On today’s weekend show, we’re talking about tool overkill.
What Are We Talking About
Page asked:
When have you bought a tool that was way overkill for the task at hand… Just because you want the nicer one? For example, I’m planning to buy a Makita Electric Chainsaw (close neighbors, and I hate gasoline) for 2-3 times the cost of a common homeowners saw that would work fine for the maybe six times I will use it over the next decade.
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6 replies on “WT366 – Tool Overkill”
Maybe I’m a cynic, but tool overkill might just be the blowback to the proliferation of crap you can buy now a days.
I – like numerous others, I’m sure – have bought my fair share of lemons, and now more often spend more than I need to. I prefer to part with a little more coin than to suffer the headache and frustration of dealing with crap tools.
Re: the comment about the new thread taps being an example of tool overkill:
After looking at some videos on tapping into wood and looking at suppliers of good metal taps, I’ve concluded that
(a) the metal taps I’d choose for this (with tapered flutes and round shanks) might end up being at least as expensive as the new Wood Whisperer ones
and
(b) those metal taps might not be as optimized for tapping wood as the new WW screw taps in terms of chip clearance and in terms of the shank being held firmly by drill chuck.
If you get these and use them so infrequently that metal threaded inserts would be more cost effective – or if you get them and end up not using them at all – then yeah they’d be overkill. But if you get them and do use them then I suspect they’d be well worth the investment.
I like this guy! 😉
Fun discussion. My biggest overkill is probably my Lazarus Bevel-Up Smoother. Not demonstrably better than my Veritas Smoother, but such a pretty tool. No regrets!
I’ve never regretted buying a better tool than I really needed.
You helped with what little guilt I felt from buying better quality tools than the self-professed amateur requires. It’s great to know I have a podcast to listen to that encourages me to buy quality tools, enjoy using them and not feel guilty about it. Great show!!!