Why do you buy tools?

[richfinn]

My Dad was a self employed Carpenter (Joiner in English) he always had decent tools and equipment, it was kind of inevitable I would get into a trade, as a kid I always loved bicycles and later motorcycles. My Dad always had work vehicles he could fix himself and I decided to become a mechanic in the early 80s.

When I started as an apprentice he bought me a very basic mechanics tool kit to get me started and I went from there.

I have everything I need to do my particular job nowadays so anything I buy is either an upgrade or a replacement, occasionally I will buy more test equipment or specialist tools as required to tackle newer vehicles.

 

[demarpaint]

This might fall into why/justification for buying tools. When I was in HS I took shop class and woodworking classes and became interested in cars and engines from hanging out with an older cousin [RIP] who drag raced. I wanted to learn and work on engines. When I started driving I did as many repairs as I could on my back, to save money and learn. I learned how to all the wear items, tune ups, valve jobs, and more advanced work. I also learned certain tools made life easier. I decided after doing a repair to find out what a shop would charge vs. DIY. The savings was substantial. I would take half the savings and bank it, and the other half to buy tools. Later on I bought a house that was damaged from fire, at a tremendous discount. I was already in the painting business and knew some carpentry and home repairs. Buying that house was the smartest thing I ever did, and I only needed a few tools to do that job with my small crew on weekends and weeks when we picked up time. Even to a non pro who likes to work with their hands having the right tools can save a ton of $$, and buying good tools can last a lifetime.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I’m a GC with a tool addiction, have to have every tool possible for the job and back up’s, plus there’s some tax benefits. Home is the same, multiples of most tools and then a camper with tools. Another house with more tools, plus i have a set of carpentry tools I gave my son to keep at his house so i don’t have to bring any. It’s a deep rabbit hole but a fun one.

 

[sanddan]

I started out working on cars, both a hobby and obsession. When I got married and bought our first house I turned into a diy’er, updating and repairing everything. I bought the tools I needed to do the job. Instead of paying for labor I used that money to buy the tools needed. If I needed it once I was sure I would need it again. I branched out into welding and metal fabrication after I graduated from college as an engineer. I designed welded steel structures and wanted to better understand what the welders had to do to build my designs. I also used the welder on my car projects. The same reasoning led me to machining and the purchase of a lathe and mill. Building up the tooling required was another excuse to invest in more tools. Now I’m retired and I tend to buy the tools I always wanted to have but didn’t get for one reason or another. Hard to justify but seems to fill an itch I need to scratch. Currently I’m lusting for a 2x72 belt grinder. Do I ”need” it? Probably not. But do I WANT it, YES!
I might have a problem. Haha

 

[BlindViper]

"Man is a tool-using animal. Weak in himself and of small stature, he stands
on a basis of some half square foot, has to straddle out his legs lest the
very winds supplant him. Neverless, he can use tools, devise tools; with
these the granite mountain melts into light dust before him; seas are his
smooth highway, wind and fire his unwearying steeds. Nowhere do you
find him without tools. Without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all."
Thomas Caryle (1795-1881)