Spending Money Wisely vs Having None

[Lloyd-ss]

I was making coffee in the kitchen this morning and was absent mindedly looking at the blue Kitchen Aid mixer on the counter. "Darn, how old is that? 20 years, 30 years?"
When I was younger and had lots of ideas and enthusiasm and energy, but no spare money, buying the right tool for the job was always the noble objective. But the lack of money always got in the way and often buying the cheap substitute and somehow making it work was the only option. After I got to be about 45 or 50, money wasn't nearly as tight and I could actually splurge now and then and buy what I really wanted and needed.
That Kitchen Aid mixer was one of those. A gift for my wife, coming after piles and piles of cheap disposable hand mixers. She still loves that gift and we haven't had to by another mixer since.
Ater my coffee was ready, I went to my shop and pulled out my Milwaukee circular saw. Old Milwaukee, ha ha. I know it's at least 30 years old and its the very last saw I ever bought. I bet it has made 5 miles of saw kerf thru all kinds of lumber, and been outside in the sun on projects for so many hours that the red has now faded to pink.
Both of those are good, solid, last-forever tools. Just couldn't afford them when I was younger. Maybe I wouldn't have appreciated them as much back then. But I lusted after them back then, for sure.

Anybody else have a favorite "first REAL tool" that kept its value?

 

[rklopp]

Bosch Scintilla jigsaw and Milwaukee Magnum Holeshooter from 1981.

 

[Lloyd-ss]

Bosch Scintilla jigsaw and Milwaukee Magnum Holeshooter from 1981.

Good stuff. It's been a really long time since I've seen one of those Bosch jig saws, but I know that blue color. The newer "disposable" tools definitely serve a purpose, but I am glad that there a few manufacturers that still build durable tools. I have a 3/8 Holeshooter but not as old as yours! If you can get the cords, switches, and brushes, you can probably keep them hanging on forever.

 

[abby]

My old Eclipse hacksaw , first proper tool I ever bought ! It was 10 shillings (50p) in about 1964 , still use it. Must have used a few hundred blades by now.
Dan.

 

[timo_gross]

We are used to obsolescence, at least I am. A lot of things are getting complex to understand, difficult to repair and cheap to replace at the same time. It often just does not make economical sense to even evaluate a repair.
Constant balance between fixing (trying to fix, if you cannot judge success chance) something and risk of wasting energy (time and money).
Sometimes buying new items is just a better idea.
Unfortunately a relation between price, longevity and function is never straight forward. Traps are everywhere. Finding a nice rip off is always easy. Finding reliable information almost impossible All that advertisement trash, false feedback and missinformation.

 

[cwelkie]

My favourite example of this nature is our Sunbeam toaster. (The one with no lever to lower the bread ... magic!) A good friend gave it to us a couple decades ago because an couple element had given out. It was manufactured in 1954 but I found some parts, repaired it and it is still in daily use.

Also have a Craftsman 3/8" drill that is as heavy as a modern 3/4" drill; almost 50 years old and going strong. Then there is my original Dremel Moto-Tool received as a Christmas when 13 years old; 55 years ago!

Certainly no substitute for quality but as "timo_gross" indicates, finding it is getting more and more difficult.
Charlie

 

[Lloyd-ss]

I agree, gents. Modern mass production has made inexpensive tools widely available and only businesses and serious hobbyists are willing to pay for the premium brands.
And lets be honest, if you are driving more than 2 screws, which do you reach for first: the hand screwdriver or the re-chargeable battery one?

 

[Richard Hed]

I was making coffee in the kitchen this morning and was absent mindedly looking at the blue Kitchen Aid mixer on the counter. "Darn, how old is that? 20 years, 30 years?"
When I was younger and had lots of ideas and enthusiasm and energy, but no spare money, buying the right tool for the job was always the noble objective. But the lack of money always got in the way and often buying the cheap substitute and somehow making it work was the only option. After I got to be about 45 or 50, money wasn't nearly as tight and I could actually splurge now and then and buy what I really wanted and needed.
That Kitchen Aid mixer was one of those. A gift for my wife, coming after piles and piles of cheap disposable hand mixers. She still loves that gift and we haven't had to by another mixer since.
Ater my coffee was ready, I went to my shop and pulled out my Milwaukee circular saw. Old Milwaukee, ha ha. I know it's at least 30 years old and its the very last saw I ever bought. I bet it has made 5 miles of saw kerf thru all kinds of lumber, and been outside in the sun on projects for so many hours that the red has now faded to pink.
Both of those are good, solid, last-forever tools. Just couldn't afford them when I was younger. Maybe I wouldn't have appreciated them as much back then. But I lusted after them back then, for sure.

Anybody else have a favorite "first REAL tool" that kept its value?

View attachment 163349

I do have a story for you, not a favorite and a bit off subject. I was looking for a circular saw to buy and I went to a place in Olympia, WA where this guy repaired stuff. He had a drill that someone had not pickt up. He wanted 25$ for it (This is about 40 years ago). You could buy a new one for a couple bucks less than that. So I tried to talk him into something reasonable but he absolutely refused, even when I (probaably) insulted him with the NEW price for the same product. HIs "time" and effort on the product was all that he valued. His silly drill is probagbly STILL on thye shelf or more likely, the fool is out of business.

It never ceases to amaze me that some peeps are so obstinate and refuse to look at reality thru colorless glasses! It's simple, a repair has to cost less than the same product new! Of course that all contributes to a "throw-away" society which is not good. But often a repair is simple. IN the Philippines I am always doing repairs of the type where a wire simply breaks from months of use, or the brushes have to be replaced and occassionally some other issue. If I cant do the repair myself then the item really has to be high value to have someone else repair it. I have gone thru about 4 hand operated motorized wood planers. They work well, but the wood in the Phils is VERY hard. The planers get beat to hell and eventually just break down and just buy a new one.

Incidentally, there are a lot of Chinese made power tools in the Phils that are absolutely top rate and high quality for very good prices. And to thimpfk that only 20 years ago, my workers had never used any power tools at all! What I need is a larger push thru type wood planer , not the hand held one but for some reason, those type that are quite cheap in USA are very high priced or not available in the Phils. Don't know what that is all about because I would have bot one if they had them.

 

[abby]

I am coming towards the end of my house renovation project. it has taken me about seven years and involved building and installing a new kitchen and bathroom as well as replacing doors, windows and floors .
Anyway I bought cheap tools from Aldi. The made in China battery drills are still going strong , the batteries still charge , unlike my Bosch drill which has had 2 replacement batteries . Guess lithium is better than NiCad.
I think it's a case of horses for courses , the DIY tools that I have bought for the job have lasted well , items such as twist drills I only buy well known brands but even these are now made in foreign parts .When you live in a country that was once one of the largest producers of quality steel and tools in the world it is quite irksome to find that almost everything metal is now imported.
We still have vast reserves of coal but we can no longer burn it.
The UK is no longer branded the dirty man of Europe and our acid rain fallout no longer kills trees in Scandinavia ............well I don't think so.
We are just the poor man now.
But got every f***ing tool you could ever want.
Dan

 

[Lloyd-ss]

I do have a story for you, not a favorite and a bit off subject. I was looking for a circular saw to buy and I went to a place in Olympia, WA where this guy repaired stuff. He had a drill that someone had not pickt up. He wanted 25$ for it (This is about 40 years ago). You could buy a new one for a couple bucks less than that. So I tried to talk him into something reasonable but he absolutely refused, even when I (probaably) insulted him with the NEW price for the same product. HIs "time" and effort on the product was all that he valued. His silly drill is probagbly STILL on thye shelf or more likely, the fool is out of business.

It never ceases to amaze me that some peeps are so obstinate and refuse to look at reality thru colorless glasses! It's simple, a repair has to cost less than the same product new! Of course that all contributes to a "throw-away" society which is not good. But often a repair is simple. IN the Philippines I am always doing repairs of the type where a wire simply breaks from months of use, or the brushes have to be replaced and occassionally some other issue. If I cant do the repair myself then the item really has to be high value

Agreed. Take a look at Craigslist (or facebook market place) and you can see the people who place extra special value on something just because it is theirs.

My wife is a smart shopper and always keeps an eye open for the local Facebook Buy Nothing group (free give-away stuff). She noticed one of those 48" professional walk behind mowers for free. It wouldn't start and possibly had a transmission problem. I told her no because 2 years earlier I had stopped mowing our property and hired a fellow (and his amigos) to do the work. Basically gave myself a legacy retirement gift, LOL. In 2 hours every week they did what took me an entire day, and they did it better and more reliably than I ever did. A match made in heaven. About a week later I was having second thoughts about that free walk behind and my wife said it is still listed for free. Contacted the guy and he said it was still sitting where it died 2 years earlier. Said it was a dog to start, too. Pull rope, not electric. Plus his wife wanted it GONE. I took my truck over and as he was helping me push it onto the truck, he said, "hmmm, there's a belt hanging out the bottom of it." Said he loved the mower but had already bought a JD Zero Turn and loved that even more.

I got it home and a few days later and tried and tried to start it. Nothing. Took the carb bowl off and sprayed some cleaner inside. Still nothing. Down loaded the manual for it. What do you know, the markings on the choke knob were gone and the cable was frozen. And the guy had told me to keep it pushed in to start. The manual said the opposite. HA!! Started like a dream!! The belt hanging out the bottom? You guessed it! A new belt, some adjustments, a thorough wash job, and it was a cutting machine.

The guy who cut my grass saw it and asked, "you aren't going to fire me, are you?" I said "no, you do too good of a job." " You have any use for it?" He tried it out and said he had some smaller jobs where his big 60" ZT couldn't get thru the gate. I am never looking to drive a hard bargain, plus I really liked the guy. I told him to take it now for free, and discount my mowing by $XX every week for the rest of the season, and it was his. I had to explain it a few different ways until we both knew what the deal was. It was a definite win-win for everybody.

 

[SmithDoor]

I was making coffee in the kitchen this morning and was absent mindedly looking at the blue Kitchen Aid mixer on the counter. "Darn, how old is that? 20 years, 30 years?"
When I was younger and had lots of ideas and enthusiasm and energy, but no spare money, buying the right tool for the job was always the noble objective. But the lack of money always got in the way and often buying the cheap substitute and somehow making it work was the only option. After I got to be about 45 or 50, money wasn't nearly as tight and I could actually splurge now and then and buy what I really wanted and needed.
That Kitchen Aid mixer was one of those. A gift for my wife, coming after piles and piles of cheap disposable hand mixers. She still loves that gift and we haven't had to by another mixer since.
Ater my coffee was ready, I went to my shop and pulled out my Milwaukee circular saw. Old Milwaukee, ha ha. I know it's at least 30 years old and its the very last saw I ever bought. I bet it has made 5 miles of saw kerf thru all kinds of lumber, and been outside in the sun on projects for so many hours that the red has now faded to pink.
Both of those are good, solid, last-forever tools. Just couldn't afford them when I was younger. Maybe I wouldn't have appreciated them as much back then. But I lusted after them back then, for sure.

Anybody else have a favorite "first REAL tool" that kept its value?

View attachment 163349

My first new lathe

OWN the lathe for 30 years.

Dave