Luxury item you would never buy

[nutsnbolts]

The back story: The hospital where l work is located in an upscale residential neighborhood, and they are bent on getting people to find alternative forms of transportation, to reduce the size of our traffic footprint. As the hospital grows, the demand for parking grows. The hospital has decided that the solution is to charge employees to park a car, and offer a bonus to those who do not bring a car to work.

When l worked day shift, parking cost $7 a day. Now that l am working nights, l have decided to walk to work, get more exercise, and it gives me a $4 bonus. The swing from one to another will give me an extra $11 per day. l am, of course, planning to spend that money on tools

Which brings me to the topic of this thread...what is something cool that you would love to have in your garage or shop, but that you don't need, so you would never buy it for yourself? I am considering looking into those mini machining stations, something like a small shopsmith. I don't know anything about them, but I have heard you can do some pretty cool stuff with them. What about you?

 

[BMWED]

I would love to get a Tig welder, don't need one, but would like to learn.
Ed

 

[djjsr]

CNC router.

 

[vertguy]

I use the same approach to spend recognition gift cards from work as we have many online retailers to choose from including Amazon... thus far, they have funded a Dewalt portaband and Race ramps. Both of which were items I was hard pressed to justify the cost, but they do come in handy.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Lista storage

 

[bobcatdan]

Tire changer and balancer. While handy at times, could never see enough use. Also the added cost of supplies. Buddy has a nice set up, but other then used weights, only uses tape weights. I have no call for tape weights and until then have no care for them. I can get wheels off the car changed and balanced for $5 so for the once every three years I need a car tire changed, I'll live without. Equipment tires I have everything to change manually in about 15 minutes.

 

[softailgarage]

In ground motorcycle lift

 

[larry_g]

Its perty hard for me to think of luxury things to have. In the scale of things, gotta have, should have, nice to have, want to have, and then luxury items, I'm still working on the should have level.

I suppose that a sittin' room with an easy chair would be nice.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[canuckian]

by order of likelihood that i'll ever get to pull the trigger on either...

a set of Gojaks
motorcycle hoist
plasma cutter
milling machine
metal lathe

 

[DBendr]

I'd never own a dishwasher or garbage disposal.

 

[unslow1]

One of the local colleges has that kind of policy for employees. The park about 1 mile away is impossible to get a spot in M-F. Every business near there has to enforce towing strictly.

 

[Bagherra]

In ground motorcycle lift

This is on my wish list!

 

[Sal Bandini]

Anything Festool

 

[theoldwizard1]

Luxury, in a 2 car uninsulated, unheated garage ? Luxury would be a 30x40x10 garage insulated and heated.

 

[turbowoodworker]

Corporate jet.

 

[oldldh]

Something my Wife wants...

She deserves it...

 

[^&right]

Personally, I'd park a P-51 Mustang in there, but that is a lot of walking.

So, I'd settle for a plasma cutter or larger oven for power coating and a big *** blast cabinet.

 

[HotFry]

Luxury, in a 2 car uninsulated, unheated garage ? Luxury would be a 30x40x10 garage insulated and heated.

Fo Show! If it was something I could afford I’d go for one of those luxury garage’s like was in a thread not too long ago, that would be so cool. Oh well, I’ll just have to be happy with the one I have.

 

[Cato]

Lista storage

Yeah, me too.

Then I'd feel silly putting all my cheap Craftsman and Home Depot tools in there, thus necessitating the purchase of thousands and thousands of dollars of new "luxury" tools like Snap On and those **** German Gedore wrenches.

That wouldn't happen even if I become a billionaire because in the end a tool is a tool it's a means to an end.

 

[wesst]

For me it would be Snap-On tools. I know I may get flamed for it, but I am not a professional mechanic, and have a hard time justifying the opportunity costs, or what else I could spend the money on.

Non tool related luxuries, I would say an aluminum car hauler trailer. I really want one, but just can't bring myself to spend that much.

 

[CoogarXR]

A garage fridge. I just can't justify the electric bill to save 50ft of walking.

Same with a garage toilet. I would love to have one, but the cost of digging sewer out there would be ridiculous, when I could just walk 50ft to drop a bushel. Strangely enough, my garage does have a funnel screwed to the wall, with an attached hose that goes through the wall, and out into the alley. I assume it is a primitive urinal. I never got my dong near it though. I figure the first time I do, wasps will come pouring out of it.

 

[matemike]

I'd second the tire changer. I've just got too many things that I like swapping tires on for different driving styles and from season to season. Motorcycles, four wheelers, trailers, 370z, Sierra Denali, Expedition, zero turn. Heck, even my wheel barrow could use a new set of tires but I dont feel like battling to make the swap manually and I'd feel so useless if I were to bring wheel barrow wheels to a tire shop for swapping rubbers. Many times I just feel like a tire machine would be handy for me, but then I'd feel guilty when it went unused for months and months at a time.

Other than a tire machine I'd probably never buy a snap-on tool box. Being a simple home diy'er I can't justify owning a tool box that cost as much as a small vehicle. (Brand new price). I'll just stick with my protos and strictly's.

 

[Greg85mcss]

For me it would be Snap-On tools. I know I may get flamed for it, but I am not a professional mechanic, and have a hard time justifying the opportunity costs, or what else I could spend the money on.



Non tool related luxuries, I would say an aluminum car hauler trailer. I really want one, but just can't bring myself to spend that much.

Both of these & I'd like to learn to weld. I do turn wrenches for a living & a few years back when I got the bump up to doing bigger jobs I had a lot to buy quickly. I turned to hf & ebay mostly. I buy good tools now & have replaced the total **** but most of them do the intended job. I get a little envious when the single guys walk off a truck with something shiny but I can't justify spending thousands of dollars to replace sockets that do what they are supposed to when my wife is buying diapers with her paycheck.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bczygan]

The back story: The hospital where l work is located in an upscale residential neighborhood, and they are bent on getting people to find alternative forms of transportation, to reduce the size of our traffic footprint. As the hospital grows, the demand for parking grows. The hospital has decided that the solution is to charge employees to park a car, and offer a bonus to those who do not bring a car to work.

When l worked day shift, parking cost $7 a day. Now that l am working nights, l have decided to walk to work, get more exercise, and it gives me a $4 bonus. The swing from one to another will give me an extra $11 per day. l am, of course, planning to spend that money on tools

Which brings me to the topic of this thread...what is something cool that you would love to have in your garage or shop, but that you don't need, so you would never buy it for yourself? I am considering looking into those mini machining stations, something like a small shopsmith. I don't know anything about them, but I have heard you can do some pretty cool stuff with them. What about you?

52 weeks times 5 days times 11 = $2,860.00 Wow!

What do you like working with? Automotive? Wood? Metal?

What tools do you already have for the thing you like doing?

It seems to me that you need all the tools for a particular interest. You can't do woodworking with just a table saw. You can't do metalworking with just a drill press.

So whatever you are into, find the biggest, most expensive tool, that you don't have, and get that.

In metalworking I'd get a mill and lathe and grinder, if I already didn't have them.

In woodworking, a table saw or jointer or planer.

In automotive, a welder or hoist.

Or if you already have all the basics, how about upgrading a tool that is marginal.

Of course I'm talking about used tools, to make the money stretch.

Notice that I'm talking about tools that are useful and necessary for their areas of use, but might have been too expensive to buy just yet.

I wouldn't spend that kind of money on a tool you wouldn't want to have bought anyway.

What are your interests?

Bill

 

[bczygan]

And going further.....Do not buy a combination machine. Buy full sized single purpose machines. And get tried and true makes. For a mill, look for a Bridgeport. For lathes and drill presses and such, get good old American iron.

What tools do you have now?

Bill

 

[TK-421]

A maid.

 

[bcradio]

probably a plasma cutter. I would literally almost never use it because i have many other better ways to cut metal already, but it'd be sweet to have.

I also live in the city not out in the middle of nowhere, so a lathe or mill or lift would not fit of course.

 

[Toofast28]

For me it would be Snap-On tools. I know I may get flamed for it, but I am not a professional mechanic, and have a hard time justifying the opportunity costs, or what else I could spend the money on.



Non tool related luxuries, I would say an aluminum car hauler trailer. I really want one, but just can't bring myself to spend that much.

I'd never buy an aluminum framed car trailer, they all crack and break, you fix one spot, cracks somewhere else. Seen it in all brands, doesn't matter if you spend $20k on a Featherlite or much less on a bargain brand. They all crack. Though the featherlites do tend to crack the least.

 

[bczygan]

probably a plasma cutter. I would literally almost never use it because i have many other better ways to cut metal already, but it'd be sweet to have.

I also live in the city not out in the middle of nowhere, so a lathe or mill or lift would not fit of course.

You're in an apartment?

My 1 car garage has a mill, lathe, horizontal bandsaw, 2 drill presses, arbor press, 2 compressors, parts washer and a grinder.

Bill

 

[DBendr]

A maid.

Don't fret. You'll be married one day. That's the most expensive maid known to man.

 

[TK-421]

Don't fret. You'll be married one day. That's the most expensive maid known to man.

And they also like to nag...

 

[Yv.]

An electric toilet.

 

[fiemo weezap]

A wire edm or a nice surface grinder. Would complement my lathe and mill.

 

[ThomasP]

A weekend trip to the Bunny Ranch in Nevada.

 

[bcradio]

You're in an apartment?

My 1 car garage has a mill, lathe, horizontal bandsaw, 2 drill presses, arbor press, 2 compressors, parts washer and a grinder.

Bill

My 2 car definitely couldn't fit that... although I have much higher priority tools that are much more useful than those.

Hmmmmmm. have a mill and lathe and work on my car in the driveway as well as all my big projects or have space in my garage to actually work on stuff?

Option B. Have much more useful tools and the room to do projects and work on my car in the garage. Thanks

 

[Al Borland]

A set of tools that MATCH!
And are SHINY.
And a nice big red box.
with lots of drawers to put them in.
In neat rows.
Never to be used, only looked at.
AWW, who am I kidding??? I would just ruin them anyway.

 

[nutsnbolts]

One of the local colleges has that kind of policy for employees. The park about 1 mile away is impossible to get a spot in M-F. Every business near there has to enforce towing strictly.

It has always been a pain in the ***, but it is what it is. There is no way around it. And it is one of the few things I don't like about working there. It rally is a great place to work.

 

[nutsnbolts]

52 weeks times 5 days times 11 = $2,860.00 Wow!

What do you like working with? Automotive? Wood? Metal?

What tools do you already have for the thing you like doing?

It seems to me that you need all the tools for a particular interest. You can't do woodworking with just a table saw. You can't do metalworking with just a drill press.

So whatever you are into, find the biggest, most expensive tool, that you don't have, and get that.

In metalworking I'd get a mill and lathe and grinder, if I already didn't have them.

In woodworking, a table saw or jointer or planer.

In automotive, a welder or hoist.

Or if you already have all the basics, how about upgrading a tool that is marginal.

Of course I'm talking about used tools, to make the money stretch.

Notice that I'm talking about tools that are useful and necessary for their areas of use, but might have been too expensive to buy just yet.

I wouldn't spend that kind of money on a tool you wouldn't want to have bought anyway.

What are your interests?

Bill

A very well thought out post Bill!

l work 4-10's, so it isn't quite that much. It works out to about 200 days x $11 = $2200. Still, l will take it

My interests are all over the place. l would love to get a classic car and fix it up. Fabrication also has my attention, I would love to learn some welding and machining.

My biggest challenge is lack of space. We currently live near downtown in a townhouse. The garage is built for a mini Cooper and is mostly used for storage. No matter how hard I try, I can't keep it organized and every project turns it into a tornado wreckage. Unfortunately, it is where we are and there isn't a lot I can do about that right now.

I will probably buy a better tool box for the garage to start with. The current box is an old $99 Waterloo that has crappy drawers and way too much weight in it. And there are a few other things I could use...better lighting, a bench vise, maybe more storage under the bench. Mostly though, I started this thread because I always find that people come forth with things I hadn't thought of. It is one of the things I like most about this place

 

[nutsnbolts]

And going further.....Do not buy a combination machine. Buy full sized single purpose machines. And get tried and true makes. For a mill, look for a Bridgeport. For lathes and drill presses and such, get good old American iron.

What tools do you have now?

Bill

Good to know. Unfortunately, space is my biggest challenge

I do building maintenance so l have a good supply of basic tools. Funny thing is, most everyone here has their expensive tools at work and cheaper stuff at home. I am the opposite. We have a thief at work, so all of my good Snap On stuff is at home and I bought Armstrong and Blackhawk for work. It really ticks me off that I have to do that. Management has turned a blind eye to the problem, because the thief is an electrician who works in the OR on weekends and they know that it is a position that is extremely difficult to fill. At some point it may be addressed, but for now, we are stuck with him. One of the other few things I don't like about the job.

At home I have some carpentry tools from a project I did last year building shelving units for the garage. I recently picked up some steel shelving units for our storage unit, that is next on my agenda. If I get the storage more organized then I should be able to fit more stuff, and can get some stuff down there that is currently in the garage. I also have automotive tools and some of this and that. One day I will have it all well organized and usable...right?

 

[kiatech]

A big hydraulic shear and a brake to accompany it