eBay Kool-Aid Example #1

Posted on November 1st, 2011

Here is my first example of eBay Kool-Aid.

Here is a G1 / 6100 Class machine that has been posted on eBay with a starting bid price of $1000.00 – while I know this is not the most outrageous price for a G1 / 6100 it still is way off base.

This machine is in beautiful condition and I would love to have it in my collection but I can buy 10 other machines for the price of this one.

Don’t Drink the eBay Kool-Aid !

Posted in GENERAL INFORMATION, Machine Values | Leave a comment

Don’t drink the eBay Kool-Aid !!!!

Posted on October 28th, 2011

TOO many people are drinking the eBay Kool-Aid.

I wanted to give my nephew a Graphotype so he could start his own little dog tag business.  My nephew lives in PA and I live in TX.  I started searching CraigsList.org for Graphotype machines near him.  I about fell out of my chair when I saw the results for my query.  I found a Graphotype machine actually located in the town he lives in, by the photo it appeared to be a 6381 – it was dirty, missing parts and carried a price tag of $2000.00

I had my daughter pinch me to see if I was dreaming.  Her pinch hurt so I realized I was not dreaming, the machine was actually listed at this price.  Having some time to recover from sticker shock, I decided to contact the seller on Craigslist to see if his $2000.00 price tag was a misprint.

The seller quickly responded telling me that no the price was not a misprint.  The seller went one step further and said “I should be asking more because I have one my research on eBay and these machines sell for a lot more than what I am asking.”

The Craigslist seller of the $2000.00 6381 machine said he would not budge on the price –  I ended up pulling a machine from my personal inventory and shipping it to my Nephew for 1/6 the price.  The seller emailed me for months each time dropping the price, I finally had to tell him I was not interested and that I had shipped one of my machines to my nephew from Texas.  8 months later I helped another individual buy the machine in PA, for $275.00.

The average citizen who finds themselves with a Graphotype machine for sale really does not know much about the machine, their worth or how to move or ship the machine.  What happens more often than not, is prospective sellers first goes to eBay to look at what similar items are listed for.  Then they set their price close to what the highest price is they can find.

Many sellers don’t have a clue what the Graphotype is….
much less what the machine is worth or how to sell it.

Too many sellers go to eBay and drink the eBay Kool-Aid.

There is one seller on eBay that has a G1/6100 listed for close to $5000.00, well gang, I can tell you this seller is not only drinking Kool-Aid he is also smoking crack.  There is NO G1/6100 on the face of the planet that is worth $5000.00 under any circumstances.  Gold plated and delivered on a silver platter, I cannot imagine that a G1 worth $5000.00

I am waiting for this $5000.00 G1 to sell, because if it does I am going to post all of my G1′s for sale and retire.

All I can say is – WOW!!!!  None of these overpriced machines have sold and I don’t expect them to sell at these inflated prices.  The mispriced machines keep getting relisted over and over.  Some of the machines have been relisted for over 28 months, that is OVER two year’s folks.  If it does not sell in two years, maybe your pricing is off?

They say possession if 9/10ths of the law, and I am all about making a profit.  I feel anyone can sell anything they want at any price that is what freedom is all about, but the rest of us have to live in reality.

Wake up – stop drinking the eBay Kool-Aid.

I have no issue with eBay I buy on eBay all the time but when it comes to Graphotype machines there seems to be some kind of serious eBay Kool-Aid going around and sellers need to realize asking prices on eBay are quite a bit skewed from selling prices in the real world.

Don't drink the eBay Kool-AidI will keep watching the auctions and if any of these machines start to sell for $1000.00 or more I will be next in line and start dumping my machines – then I can retire.  If the machine for $5000.00 sells, I for sure will sell out and then I will retire very well.

I have a G1/6100 Class machine for sale now that I will part with for $4500.00, which is way below the one for sale on eBay.  Buy my machine, you will save money and I might even deliver it for free.

Posted in GENERAL INFORMATION, Machine Values | Leave a comment

12 Steps to an impression – Action Sequence

Posted on October 13th, 2011

We get questions all the time from people telling us that their Graphotype machine is not stamping characters or that the machine is hanging up.  Most of the time we can provide simple targeted items to look for and correct the problem in minutes.  Other times a machine has been adjusted “accidentally,” or someone has tried to correct problems before seeking help and they have gotten something out of alignment or adjustment.  The last scenario is that the machine over time has become out of adjustment or alignment on its own – yes this does happen, all though we find that more often than not there has been “Good Samaritan,” intervention that is the root of most problems.

When a person presses a key on the keyboard it puts in to motion a series of actions or events that Addressograph called an “Action Sequence”.  This action sequence is a series of mechanical events that all most work in unison and in concert with each other for the machine to actually stamp the plate to imprint the desired character on the blank plate.

There are actually 12 events… that make up the “Action Sequence”.

Here are the events in the “ACTION SEQUENCE” that take place every time a key is depressed on the 6300.

1. Key character is depressed.

2. The key stroke moves the actuator levers which in turn elevate the “Stop Block”(sometimes called a gate) in the keyboard ring. The spinning “Stop Arm” then latches upon this gate/stop block in a clockwise direction. The die head stops. The Clutch (which has just been filled with 20 drops of oil per year by its kindly Graphotypist) engages.

3. The “Trip Lever” is released, unlocking the “Pivot Lever” (They are the long skinny silver sliders just beneath the die actuator and just above the punch actuator. They “do the hula in tandem”)

4. The “Register Bolt” (shaped like a single gear tooth) enters a corresponding character slot (shaped much like a gear slot) on the carriage Indexing ring.

5. A single punch (top) and a single die (bottom) then come together, hopefully not slamming shut on one another (OUCH!) but onto a “soft n’ cushy” tag.

6. The “Carriage” makes a 1/2 space to the right on a 6340(Carriage “Tension String Winder” on the RH side of the rail), and to the left on a 6343 (“Carriage String Winder” on the LH side of the “Carriage Rail”).

7. The “Trip Return Finger” (actually looks like a finger on the RH side of the keyboard top-side behind the removable keyboard guard) engages the “Shuttle Block”

8. The “Trip Restoring Mechanism” takes effect- preparing for the eventual resetting the action sequence for the next keystroke. (No tripping “Hippies” are disturbed in this process.)

9. The “Carriage” completes its single space in which there is now a occupying a single printed character.

10. The “Die Head” once again begins to turn (clockwise)

11. A clearance of 1/16″ (.0625″) appears between the “Safety Guide Link” and the “Die Pressure Adjusting Nut”

12.The “Trip Lever” Restores and resets, waiting for the Graphotypist’s next key stroke.
Now, this whole thing took you almost 5 minutes to read. Right? The entire “action sequence” took only around 2 seconds to complete!  It is crucial that all of these items are precisely adjusted.

Don’t just fiddle with adjustments as major collisions and broken bits can occur- know what you are adjusting and why.

A big problem I first encountered is keeping track of what happens -as the sequence is just so damn fast!

To test the action sequence unplug your machine and turn the flywheel in the back CCW direction BY HAND to see what is happening. After a few cycles you will see what is hanging up or just plain wrong and what needs adjustment.

You will then make the necessary adjustments following from Page 15 in the Manual all the way to page 20. Only until after these adjustments have been checked and made should the 6300 be tried again by hand to make tags. then once the action sequence is fully repeatable (i.e. works for all characters) should the machine be used under power again.

Honestly, I spent a good month learning to adjust my first machine properly. Only then, did I appreciate its complexity  and simplicity  at the same time.

It takes patience and minimal mechanical ability to perform these adjustments.

It also helps to have an assistant to read the steps to you and check off those which have been successfully performed.

Good Luck and follow these steps!
Greg S

- This post is supplied by Master Graphotypist Greg S a huge supporter and staff member of Graphotype.net

Thank you

TagTech and Graphotype Staff

Posted in GENERAL INFORMATION, Graphotype Maintenance, Graphotype Safety | Leave a comment

Graphotypist Spotlight – J. Sanchez

Posted on October 9th, 2011

Not many things in the Graphotype world really reach out and grab us as being new and novel but this one Graphotypist, Mr. J. Sanchez really caught us off guard.

It is sad to see a true Graphotypist retire, but it does happen.  Normally when a Graphotypist retires all his/her knowledge and information retire with them.


Mr. Sanchez bought a Graphotype 6341 from a seller in Denton, TX that had an Army surplus store which closed down.  Mr. Sanchez has a booth at a local flea market where he sells yard signs made in his sign shop.  The Graphotype was a great addition to the sign business at the flea market and was portable so that it could be used elsewhere when needed.  Finding the machine to be very heavy (300 plus pounds) Mr. Sanchez found it to impractical to load and unload every weekend at the flea market.

Being a craftsman Mr. Sanchez bought a trailer and affixed the machine to the trailer to make it truly portable.  The addition of the trailer dolly it made moving the machine easy and effortless.  If Mr. Sanchez wanted to leave before the sale was over he only had to dolly the machine to the parking lot and he was on his way.  Notice that the machine is mounted in front of the axle so that the load is placed on the tongue of the trailer and not on the rear.  For a setup like this it is critical to ensure that you do not place the full weight of the machine on the axles or rear of the trailer as you will risk having the trailer flip over backwards.  Placing all the weight of the machine forward of the axles puts the weight on the tongue and with the tongue of the trailer extended forward it acts as a lever making lifting the trailer a lot easier.


As with all of us, family time is important and it is for this reason that Mr. Sanchez made the decision to sell his mobile Graphotype trailer so that he could spend more time with his family.

DO NOT MOUNT A MACHINE BEHIND OR ON TOP OF THE AXLE
DISTRIBUTE THE WEIGHT IN FRONT OF THE AXLE OR YOU
RUN THE RISK OF FLIPPING THE TRAILER OVER AND LOSING
THE MACHINE BY DROPPING IT – AT BEST YOU WILL DESTROY YOUR MACHINE
AT WORST SOMEONE MIGHT GET HURT – A 400 POUND MACHINE CAN KILL A CHILD.


The trailer was originally pulled with a 2000 Toyota Corolla as it got good gas mileage and could pull the little trailer with ease.  The weight of the machine with supplies will be minimal at the actual hitch, most any vehicle can pull the trailer.

Graphotype.net is really excited to see this whole setup and we want to thank Mr. Sanchez for taking the time to share his story with us.

If you have your own story – email us with a narrative and photos and we will put you up on our Graphotype spotlight.

- Graphotype.net Staff –                                                               # # #

Posted in GENERAL INFORMATION, Graphotypists & Company Spotlight | Leave a comment

What a fantastic rig

Posted on October 7th, 2011

Take a look at this mobile dog tag machine rig.

This thing is fantastic, I am so happy to see this machine being used and not sent to the dump.

THIS MACHINE IS GRAPHOTYPE.net – APPROVED and RECOMMENDED !

We don’t think that we would drive on the highway at 75 miles per hour, but this rolling rig is pretty darn cool.  A totally portable rolling dog tag manufacturing facility that you can drive anywhere.  We can see this being used at fairs and flea markets easily, roll in, set up and make dog tags.  The thing that is interesting is that now we have actually found a legitimate use for a Harbor Freight trailer.

We like the fact that the builder did not alter the machine to affix it to the trailer.  If you look at the photos you will notice that the machine is held in place on the trailer by hooks that capture the bottom support of the front and rear legs on the trailer.  The hooks run vertical and down into the trailer and are bolted from the underside of the trailer bed.  Drilling into or altering the cast iron on these machines is NOT a good idea.  Drilling the cast iron weakens the integrity of the entire machine and if cast iron is damaged it is not easily repaired.

The medical box on the back of the trailer is a great addition to the whole theme and provides tons of storage for supplies.  These boxes are readily available through online auction sites and through military surplus channels.  The boxes themselves are not the lightest things in the world but they are sturdy and for the most part waterproof.

If you look at this photo, you can see that this machine is an all upper case machine (Model 6341) and it has a clip board on the left side while a tag flattener, tag roller on the right side.  Another interesting thing is that this machine has all of its guards in place, including the one that is normally lost first, the guard above the keyboard that hides the Gate Ring.  Without seeing the model tag, you can tell this is an uppercase machine by the color of the key caps, layout of the keyboard and size of the die/punch head on the machine.  In the above photo you can see the angle brackets affixed to the trailer that the hooks connect to.

This thing is way cool and the builder gave this a lot of thought.

GRAPHOTYPE.net APPROVES and RECOMMENDS THIS MACHINE – IT IS WAY COOL.

- Graphotype Staff

Posted in GENERAL INFORMATION | Leave a comment