That was the first thing that hit me after I got my first little wire welder - I used to spend much effort figuring out how to hold certain things together, hunt for brackets, drill holes, bolts and screws, epoxy. Now it is far easier - weld on a tab, make a custom bracket in a few minutes. One of the first things I did was tack weld a little piece on my radial arm saw that for years I had held with bailing wire - a permanent fix took about 15 seconds. Add a few tools like a mill and metal lathe (and press!) and there is not much around the farm you can't fix or make.
One of the joys is being able to fix things like wheelbarrows and generators for friends that they would otherwise have trashed since replacement parts and service are often unobtainable or too expensive. Another thing is being able to make my own tools as needed or on a whim, like this little saw (steel rod, hacksaw, torch, TIG welder, mill) ...
Attachment 366973
...or make things that would be expensive to buy and make them better than you can buy, like this llama/alpaca restraint chute for medication and shearing. A commercial one is $1700 before shipping (300+ lbs).
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JKJ