Thread: Hidden Costs

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Originally Posted by 34_40

I guess we'd all like to have it at our disposal now.. but it surely ain't gonna happen on my budget!

Isn't it a matter of establishing wants vs true needs? A guy who has plenty of time (read that as "retired") and a reduced income can accomplish a lot with some pretty simple hand tools and a bit of innovation and imagination. For example, the edge of a workbench, a piece of angle iron and a handful of C-clamps makes an effective sheet metal break. It's not as quick, but it'll work. The english wheel? That's one that looks intriguing, but I really cannot see myself investing the time to learn how to use it effectively at this point in life. Same with a planishing hammer - sexy, but am I really going to get into that degree of metal work, and all it really is is a very fast hammer and dolly? I mean, how many times do I really need to hit my thumb with a hammer in the course of thirty seconds, anyway? A lot can be accomplished with a set of hammers and a leather shot bag on a tree stump if it has to be done. For me, if I didn't have anything but simple hand tools and started thinking I was going to outfit a complete shop from scratch post retirement I'd hope that someone in my life would be kicking my butt up between my shoulder blades for throwing good money after bad, and push me toward finding a hobby that I could do with a much smaller investment, like photography or playing music, or painting nudes. OK, maybe not painting nudes - Mama probably wouldn't like that hobby