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Thread: Tool Buying Guilt?

  1. #1

    Tool Buying Guilt?

    Hi guys,

    Bit of an odd post maybe so sorry in advance.

    The other thread about what Santa brought you for Christmas just got me thinking. I normally use Christmas as an excuse to buy myself some tools but this year I had picked up some stuff leading up to the holidays and I already felt like I didn't deserve more - in fact I felt a bit 'dirty'.

    I have really fallen hard into woodworking since discovering it a few years ago. I love so much about so many aspects of it and I have felt a strong compulsion to learn more and to also acquire the 'capability' to enable me to make most things I could think of. I have therefore piled a lot of money into tools, and woodworking has consumed most of my conscious thoughts and time as well.

    When it comes to tools, I feel very fortunate to have been able to acquire what I have. However, I find that buying tools doesn't bring me happiness beyond the initial purchase, and in fact buying more tools feels somewhat shameful, glutonous and shallow; at least until those tools are put to productive use. Making things with those tools is like the salve or cure to those feelings, and it's only when I've made things that I start to feel ok about it. Making things makes me feel clean.

    Even if I can afford more nice tools I might really want, I feel it's somehow inappropriate to buy more until I really get more use out of what I already have.

    Does that make sense or echo anyone elses thoughts here?

    Cheers, Dom

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by Dominik Dudkiewicz View Post
    Hi guys,

    Bit of an odd post maybe so sorry in advance.

    The other thread about what Santa brought you for Christmas just got me thinking. I normally use Christmas as an excuse to buy myself some tools but this year I had picked up some stuff leading up to the holidays and I already felt like I didn't deserve more - in fact I felt a bit 'dirty'.

    I have really fallen hard into woodworking since discovering it a few years ago. I love so much about so many aspects of it and I have felt a strong compulsion to learn more and to also acquire the 'capability' to enable me to make most things I could think of. I have therefore piled a lot of money into tools, and woodworking has consumed most of my conscious thoughts and time as well.

    When it comes to tools, I feel very fortunate to have been able to acquire what I have. However, I find that buying tools doesn't bring me happiness beyond the initial purchase, and in fact buying more tools feels somewhat shameful, glutonous and shallow; at least until those tools are put to productive use. Making things with those tools is like the salve or cure to those feelings, and it's only when I've made things that I start to feel ok about it. Making things makes me feel clean.

    Even if I can afford more nice tools I might really want, I feel it's somehow inappropriate to buy more until I really get more use out of what I already have.

    Does that make sense or echo anyone elses thoughts here?
    The initial investment to "get functional" can be high. Don't feel so bad about it. It is what it is.

  3. #3
    If your purchase is putting you in debt or stressing your family budget I would be careful. If you can afford it, get some stuff.............sometimes have a wider variety of tools causes you to be able to use what you already have more often and efficiently. Buying a small planer on Craiig'slist opened up so many opportunities for me to use other tools I had plus save money buying sawmill lumber. my 2 pennies.

  4. #4
    In my working life, tools were always on sale, at least 50% off. Any money spent on tools was money that I didn't have to pay state, or federal income taxes on, along with SS. So if I could justify it, I bought it. In retirement, my outlook has changed to"can I get by without it?" I have tools that I have never used, but "had them just in case."

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Wrenn View Post
    In my working life, tools were always on sale, at least 50% off. Any money spent on tools was money that I didn't have to pay state, or federal income taxes on, along with SS. So if I could justify it, I bought it. In retirement, my outlook has changed to"can I get by without it?" I have tools that I have never used, but "had them just in case."

    Good point Bruce. I have taken the approach if I was starting a DIY project and I needed a tool I bought it and then had it for life. That is a good approach for younger woodworkers I believe. Now with kids raided and retired, I am not sweating money as much and continue to buy what I need.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Suffolk, Va.
    Posts
    208
    I buy the tools as I need them and don't skimp on quality. Like Ron Citerone I buy what I need when I need it and have a tool for life. I have a smallish shop 20' by 22' so my biggest limitation is space. I am lucky that my wife supports my hobby and lets me get what I need.
    Michael Dilday
    Suffolk, Va.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Manistique, Michigan
    Posts
    1,367
    I always consider:
    1) I am not sitting in a bar spending a lot of money on expensive alcohol. You can buy a 12 pack for the price of a couple of beers in a bar.
    2) a lot of people have more wrapped up in snowmobiles which can be used in my area 12 weeks of the year if they are lucky
    3) I can make things fir others to pay for my tools and shop

    It was more difficult in the years leading up to my girls going to college and when they were in college.

    I definitely buy the tools I think are quality. Made a few mistakes in the beginning and found in the long run it is less expensive to buy once.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Cedar Park, TX (NW Austin)
    Posts
    578
    Your post is far from “a bit odd” at least I hope not. I think a lot of people in all kinds of hobbies feel the same way before Christmas. I justify it by saying that I don’t hunt, fish, golf or drink and that my skills can be used around the house but like you the guilt still hits. It usually goes away come January when a life returns to a more “normal” state.

  9. #9
    Thanks guys.

    It's good to hear that most don't consider investing too much in quality tools wasteful or something to feel guilty about.

    I have never spent more than I can afford and have not taken on any debt to do so. In fact I am debt free. I also don't drink, smoke, spend money eating out or on clothes, cars, etc etc. I get very focussed on one thing. However, I suppose that there is no such thing as too much money and buying anything is at the expense of something else, now or in the future. So I suppose sometimes I think - have I indulged too much in this interest/passion vs possibly saving that money/investing it for the future. That said I do like to think of the woodworking tools I have as an investment, in my mental wellbeing, personal growth, and possibly even some sort of income producing venture in the future - but sometimes I think that maybe i'm just kidding myself and should be more responsible with my money for the long-term.

    Perhaps it's as other have said the best way is to buy tools when you need them for a particular project. I have a habbit of thinking of a future project and realising i'd need a particular tool(s) to accomplish some aspect of that project, and then fixate on aquiring that capability - even if I don't end up needing it for a long while. Something about knowing I "can" build anything I can conceive of and the freedom that provides in terms of mental freedom to plan projects, even ones I may never get around to - is very nice. I think the guilt comes in waves, particularly when I've just bought a bunch of stuff and when I haven't completed a project in a while - then it feels kind of over-indulgent and maybe greedy or wasteful - I can't quite find the words to explain it. Perhaps it's even that spending money on a high-end fancy hand tool that isn't a neccesity when others are unable to buy basics feels somehow wrong or something to feel embarrased about rather than proud of. Although there are of course many millions/billions of people with more and who spend more etc so I suppose it's all relative.

    At least buying quality that lasts and can be passed down is far better than consumption in the sense of buying stuff that consumes resources only to end up in landfill etc.

    Sorry, rambling a bit.

    Cheers, Dom

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    9,467
    Dom, one of the reasons for guilt is the sensitivity that affordability (of tools) is relative to the wide range of fori membership. Some can and others cannot afford to purchase their dreams. Some deal with this by continuing to dream, and others by justifying their own choices (positively or negatively). There will always be those with less and those with more.

    Remain tolerant to those who have more, and be sensitive to those who have less.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Derek Cohen View Post
    Dom, one of the reasons for guilt is the sensitivity that affordability (of tools) is relative to the wide range of fori membership. Some can and others cannot afford to purchase their dreams. Some deal with this by continuing to dream, and others by justifying their own choices (positively or negatively). There will always be those with less and those with more.

    Remain tolerant to those who have more, and be sensitive to those who have less.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Hi Derek.

    Yeah I think you are right. Not just regarding sensitivity to Forum members and Tools specifically but more broadly to everyone. I can't imagine what really wealthy people who may be indulging in excesses feel in this regard.

    I think you are right too, that being sensitive to others is important. Sometimes I can lose sight of that in my excitement over something new - and it isn't a pleasant feeling.

    Cheers, Dom

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    East Virginia
    Posts
    830
    I think one of the reasons I can justify buying tools/machinery to do my various crafts (woodworking, welding, upholstery, etc.) is that I can tell myself, "Hey, if I lose my job, I can always use my tools to make money."

    Now if I could only find a way to justify buying equipment for my other hobbies like hunting and fishing!

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    West Lafayette, IN
    Posts
    6,529
    I get where you’re coming from, and have been there. Those feelings for me came from really wanting something, getting it, then wondering why I got it because it never got use. That’s why I and some other have new in box tools laying around. I only have a couple things but still.

    The way I’ve gotten over those feelings, is buying used and waiting for good deals. I fix up most of my machines which is why they were cheap.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Piercefield, NY
    Posts
    1,657
    Buying a tool for a specific job works pretty well for me, but there are times when it's awkward. I bought a used Reliant shaper for $300 to put tongues and grooves on 100 pine 1x6 boards that I had been drying for a year or two to replace the floor in a 14x20 room in an old house. The jointer was cheaper than buying plywood to cover that whole room, and the floor is much prettier. The 1x6 were almost free since they came from small trees I was thinning in an overgrown pine plantation, and we already had the sawmill, but now it has been 3 years since I used the shaper, it just sits out in the loft. I can't seem to decide whether to sell it again or save it for an eventual time when we might want to make more flooring or do something else that needs it. I feel something like guilt for leaving it there, but I hope it will retain the little value it has so that at whatever time I decide to use it or sell it those will still be good options.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
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    7,252
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    You’re just putting people to work who make quality things, nothing to be guilty about.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

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