Mold prices can range from dirt cheap to astronomical. Twenty grand could either be a steal...or a total rip-off. Valuing them requires a fair amount of savvy, but it basically comes down to Material Type, Condition and Demand. Material Type: Generally based on useful life-cycle and the degree of detail. Aluminum molds can be used for years while lightweiight, vacuum-formed plastic has a relatively short lifespan. While neither will record a very high level of detail, the first are expensive and the latter are very inexpensive. High quality urethane molds can be very pricey, but hold very fine detail and with a little care can withstand quite a lot of "pours". Latex can hold even finer detail, but nearly always require a mother-mold and wear much faster. Commercial casters have to consider "how many of what can I get from a mold and sell at what price" in order to determine the real value of any given mold. Condition: Critical for determining value. How much "life" does a mold have left. Closely inspect each mold and think in terms of depreciation. Examine some recent pours to see how well they are performing and check them closely for cracks, splits or any condition issues that might impact their useful life and the quality of the end product. Appropriateness for your marketplace: Again, critical. A $1000 dollar mold for something no one in your area wants has no value at all unless you can sell to someone who has customers for it. As for the rest of the business, just take a long, hard look at the books. It's a good idea to have your accountant go over them to get a handle on what real value is there. Best of luck, hope this helps at least a little.

Quote from stripped_threads "Let me get this straight, you guys are jamming tubes/ pumps/ siphoners and all kinds of other cr@p down the gas hole of a 30000 to 40000 to 50000 dollor (speculation) car/ truck introducing dirt and debris not to mention the possibility of damaginging a 2000 dollor fuel pump or sending unit/ or emmisions doo-hickey, in order not to run old gas in a 300 dollor lawn mower? Yes, the sarcasm is intentional." As has been mentioned, a little debris in the tank (the amount you might introduce while siphoning) doesn't matter. More importantly, how many of us willing to do this have a car in the 30-50k range? My car was $5,000 when I bought it 3 years ago, it's worth about $3,000 now. And if I was to siphon gas out of anything, it'd be out of my $250 ford ranger. Also, what fuel pump costs $2000 ? The most I've ever spent is $200 on a fuel pump, and I've heard of some (with computers on board) costing as much as $400 new. Maybe if you buy a 2007 lexus fuel pump from the dealer it would get near $2000. You got me there if it's true, I've never even seen a lexus dealer. Also, unless you are jamming a pipe (as opposed to a tube) down into your gas tank, there is no way to damage anything. Car's aren't as delicate as some think.

Hello all, thanks again in advance for your help. I live in a condo like townhouse with a backyard. I was informed by the housing association that we are not allowed to put down permanent patios or decks. So I wanted to know of any temporary patio ideas I can use. I'm not interested in just throwing down pavers over the grass in the back. I was wondering would clearing the grass, laying down some lawn tarp so the grass wont continue to grow through, then lay pavers down work? Or would I have to lay down some sand over the tarp, then pavers? Thats about as temporary as I can get without excavating the ground then laying the gravel. Any ideas? Also, any ideas that would allow me to secure my grill and lawnmower down so my neighbors don't walk off with it? That would be much appreciated as well. Thanks again.

It is a skilled trade, just like any other skilled trade. Most of the guys start out as grunts, and then learn their way to the nozzelman position. For a nozzelman to get certified he has to have 500+ hours of experiance. Not that he has to be certified, but I think you get the point. Its not just shooting concrete at a wall.