Allen, I hear ya on the economics etc justification, but..here is how i look at it and perhaps it gives you a different angle.
I have lost more good friends that have been younger than me and died younger than me than i care to think about. And on the other hand the conversation this festive season around the various party tables was all getting related to what everyone is going to do when they retire. They were all blown away by my sleighs those that got them, and wondered how i did it.
Given i have had to start a new life here most of my friends here result from hockey parents and few have any hobbys at all. The "dream" in those i have contact with outside of business, is all about retirement. The thing is i wonder now how many of them are going to make it to retirement despite what the macro economists are saying about the baby boomers.
I cannot justify any of my tools i have purchased from an economic point of view. I justify them from a mental sanity point of view. If i have to be confined to watching a television display for any more days than i care to do out of free will then despite not owning one, smith and weston will become friends with me in most negative way.
So say it costs you $2000 or whatever, in my view of these things if it gives you pleasure in a positive sense its a free mental health plan. I see mental health as the biggest issue outside of physical health as we age.
You get a great kick out of turning a pen or making some furniture which you have now confirmed is (despite what you consider to be your skills) way better than many high end stores are selling for stupid prices. You have kitted out your kids and yourself and now moving on to your daughter.
Especially given the downtime you experience due to health, i would be looking if i were in your shoes to make the most of every single opportunity to be doing what i want rather than having to make do because of lack of something like heat.
Bottom line is life is too short. It wont break the bank for you but it will have you feel a lot happier when you can get out to do what you want when you are able. That to me makes the heat priceless as the mastercard advert says. Its not like you spending your savings on Johnny Walker or Famous Grouse or whatever and pouring it down the sewer, neither are you burning it up in smoke unless you do it on the table saw with the blade skew,
all that you have said over the years have spoken to how well you have planned for this part of your life. Give it a second thought and go for it. You will be a lot happier and this will rub off on your family too.
Just some alternative ways of looking at it. Best of luck with what you decide.