Not really. Remains to be see how I make out with the mill and lathe, but I'm sure they will pay their way. (EXCEPT MY WORTHLESS CAT!) not even close. I have had a few girlfriends that were REALLY useless. Here is a tool I bought from the hazard fart for 300bucks. This piece of shit has made me at least 20grand in the last 10years. Hows that for an ROI? Many times it's hauled thousands of dollars of AC equipment all over west texas. Only one flat on a nothing stretch of highway with no spare. Knocked on someones door and left the trailer and equipment with them. Bought a new wheel, returned and pressed on.
On a related note, being able to diagnose, understand and fix things is a big money saver and lets you equip a far better workshop than would be otherwise possible. I would hate to have to pay retail for all the stuff I have, as far as the cat goes, she had a feral mother who taught her to hunt rats and probably catches her weight in rats every year....if only she didn't have to leave the guts on the bathroom mat in the dark at night. I've had girlfriends who were completely helpless and girlfriends who would start a fight in a pub and expect you to finish it....not sure which is worse.
I'm going to ship you my worthless fleabag for some killing lessons. My wife the other night let the cat inside the front door just to let it come through the house and out the back door. Then she screamed bloody murder. Cocoa had a struggling bird in its mouth. I dont think she'll do that one again.
Although nothing comes to mind right now I'm sure there's been a tool or two bought for no good reason other than it was shiney or looked like it would be useful at the time. I've also made a number of tools and devices that I thought might be a good idea only to have them sit around waiting to be cannibalized for another must-have project. Then there's the you-get-what-you-pay-for crap, usually from eBay or craigslist. One hobby machine I have that I feel a bit guilty about is a linisher I bought about 6 or 8 years ago for $35 at an auction. It's on a flimsy sheetmetal set of legs but really is a serviceable machine. It takes a 1" (maybe bigger) sanding belt and really is a handy thing but I don't have room on my shop floor for it, so it sits in the loft of my barn. Some day when I get a bit more square footage I'll bring it down and make it earn its keep. Now business production equipment? Well I've had a few losers. What they do (or more importantly don't do) and what made them losers wouldn't mean much to someone not in the printing trade so I won't bore you with that rundown, but suffice it to say drastic changes in industry technologies over the last couple decades have turned some old standby's into worthless junk. On a brighter note I have a few machines I bought for peanuts that pay for themselves in a week's time every single week for years or even decades. So all together I'm definitely on the plus side! My cat's a pain in the ass but I'll keep her. Pete
Pffft, have two worthless cats; couldn't hunt to save their lives. In the past 5 years the cats have caught and killed 0 mice, but the dogs are into double digits. I have had a few tools I've bought that I probably shouldn't have, but the vast majority of them have certainly done well by me. My old skidsteer is so old the vendor hasn't supported it in decades; every time I machine a part and put it back in service, the lathe and mill put off the expense of replacement. On that one piece of equipment alone, those two tools have saved far in excess of their cost. If I had to pay someone every time something needed repairs, I'd be forever broke...either from repair costs or from payments on the new replacement. Sure I'm always stuggling to find the time to get things done and sometimes it's just easier to pay someone else to do it, but it's nice being able to choose which jobs you're willing to hire for and which ones I do myself.
It's safe to say we all share a common trait. I don't know what to really call it, but it's that independent spirit that says, I'll be damned if I can't do that myself! As a teenager, I had expensive taste in cars, but not the wallet to have them serviced or repaired at the stealership. I did however have the desire to LEARN about everything and save a few bucks to afford parts. Now it doesn't matter if it's a 50million dollar jet or a tired old bridgeport, I bet my left nut I can fix it or F it up in the process. Too bad universities don't offer an education like this, young men today are some of the biggest educated dumbasses I've ever met. When their lawnmower won't start, their screwed! What am I talking about, now they just flip the switch on an "environmentally friendly" disposable plastic mower.
When I was in school the guidance counselors guided the kids who weren't "college material" to vocational school. I think they still do. I grew up in a farm town so even alot of the townies learned to get their hands dirty, but the times sure are changing.
OK, I didn't factor the cat into this but I didn't have him down as a tool, or the wife and kids.......... I had one of those drill sharpening things that was useless but cut the jigs off it and used it as a mini bench grinder so that worked out. As far as cars go if I can get 30k out of £600 car I'm quids in!
I've only lost out on one car. Big v12 XJ back in germany. (1200bucks) Every other car I've owned, I've either made a nice tidy profit or obscenely gotten my moneys worth. My current beater was 4yrs old when I bought it. Cost 1700 bucks and had 65k miles. Here it is now 17years later and it's got 275k and it's still going strong.. Cost me a used tranny $250, 9 Batteries, 4 or 5 free alternators, 2 starters, 1 fuel pump, 2 water pumps, 1 AC compressor, set of struts, 2 sets of motor mounts and a partridge in a pear tree. Imagine if I had to pay someone to turn wrenches! I'd have gone broke! When it hit's 300k, I'm going to burn it to the ground for the fire dept to practice on it! It lives outside and gets destroyed by hail at the airport. It's actually a good feeling to NOT worry where I park it. To put it nicely, I've made a few SOB's have to get in their cars from their passenger sides! Don't know if they learned a lesson, but I sure as hell felt better!
Over the years, I've bought a few tools that haven't paid for themselves but I haven't regretted buying any of them. Slightly off topic but I've been twisting wrenches since way before I was old enough to drive. This is me at 11 year old with my 16 year old brother, the engine is out of my Dad's daily driver, a 65 Ford Galaxie 500. I didn't think much of it at the time but now as an adult, I'm amazed that my Dad had enough faith in his young sons' abilities to let us pull the engine out of his car and rebuild it. I'm pretty fearless when it comes to fixing almost anything and I give my Dad a lot of the credit for that even though he and I very seldom worked on stuff together.
I'll come to bat. I think of tools differently than most. Did they help me mentally, physically or monetarily. My brain would be my number one tool, of course a bunch of other involuntary organs that I require, with hand eye coordination. Materialistic tools: The tools I have made the most $ off of , would easily be: -a tape measure, hammer and a saw. But of course electricity is also considered a tool, so I will have to add a Skil saw. (But, I also consider food and water one of the most essential tools.) -a trailer! as I would've never been able to move all my building materials with out. Well over $300,000 worth of material, and maybe $15,000 of machine tools. -a smart phone. But I still need electricity. And I need to know how to use it. -the Internet. But I still need electricity. And I need to know how to use it. And I could keep going on... -my cylindrical grinder, I paid $500 for. It hasn't paid me back one dollar. It weighs 3200 pounds. It has three motors and some vintage electronics that would easily get me over $2000 gutted. A scrapper would have never paid more than $.10 on the pound. So far this is my loser, unless I'm willing to part it out. -vehicles, in my opinion the biggest investment loss decisions. I recently sold 08 my Jeep Wrangler for $4000 (that had 180,000 km on it). I purchased a brand new 07 Tahoe that only had 61,000 km on it, and 1100h of engine run time. for $4000. It never seen winter or salt. -I do most all my own vehicle maintenance. Tire changes, oil changes, bearing changes, battery, wipers, fluid and air fill-ups, Power window Motor replacements, brake line replacements, exhaust fixes and replacements, light bulb replacements............. On and on. My vehicles very rarely see the inside of a professional mechanic shop. -in the past 30 years of owning buildings and property I think I've only hired a dozen try-axle dump trucks, two bobcat guys, 10 cement trucks, one high ho, one back ho, maybe 5 to 6 stone slingers, a guy to fix my air conditioning in a pinch (when I came home from the hospital with a wife and newborn $100, yes a $18 capacitor cost me $100). And the one I'm most ashamed of not doing (because I didn't have enough time which) shot me back $30,000 was a new bedroom and bathroom for my daughter. The same contractor also put in my front patio with a wheelchair lift (another $15,000) With a lot of the tools I own, I primarily give back to make my daughters life a better place to live in. So, my best tool is my brain and ability to use it, with understanding, and with concept. I like to call "the ability of reason". Most modern day people lack the ability to reason! I think there is too much silver platter.
Yeah, ok, steel on steel, I know. But jeez! I couldn't keep the head on this thing and when I drove a screw into the eye I figured out why. Split all the way down the back. Maybe I should save this for the tools I've misused thread.
