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

[Drew Wiley]

Try to find even a Vise-Grip that works correctly anymore. And as for Chinese brad point bits? Ya get about four holes out of them as long as the wood as is soft as butter. I've got Austrian ones that will do 700 holes in aluminum and still be sharp. Pick em up by the wrong end and your finger will be bleeding, as if it were a razor blade. At that rate, the Euro ones are an outright bargain. Same with insert screwdriver bits. Sure, they cost three or four times more, but they last three or four hundred times longer. And semi-stripped bits aren't good for screws either, especially if you have to get them back out. Ironically, even if your have precisely sized dowel bits, now the dowels sold in most
stores are of dimensionally unstable ramin wood, rather than maple, so are rarely correct diameter. You have to sand them, or else shop around for true hardwood dowels. Just sayin' ... it doesn't affect me personally because I do
my joinery with a Domino machine. But I otherwise use high-quality brad point bits for the very clean entry and exit holes they provide. And there again, there's a huge distinction, with the good Austrian ones drilling very quickly,
and the Cheapo Depot versions taking forever.

[Roger Thoms]

"A Vice-Grip is not the right tool for anything at all, but it is the best wrong tool for thousands of tasks."

Give me a vice grip and a crescent wrench and I’m a happy camper.

Roger

[Drew Wiley]

I used to kid the guys who worked in the big door and window shop at work that there was absolutely nothing they were incapable of making given a chainsaw, double-bit axe, and spiked ball - plus their notion of extra-fine belt sander abrasive : 16-grit.

[Drew Bedo]

I have a Caltar II N, a lens rebadged from Rodenstock , that I bought as a used item. That count as "cheap"?

My personel EDC multi-tool is a leatherman Wave (not cheap). It rides oln my belt whenever I am not riding in an airliner. But there are several back-up multi tools that came from god-knows -where in the side pockets of different shooting kits . . .and they WERE cheap.

Bought a few cable releases off e-Bay that cost more than I wanted to pay, but were cheaply made (should have known better).

Most of my LF gear was previously owned. There are a few premium camera bags from LowePro and Pelican that were "thrown-in" when I bought the gear that was in them. Other premium name brand bags came from Pawn Shops or Goodwill for under $10 each. Thatts cheap on several levels, I'd say.

[Alan Klein]

Buy cheap, pay twice. Always buy one up from where you thought you'd be satisfied. If you think you'd be happy with a 65" TV, get a 75" TV.

[Tin Can]

Very true, I have often upgraded my purchase after getting it home.

My latest example is my first ever purchase of a new washer and dryer. Usually they came with the home.

Really glad the store agreed to upsell me to USA made Speed Queen delivering and installing twice.

Buy cheap, pay twice. Always buy one up from where you thought you'd be satisfied. If you think you'd be happy with a 65" TV, get a 75" TV.

[Alan Gales]

I was a toolmaker in aerospace for forty years. What I had in my toolbox were a assortment of grades. There were common grade tools that I replaced a few times during my career. There were common tools that I replaced with premium grade if the common grade failed or I needed to have ultimate dependability and couldn't have failure. I had tools that were lower grade, the tools that I could modify. I could grind, weld or bend without feeling guilty that I created a one time use tool. And my precision tools, my gold standard, all treated with special care most purchased and some my design and faberication. I had duplicated some for convenience, or to have different qualities for different applications. The user needs to access the application and make a informed decision. IMHO.

Michael

Spoken like a true professional, Michael!

I used to be a Union Sheet Metal Worker. Some of my sheet metal tools were the best but I used them everyday and they performed well and paid for themselves. Wiss made better tin snips back then but Craftsman were cheaper and worked just as well for me. They did get dull faster but I lived near Sears so I'd just return them and get a new pair for free. You couldn't do that with Wiss. Sears eventually got wise and took the Craftsman name off their snips. You learn when you need the best and when something less expensive can work. I also had a couple modified or homemade tools for certain jobs.

A homeowner usually doesn't need the best but there are some bad tools out there that can get you hurt. They may be cheap but the emergency room visits sure aren't! Unfortunately, I've seen guys get hurt with bad tools.


With photography, I also think it depends. The best camera and lens are no good if supported by a tripod that shakes. I do own a cheap Chinese tool for fixing lenses with dented threads so you can use filters on them. It works great.

[Paul Ron]

for basic tools for camera repair or for that matter any jobs... buy the best as well as tye right tools for the job. good tools will make the job go much easier. ever fight with a stuborn screw?... junk drivers or wrong size!

cheap screw drivers, and wrong size drivers, can make you miserable. striped screw heads n rounded nuts are mostly caused by cheap tools, not cheap hardware. i see so many diy jobs come into my shop not because the diyer didnt have the skills... but because his cheap tools couldnt handel the basics.

for special tools, i make my own using quality materials. if i need to buy it, ill buy the quality tool over low price.

[Alan Gales]

An uncle of mine used to say that if you are going to get the best in something then get it in anything that keeps you off the ground. Good tires, good shoes, good mattress. Wise advice!

[Alan Gales]

Buy cheap, pay twice. Always buy one up from where you thought you'd be satisfied. If you think you'd be happy with a 65" TV, get a 75" TV.

Hey, Alan. I own a pair of your electrician's pliers. Great tools!


https://www.homedepot.com/b/Electric...5yc1vZbm95Z3xg