Tools. I’m not saying you have to buy the most expensive option out there, but buying something from Harbor Freight or random Chinese brand on Amazon is just throwing away your money. I have Ryobi (a mid-ish range brand) power tools that have held up to years of constant abuse, and I’ve used Harbor Freight tools that fell apart within the first few minutes of use.
My personal rule is if I know I’ll only need it once, borrow or rent it. If I know I’ll need it occasionally, buy something in the mid-range of quality. If I’ll need it a few times a week, find the best possible option and buy whatever is one step below that.
Not only do you save yourself from having to buy replacements over and over again, but the quality of your work will be much more consistent when you have something with reliability and/or precision that you can count on.
I like the philosophy of buy the cheap $30 one, if you use it enough to wear it out then spring for the nice one (obviously doesn’t apply to every tool, some types of cheap tools are entirely unfit for purpose)
Depends on how much you’re going to use it. I bought the cheapest battery operating oscillating saw (about $19 I think) to cut out some grout and mortar when I was repairing tile before selling my house. I’ve used it a couple of times since I moved. Really the only sucky thing is that all my other battery operated tools are from Makita so charging is easier for all of those.
Tools. I’m not saying you have to buy the most expensive option out there, but buying something from Harbor Freight or random Chinese brand on Amazon is just throwing away your money. I have Ryobi (a mid-ish range brand) power tools that have held up to years of constant abuse, and I’ve used Harbor Freight tools that fell apart within the first few minutes of use.
My personal rule is if I know I’ll only need it once, borrow or rent it. If I know I’ll need it occasionally, buy something in the mid-range of quality. If I’ll need it a few times a week, find the best possible option and buy whatever is one step below that.
Not only do you save yourself from having to buy replacements over and over again, but the quality of your work will be much more consistent when you have something with reliability and/or precision that you can count on.
I like the philosophy of buy the cheap $30 one, if you use it enough to wear it out then spring for the nice one (obviously doesn’t apply to every tool, some types of cheap tools are entirely unfit for purpose)
This is wisdom from Adam Savage, and that dude knows what he’s talking about.
My almost-10-year-old Harbor Freight angle grinder has entered the chat
But FWIW, I did spring for the nice paint spray machine. The quality of the job for the size of the job was worth it on that.
Depends on how much you’re going to use it. I bought the cheapest battery operating oscillating saw (about $19 I think) to cut out some grout and mortar when I was repairing tile before selling my house. I’ve used it a couple of times since I moved. Really the only sucky thing is that all my other battery operated tools are from Makita so charging is easier for all of those.