Seriously?

Poor thing! Can believe that the working parts, properly stripped and sold off individually after cleanup, might be worth a nice amount- but not what he’s asking for what I venture to guess you could actually get off it!

I think he means Hindenburg.

Thanks Ian…. great laugh on this.

I hope we do not have someone in a couple weeks on Briarpress looking for help to get this old girl working.

“Working Condition” …. that is hilarious

I think by “working condition” the seller meant you could find everything in this press to start your new hobby!

……. as a press repair person.

This press is past it’s printing years due to rust and the elements from being outside. It’s not really worth any money. Windmills printing and die cutting in commercial printing shops sell for around the same price. I really can’t believe someone would actually try to sell this and they must have done research to come up with a price.

Have any of you “experts” ever really maintained or serviced a Windmill? Sure Windmills in far better condition are available in today’s market for $2500 or so - even less.

But this press is not junk.

There’s little on this press that is so sensitive to exposure that it cannot be put back into service with a bit of work. These machines were built to last. I’ve been running my 1953 Windmill for 30 years now. They were built well.

I paid $5,000 for mine in 1980, and it’s paid for itself many times over.

New hoses, some surface rust removal - and a $250 motor would probably put this press back into service quite nicely. An offer of $500 would not be unreasonable. Even $1000-1500 would not be foolish. Yes, $2650 is pushing it, and there are many, many far better deals available, but this press is not junk by any means.

I hate to see it insulted by some mindless hobbyists.

I wonder at times at the “experts” here on Briar Press. who seem to comment so quickly but merely show their ignorance when they do.

Grumpy old Al.

Alan,

Sure have. Very pleased with our 10x15 Windmill as well as our KSB, Universal III, Kluge 10x15, C&P NS 10x15.

I stand by my comment. This press is no where near “working condition”. If that is ignorance then I guess I am a fool with a lot of nice letterpress equipment.

Riiiight, it could maybe be brought back to life… But Alan, at the very best your comments are speculative, having not examined the press in person (or maybe you have? Maybe you happen to know the person listing it for sale?).

Even if you did spend the extra money to bring it back to life, and put all the time and effort in- the question is why would anyone BOTHER when an already running windmill goes for about that much (ok maybe a bit more) anyhow?!

The better ‘bet’ would be to buy a machine that works.
In fact, I think these mindless hobbyists you speak of are more likely to do the opposite- overlook the purchase of a press that is in good working condition and instead get ahold of some out-of-order tabletop with no rollers and a broken spring or missing an ink disc, then come to briar press and ask where they can buy rollers or maybe how one can get in touch with that guy who sells the ‘chase base’.

Prices for Heidelberg windmills have not changed for nearly 30 years. I could have bought a pair with consecutive serial numbers for $3000. each in 1985. That same amount will buy a pretty nice press today, not a hunk-of-junk like the press being discussed. If Alan thinks he could restore a press like that and still sell it for a competitive price, then more power to him. I, on the other hand, am pretty sure that just getting the damaged chrome parts re-chromed would double the eBay asking price, and that’s before one counts all the hours painting and cleaning, replacing the missing motor and rollers, and re-building the electrical system. When done it would easily be a $10,000. press.

Paul

Perhaps One should ignore all the negative vibes, and take a pat on the back, for saving (or trying to save) it from being recycled, into Big Block Chevvy engines, As Asda/Wallmart,s spiel often proclaims “When their Gone their Gone” You may be looking at a fast buck, but on the other hand, you may just be saving it in fairly whole form, for the next group, and comes to mind a quote re Colt Armoury Presses, i.e. built at the turn of the last century, considered the best in class THEN and apparently still NOW, it seems a shame that there were too few forward thinking people around, and a few more were not preserved.!!!!!!

You deliver it ill fix it !! Delivery /completion date , to be arranged/ cost to be arranged / Shipping twice the finished price !!!!
Seriously if i were stateside and looked at this i think i would strip it for her usables if she wont turn over by hand .
The casting for the gripper arms , the small sheet stanchion , the castings that hold all the lays the moving sidelay and headlay are all together worth more than the asking price .
Time patience and the room to do it are the main consideration as long as you know how to wield the tools and can afford the finishing , theres not a lot of the chrome left on mine either and an earlier machine i used to work on never had chromed parts from inception of the press . what she looks like is not an issue on the printed sheet !

Last time I checked, an expertly fully-rebuilt windmill, delivered, was about $12,000 in Toronto. It was very shiny.

Now I just need a kid to move out so I can have their room…

Maybe I’m just in proximity to NJ, but usable condition presses- which is what we should be comparing this to- come up pretty frequently for between 1200-3200 dollars with various options. 10X15 and 13x18’s alike. Pickup only, of course, but then it’s close enough that a good towtruck and some people who knew their stuff could go and get it.