Afraid that it does not help the OP, but I have wondered about this for some time. There is zero interest in the family for making and mending.

One option is to bequeath the contents of one's "shed" to a suitable club or society.

Hi Stephie,

Sorry to hear about your father's passing. I can still remember having to clear my father's workshop and sell stuff to help pay funeral costs. More than a decade has passed and still I miss him sometimes.

People who clear workshops will offer you a small percentage of the resale value – very small sometiemes depending on the work involved and access but they will (should) clear away every last bit including the junk and take away the bother (and trauma) of having to deal with it yourself. Plainly put, if your father's equipment is worth a few thousand then you can expect a few hundred from a clearance specialist. They run a business and have costs (and profit) to consider.

To get the most money you will need to put in a lot of hours. People like some of the good folks here will help you with valuations or you can check out ebay completed sales but as an individual, and knowing nothing about the equipment, you should not underestimate the time and effort involved in trying to sell it off individually.and then you'll have the mess to clear up at the end (at £300+ for a skip). You will also not know the value of some smaller items which could possibly be equal or greater than the larger ones.

If you still need valuations of some of the equipment, post some pics up.

Stephie, I am based in Ilford around the corner. I can have a look and proffer some advice

Sorry to hear of your loss, Stephie. Eventually it comes to many of us.

Clearing someone's workshop is not easy, even if you are a fellow model engineer. Neither easy, nor quick.

I've been involved, at least twice, and have no wish to do it too often.

Before too long, that task will fall to someone over my workshop and tools, even if I try to make some preparation..

Help from a fellow modeller will be very useful. But sometimes, a device will come to light for which the use is not obvious!

Dealers have to make a living, so what they offer will be less than that for a direct sale.

Seloling through a local M E Club may realise less that expected.

Maybe, listing and phographing everything, and then advertising on the "For Sale" on here, in MEW and ME may be the best way?

Howard

The machines are worth between 4 & 5k. Typically the 'bits' will be worth about £1k but that is lots of tiny bits at £1 to £5 each so not worth many people's trouble.
Sometimes my club will will provide the advice a former member's family needs for the bigger machines in exchange for having all the little bits. It is less likely that a club of say <50 members will have people wanting larger machines right now but there is always a need for the small items which one naturally builds up a little at a time. The donor is helping the club in memory of a fellow engineer. The club members who put in 10-20 hours sorting stuff out are helping their club.

It would be quite difficult to move the machines with all the bits in the way so it would be best to get a lot of that cleared first. It is difficult to physically get lots of people into a shed so if a club offers to help only allow 2 or max 3 people to turn up not a great crowd. At least one should have been actively using a lathe for some 5 or more years so they can identify the bits that belong together.

Stephie,

I also send my condolences.

I recently emptied my workshop of all but the minimum of machines and their associated tooling and accessories. I didn't want my executors to be left in the situation in which you find yourself. Initially I approached three machine dealers (two advertise in the back of MEW). None were interested in what was on offer. Eventually I advertised the whole lot in the for sale section of this site. It saved entering multiple adverts and directed interested parties to an album in which I posted what was on offer marked with prices. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the prices I advertised them at and received were ridiculously low at about 50% of their probable "real" value. It did mean, however, that the machines sold within two weeks and the purchasers were all (I think) very happy with what they got. Main problem I encountered was the packing of smaller, heavy items and the subsequent delivery of same via courier. I used DPD. They were very efficient, picking up from my front door and delivering on time and in good condition.

Best of luck with the disposal, I hope that it works out well for you.

John

Edited By John Hinkley on 24/07/2023 10:52:31

Edited By John Hinkley on 24/07/2023 10:52:47

Sorry about your loss Stephie,

There was a similar post earlier this year and someone recommended using a local "auction house".

I live near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk and we have an auctioneer called Lacy Scott. Every quarter they do a toy and model auction that regularly has tools and machines in the auction.

Maybe you have something similar nearby. Not sure if you will get the best price though as it depends who turns up to bid.

Glad to see so many keen to help you out on this forum in this sad time for you. I guess most of us on this website have got workshops like your Dad's, full of stuff that is unidentifiable to the non-engineer.

Best wishes

Derek

If you go the way of selling the whole lot to one dealer (stealer) or house clearance types,be wary they have habit of paying for the best then say they collect and buy the remaining items the next day as their transport is full,they never return and leave you with the low valuable items /rubbish. Insist on a total clearance with the good items ie machines to go last.