Hi all,
Ridiculous? No, but I did just buy a new lathe, which brings the
total up to 6, ranging from 2 pounds, up to 5000, along with 5 (or
maybe 6?) anvils, ranging from 40 to 400 pounds. One of my screw
presses fell through the driveway the first time I unloaded it.
That was pretty ridiculous.
On the sane side, one of the other lathes is all-but-sold, and a
second one will probably end up donated to a machinery museum when I
get it back together again, and two of the others are under 5 pounds
each.
I think there are levels of ridiculous-ness. There are collectors
who just want a whole set of (X), or all of (X), and never plan to
use (X) That can get pretty ridiculous.
Most of us, I think, are pretty close to my situation: âbuy while
you canâ. Many of the tools that we need havenât been made in years.
So theyâre rare, and the supply isnât dependable. So you buy it
whenever you can. Thatâs why I have 5 (6?) anvils: I picked up
another one at an estate sale a couple of months back, just 'cause.
Itâs in iffy shape, and needs work (and is almost the same size as
one of my better anvils) but you never know, and besides, if I donât
end up wanting it, one of my students probably will. So I grabbed it.
Equally, one of the little lathes: A boley with a couple dozen WW
collets for $50?? Iâd be stupid not to get it. Eventually, Iâll
either set it up, or sell it. Either way, I guarantee itâll be worth
more than $50 to me at that point. (and itâs small enough to live in
the back of a drawer until that happy day.)
I do have a theory about acquiring tools though: âThe Black (or oily
brown) Hole Principleâ. Once youâve got a certain critical mass of
tools, they start attracting others. Once people know you âhave
toolsâ, at a certain level of seriousness, they start giving you
other tools. One of my students gave me his old radial arm saw,
because he wanted it out of the garage, and he figured I could use
it. Same thing with my wood-cutting bandsaw, and tablesaw. (Sometimes
I think itâs sort of like bringing offerings to the wizardâŚ)
Also, certain tools enable you to use tools that others canât. For
example: my multimeter has allowed me to fix all sorts of other
tools that were headed to the scrap-heap because âthey donât workâ.
Typically, itâs either a blown motor, or a fried switch. Easy
replacements both. In one memorable case, it was a thermal overload
that required the operator to punch it back in manually. Push the
button, and off it went. Iâve picked up all sorts of âdeadâ tools
that way. A little TLC, and most of them have been with me for years.
(I didnât actually end up with the tumbler with the thermal reset: I
told the owner about it, and let him keep it. That level of karmic
debt I donât need.)
I have another thought as well: The PackRatâs Creed:
âI can do almost anything, with little or nothing. Therefore, I wind
up saving little or nothing, of almost anything.â
On to the scrounge!
-Brian