ye but would you want to keep up with the machine day in day out......I hate skimming at the best of times but this is something else. why invest ur precious funds to put more on with a machine to then run after and finish it. And don't say it takes out the laying on by hand because the setup and carting about and stress caused by relying on machines negate any benefit in that sense. It's foolish to invest in mechanised skimming imho....all ur doing is quantity rating ur skimming by churning out more metres for crap money. You don't pay to be a slave, but with machine skimming that's exactly what you'll be. I mean blonesey has a project coming up and he's already trying to offload it(no diesrespect I would) because it'll be stressful, unchartered territory, potentially embarassing, but it might earn a few quid if you can overcome all the pitfalls and lay on a squillion metres a day. I used to be machine mad but these days I have the attitude that the machine is a lump of metal to make my life easier, less stressful, and more profitable. It has to earn it's keep for me, not me it. Chasing a skimming machine day in day out(don't forget when it all goes wrong too) isn't my idea of a happy plastering future. If there's more money elsewhere(which there is)the machine don't come out the garage these days