of equipment. One should be prepared to liquidate an asset if needed to keep the business going, and in turn use that sale money to reduce debt and generate more income. 

[teakwood]

I don't have a single dollar in debt and I like it that way.  :D

[Resonator]