Tools: Cheap and disposable vs. the best you can find/afford?

[Tin Can]

Skinny tires were the trick.

Aside: Is it true that old Drew Wiley was the first person to wear a coon-skin hat?

Santa and my brother racing cutdown Bus and Bug.

Tom and Santa by TIN CAN COLLEGE, on Flickr

[Jac@stafford.net]

You have had a great life, Randy Moe.

[Drew Wiley]

Doubt that, Jac. My coonskin hat is stashed away in a cedar chest somewhere. It has a detachable tail with a little metal clasp that probably was not part of the raccoon's own original attire, though they are clever critters with hands and might have had a metal-working shop hidden somewhere yet to be discovered. I've never tried pulling off the tail of a live raccoon. I've seen dogs try it, and regret it. The first VW in the tiny town down the road belonged to the music teacher - the same one who gave me dirty looks until he died of old age. But one Halloween a bunch of teenagers set up some boards across the creek, carried the Bug across, and left it upside down. He must have given them dirty looks too. Music teachers seem to do that.

[Tin Can]

You have had a great life, Randy Moe.

The next Spring I flat towed the Bus based one behind a 1972 Mazda Pickup. Stopped in Texarkana in the night and found it was now 3 wheeled. The front left wheel had come off in the night. The cutdown brake drum never touched the pavemont, so I towed it to Palm Desert, where it lived for many years. Perfect in the Mohave.

Years later brother told me he forgot to tighten the lug nut. Sure hope nobody died.

The Mazda was also great in the desert.

[Leszek Vogt]

Les, if that was a Vaughn hammer, send it to me...must be mine if I have my name on it. If it is a Vaughan hammer, keep it. I won't use a hammer by a company that can't spell.

Vaughn

Looks like I'm keeping it. Yet, I had no idea that you had monopoly on that name of yours, excuuuuse me :>). It's a v. good framing hammer and so far it never failed me. There is slight patina of rust + lousy light, so it's my mistake/typo.

Drew, I'm v. well versed with the hammers from Japan....although accessible to anyone, most often they are used in finer woodworking circles. In my early days I bought couple small hammers (from China) and they lasted only few years. Back to Vaughan 23oz hammer, initially I thought it was tungsten steel, but it's actually made out of high carbon steel. Besides the hickory handle, the front is heat treated (tempered) to withstand abuse and mine has 3 wedges. Wooohoo.

Alrightie, enough of diversions and back to camera talk.

Les

[tonyowen]

Skinny tires were the trick.?

When we lived in Kleinburg, Ontario, the house was on a school bus run so the drive got blocked when snow was ploughed off the road. However, our VW Beetle was able to 'charge over the snow mass' without problems. If I remember the underside of the car had a plate that enabled it to skid over the sow and not dig in. The major problem with the beetles of that time was the heater - fuelled from the gas tank and very very poor heat output. However, the car would start in cold weather 30 below and was ideal for wintery rural roads.

On the subject of tools/equipment - the crux of the issue is in four words:- Needs, Wants, Afford, Justify. An item may be wanted, even though not needed. Its cost could be afforded even though running cost/household account did justify the expenditure.

regards

Tony

[Jac@stafford.net]

When we lived in Kleinburg, Ontario, the house was on a school bus run so the drive got blocked when snow was ploughed off the road. However, our VW Beetle was able to 'charge over the snow mass' without problems. If I remember the underside of the car had a plate that enabled it to skid over the sow and not dig in. The major problem with the beetles of that time was the heater - fuelled from the gas tank and very very poor heat output. However, the car would start in cold weather 30 below and was ideal for wintery rural roads.

The underside of the Beetle was flat. So was the underside of the engine.

In the early Seventies every Winter a friend and I would buy Beetles from the rich local college students when their heater stopped working. The fix was $7 in parts and twenty minutes work. Then we would sell them at a State university up the road.

[Richard Rau]

Wow, did this thread start to run off the road. Seems like some of it should be nailed up in the Lounge. I do appreciate the analogies though.

This is going to seem fairly obvious to most here, but intended for newbies if they're scanning through this thread.
Cost, while certainly an important consideration, was never the driving force in my equipment acquisitions. Function was always the No. 1 consideration. Why do some photographers prefer Hasses over Mamiya or Rollies? Why do some folks like Sinar, or Linhofs, or Arca Swiss while others prefer field cameras such as Deardorff, Canham, Tachihara, or Wista? Is weight an issue? Do the lighter weight cameras such as Intrepid, Chamonix or a Ritter feel right when you use them? Questions I always ask myself when considering a camera purchase. How does it feel in your hands while using it? Are the controls easy to use, are they smooth in operation, was the camera designed with ergonomics in mind? Do the bellows allow for the longest lenses you intend to use? Are the camera movements what you expect to need? Does the camera fit the subject matter you intend to use it for? Do they set up quickly, and break down efficiently when packing up. Are you fumbling with focus and movement controls while looking through the ground glass, or does everything fall into place and become second nature? If your technique isn't honed, or you are just starting out, my advice is to buy something that you can afford and upgrade as you become more proficient. "Disposable" (resale) in this case may seem more practical. If your tools are going to support your livelihood, and you do it professionally, assuming your proficiency and experience are up to par, then obtain the very best tools you can afford that works best for YOU! You want to make sure your tools feel right and work for you, not against you, If you can, try before you buy. it will make the process a lot more enjoyable, no matter what your endeavor is.

[MrFujicaman]

In one of my Ansel Adams books, there's a picture of him using a Calumet C400....if it's good enough for Ansel, it's certainly good enough for me.

[Bob Salomon]

In one of my Ansel Adams books, there's a picture of him using a Calumet C400....if it's good enough for Ansel, it's certainly good enough for me.

You will also see him with Hasselblads. However, he didn’t own any. They were a loan that Hasselblad USA auctioned off after he died.

He also was given a Horseman that was used for their PR.

What you see doesn’t mean that that was his choice!