Should or shouldn't. The fish or cut bait syndrome

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For the past few weeks I’ve been suffering the “fish or cut bait” syndrome or so I describe it.

Basically it consists on a difficult to restrain desire of buying another tool, a plane or a saw that if I think about it I do not need.

However, e-bay lures me every day to look for a plane and try to get it at a reasonable price which is difficult because the ones I like are the most sought ones and shipping builds on top of the final price.

E-bay and planes or tools are both addictive and when they work togheter they are hard to resist.

Then my brain tells me: “you don’t need that tool, do you?” “use the money to buy some wood instead” but the temptation is there and it works in very maquiavelic way.

Temptation says: “If you are ready to pay 150$ for a plane plus 45-55$ on shipping forget about it and just get a brand new LN for 300 or 350$ plus 50$ on shipping and you get a very good plane and spare you the hassle of fettling and tuning it.

But concience says: “Yeah right, but you’ll be paying twice as much”

Temptation says: Yeah! But with the favourable exchange rate Euro vs Dollar you are saving almost 40%. Go for it!

Concience says: Yeah! But the savings are used on the shipping so there are no real savings!

And on, and on…

Maybe I’m a conservative tool freak, because if I was a true one I would just buy them.
Maybe I’m so avaricious that I don’t even allow myself some pleasures, funny enough I have no problem in spending the same amount in a present for someone else.

And temptation keeps on luring me, E-bay clock keeps on saying this auction ends in ten hours, BID NOW! And I watch the bids remaining at a low level, to lure me even more. Then on the last two minutes they soar to the ceiling, or sometimes not… and I’m left with the feeling of having lost a chance or the relief of not having bid.

Anyway I just wanted to share this feelings with you, as I guess that I’m not the only one in suffering this disease.
 
Toni, boy do I hear you on that dilemma, shipping and everything, but I think I have a solution for you.....

>> Lee Valley Veritas Planes <<
:D

Less than the LN but still a new, well made plane :D

You can thank me later :wave:

So... you want me to sink deeper into the dilemma don't you? Now I have more choices. I have bookmarked so many tool makers and sellers that I had to put a plastic sheet on my keyboard to prevent getting a shortcircuit due to me drooling in front of my monitor.:rofl::rofl::rofl:

Thanks for the info Stu, but I'm not sure about your intentions;);):)
 
toni,
i prefer to invest my money in good quality antique edge tools.
any of the "new" iron (or bronze) has the alure of being new and as far as i know they all work well?
but an antique has history, they`re not being made for anyone else, and if you shop wisely many offer better returns than the stock market.
the only exception i would consider if i had the money would be a handmade infill.....and even that i would have to weigh very carefully against a real norris.:eek:
 
the only exception i would consider if i had the money would be a handmade infill.....and even that i would have to weigh very carefully against a real norris.:eek:

An infill is another thing I'd like to have, but an old one as you say a Norris or Spyers.

While the Sauer & Steiner, Holtey and some others are astonishing, they are so shiny and perfect that I would have problems in using them, Just imagining dropping them on the floor makes me shudder.

I may end making my own but it is not a priority now.
 
It sounds like you have the ability to talk yourself into and right back out of almost anything. This is a good trait as it has often saved me money although on occasion, cost me money as well.

When it comes to new tools I have become somewhat self-limiting; anything of any size that comes into the shop will require something else leaving the shop so I have to really need whateveer comes in AND have little need of whatever I plan to give up. My new first rule on new tools is to ask myself "how often have I needed to reach for that <insert possible new tool here> to make my life easier and shop time more enjoyable". Good luck and have fun.
 
Toni your story reminds of the story of Adam and Eve. I guess we all suffer tempation at some point or other.

My view is we all buy tools for a variety of different reasons. I go from being cheap and regretting it to being extravagant and regretting that or feeling guilt over it.

I have bought tools at times just to support the toolmaker for bring out a new idea. Hey I had people buy my products once and they knew they had bugs in at the time.

I have bought tools or machines and made choices that some would think to be crazy. Paying double the price for a bandsaw just cause it was made in the USA and had a decent motor on also made in the USA.

But when it comes to tools as you speak of I think there is much more wrapped up in those decisions than practicallity. To me a fine made plane is as much a work of art as a tool. It is to be taken out and admired. Shown off (not in a bragging way ) but in a sharing way so others might have the pleasure as a gallery would do with art. And we all know the feeling one gets of using a fine tool on decent wood. It gives you a boost of confidence and a moment to dream that you are the finest woodworker around. Hey in my shop i am. :rofl::rofl::rofl: But then there is no one else in my shop to compete with. I also think an old tool allows us to dream or think back to a time when the woodworking craft started and has a certain romance about it that fits in with our relationship with working wood.

Now one thing you might consider is that in a few months time you will be able to procure that same tool without paying shipping if you can be that patient.:D

As for ebay... i cannot comment i just dont have the trust or the patience for the auctions.:)
 
I like auctions, attending auctions and getting bargains. Haven't had the spare time the last few years so haven't been going. Like Rob, ebay hasn't grabbed my fancy.
On the should or shouldn't part, should. As long as it is extra money, doesn't take from the house fund, it will eventually help you produce something for the family in some form or fashion.
 
Toni, thanks for raising this issue. It's one many of us joke about, but it's also real. I don't need more tools. But I do want some. The pursuit of sets, of finding fine old tools in garage sales or auctions, is plain fun for me. Rehabbing an old derelict gives me satisfaction that is hard to beat.

If I find a tool that I don't need, I can fix it up and pass it on to someone else. That is reflected in some of the items I sell at the classifieds here.

Do I spend alot on tools? Yup. But the good tools we buy today will hold their value tomorrow. More than I can say about my car, or my clothes. So I look at it this way - if I can get a good tool at a good price, it just about always keep its worth, and I get to use and enjoy it in the meantime. I sometimes feel guilty, but the money spent is never diverted from family needs.
 
Buy a new plane?
Why doncha just get some wood.....like....say....some Osage Orange, and make yer own? ;):rofl:

Hi Frank, that thought also crossed my mind, have you got some OO left still?:rofl::rofl:

It sounds like you have the ability to talk yourself into and right back out of almost anything. This is a good trait as it has often saved me money although on occasion, cost me money as well.

When it comes to new tools I have become somewhat self-limiting; anything of any size that comes into the shop will require something else leaving the shop so I have to really need whateveer comes in AND have little need of whatever I plan to give up. My new first rule on new tools is to ask myself "how often have I needed to reach for that <insert possible new tool here> to make my life easier and shop time more enjoyable". Good luck and have fun.
I think you described my frame of mind better than myself, and as you say it saved me money sometimes and someother it cost me money. The most dangerous sentence is when I tired of the dilemma I start saying the dreaded sentence "What the heck... and I go for it" (I don't know if I'm breaking the COC rules here, if so please edit at will)

Toni your story reminds of the story of Adam and Eve. I guess we all suffer tempation at some point or other.

Now one thing you might consider is that in a few months time you will be able to procure that same tool without paying shipping if you can be that patient.:D

I've already thought about that, and I'm working on a list and possibly bring an empty suitcase or buy one there to take it back home full of tools, but then most problably I will have to pay for the extra weight in my luggage:rofl::rofl::rofl: and hopefully not being caught at customs.:(:(
 
I've already thought about that, and I'm working on a list and possibly bring an empty suitcase or buy one there to take it back home full of tools, but then most problably I will have to pay for the extra weight in my luggage:rofl::rofl::rofl: and hopefully not being caught at customs.:(:(


bring a suitcase full of "tools" with you on the flight over that way there will be a record of you traveling with your "tools"......
who`s the wiser if the old worn out swap meet planes and chisels have miraculously transformed themselves into bedrocks and ps&w chisels:rolleyes:
 
Toni,

I can relate to your dilemma but only on a slightly grander scale. Of late (the past couple of years), I've been looking at muscle cars. In particular, I've had my eye on a certain 1968 Camaro SS convertible. And, as much as I'd like to own one of these, I just can't bring myself to spend that much money. I've come close a couple of times, but common sense always prevails.

I think I missed the "self indulgent" gene - or at least the one that allows a body to spend $30K on a "toy". :rolleyes:
 
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