Leon Harkins' family request

[BobCaseyNC]

Hello all - I'm Bob Casey and I live in Fuquay Varina. My father-in-law, Leon Harkins, passed away at age 87 from a COVID-related illness in December 2021. For those of you who knew Leon, he was a lifelong master woodworker. He taught classes, took classes, and created amazingly beautiful carvings & furniture. Leon's devotion to his craft was evident in the fact that his entire basement is filled with wood-working equipment (planers, drills, saws, etc.). He also accumulated a vast collection of hardwoods (cherry, walnut, some Brazilian hardwoods, etc.) from which he created beautiful pieces of furniture.

Now that he's gone, the family is looking to sell the majority of the wood and equipment/tools in his basement. I was hoping for some guidance here on where I might find places / people who would be interested in looking at / purchasing his collection of tools and stacked wood. Here are some pictures to get a sense of it all.

 

[ScottM]

We are so sorry for your loss.

 

[RichardH]

What are the families goals for the shop equipment? Do they want to get rid of everything as quickly as possible, maximize the money they get for the items, sell everything to a single buyer, etc?

 

[jlimey]

HI Bob,

First let me say that I am sorry for your loss. Leon was a great guy and craftsman.

I think that this forum is a good place to sell tools. Leon was a long time member of the Triangle Woodworkers Association and I am sure that you can get some volunteers from that group to help you price items. I am willing to help in that regard. I might even be interested in the Performax sander and planer myself.

If you want to sell things quickly but at a fair price, the rule of thumb used to be about 60% of current retail was the sweet spot. Sure, you could sell it for more if you have a lot of time to wait, but you aren't giving it away at that price point, With the recent rise in retail prices, am not sure how that factors into the used tool market quite yet. 60% is still a lot cheaper than new, but you start get into "that's a lot of money for a used machine". Now if you have high end hand tools, ebay is the biggest bang for the buck. Being mostly a carver, I am not sure what Leon may have had in that regard.

I will send a PM if you want to discuss. Leon was well liked so I am sure that I can get some TWA folks to help out.

Richard has asked some important questions as to your goals.

Jeff

 

[ScottM]

From what I have seen trying to sell everything in one lot seldom works. First because very few people have the cash on hand and every person's shop is equipped differently. As far as pricing on equipment in general what I have seen is 40%-60% of the new price. Age and condition come into play. Hand tools might be slightly higher depending on condition. I am not sure what to suggest for the price of wood since wood prices are all over the place.

 

[Skymaster]

what types of wood?

 

[bob vaughan]

Consider an auction, either live or on-line.
everything will get sold (usually)
The buyers take everything away and all you've got to do is sweep the floors.
There is a cost to having an auction house do all the work for you like any service
Setting up and then the time of the auction will be filled with activity but its over with with a crescendo of activity.

 

[Trey1984]

Just curious if y'all have figured out how your going to go about selling. Everything.

 

[Douglas Robinson]

Bob:

I believe we met at Klingspor when your Mom brought some rolls of carving tools for the NC Carvers group. I think the people there can help with any of the remaining carving tools. A couple of months ago I helped a woman sell her husband's tools through the want ads here. Selling the pieces individually here is probably your best bet. Let me know if you need help.

 

[Skymaster]

Am interested in wood types, I sadly have to make a shadow box for a dear friend who passed away last month

 

[Hjanes]

Sad duty, indeed. And an issue some of us or our families will face. I can so relate to those pictures. I hope you can keep us informed of how this proceeds.

 

[Bear Republic]

Bob,

Sorry for your loss, Must have been a great woodworking mentor. I'm over in Willow Springs area and can give your a hand if needed. PM me for my cell number. I'd be interested in the drum sander, clamps and some of the wood for when ever and however you decide to sell things.

Steve

 

[Keye]

You have a tough situation for many reasons. This is a huge undertaking. If you have never done anything like this it may become overwhelming. If you go the public route selling everything individually you will be inundated with people who want something for nothing. They are just looking to buy cheap and resale for a profit. They will drive you crazy. What is the best way? I do not know but would recommend following the advice from the members of this forum.

I have always found Bob Vaughan's advise to be great. I see you are a new user and may not know any of the old heads on this site. If you could get one or more of the officers of this forum to advise you about who could be a good resource that should help you.

 

[BobCaseyNC]

What are the families goals for the shop equipment? Do they want to get rid of everything as quickly as possible, maximize the money they get for the items, sell everything to a single buyer, etc?

Hi Richard. We're more or less on hold right now. There is no rush on our end, but we will be in touch when we get closer to moving in that direction.

 

[charlessenf]

This thread reminds us of the importance of planning for the off chance that we won't get out of this world alive and can't take more than a pen knife with us - assuming we're not flying out of an airport.

A living trust detailing all your tools (of any value) along with what you paid and think they should bring as well as to whom they or the proceeds of their sale are intended would save the heirs quite a lot of effort and frustration (not to mention avoiding probate) when confronted with all the "stuff" you paid dearly for that your heirs discovered they were to deal with and you were not going to help. Notice the comments relative to "What kind of wood?" (And the absence of specifics.)

I've seen estates linger on for years in probate and similar situations. Personally, I'm looking to send it all to Habitat and the Salvation Army - because they come, load it, hand you a 'frameable' receipt and take it away.

Sample Individual Living Trust | Nolo​

https://www.nolo.com › legal-encyclopedia › sample-in...



To show you what a living trust could look like, here is a sample trust, using fictional names and situations. Your trust document will look different ...

 

[Jerry C]

You have a lot of valuable wood and equipment....your family deserves a fair price. Hopefully you can get one of the members of this forum who lives near by help you determine a fair value...It might be worthwhile to pay someone a small percentage of the sale price to help you. It would be real easy to get lowballed on price if you do not know woodworking.

 

[BobCaseyNC]

Hey guys - Really appreciate all of you taking the time to offer your condolences, advice and help. We're at the point of wanting to move forward on selling some of the equipment, tools, and wood. I've been asked by Leon's widow Bernita to gather up names & email addresses of folks who may be interested from this group. I think she will want to contact you and offer a variety of dates/times when you can stop by the house in Cary and check out Leon's inventory, make an offer, etc. Send PM for details.
Thanks in advance. And please keep any suggestions coming!
~Bob Casey

 

[charlessenf]

Hey guys - Really appreciate all of you taking the time to offer your condolences, advice and help. We're at the point of wanting to move forward on selling some of the equipment, tools, and wood. I've been asked by Leon's widow Bernita to gather up names & email addresses of folks who may be interested from this group. I think she will want to contact you and offer a variety of dates/times when you can stop by the house in Cary and check out Leon's inventory, make an offer, etc. If you'd like to email me directly, please do so at
Thanks in advance. And please keep any suggestions coming!
~Bob Casey

BOB

BEST PRACTICE not to post your email address in an open forum.
As long as you allow it, members here can always PM or DM other members which, I believe, is a more private approach and it does not depend upon putting your email address 'out there'.

 

[Craptastic]

Bob,

I have to agree with Charles. There is an option to edit your posts. You should use it and remove your email. People can PM you and those will show up as numbers up in the upper right corner by the mail icon. My condolences and I wish you the best of luck and fair prices.

 

[bowman]

Email address removed from post #17