Tools

[CactusPots]

I've been watching all the "should I buy a slab roller or pugmill" topics.  My reply isn't specific to either, so I'll just say it here.

I love tools.  I can't resist the idea of being able to accomplish some task that is not practical or even possible without this or that tool.  The end result product is only part of the joy in tools.  The more versatile the tools the more joy it will probably bring me.  To that end, my last tool I will ever sell is my bandsaw.  Not even a pottery tool.  I've made more cool stuff for pottery with that bandsaw than I can even think to mention.   The joy from the process of being able to accomplish a creative idea with the means on hand is indescribable to me.  I learned early on to design around the tools you have.  Having more tools means a wider range of imagination.

For me there are only 3 criteria regarding buying tools.  1 Do I have room for it.  2  Do I have cash for it.  3 Do I have a plan for it.  (now).

My wife says I will buy a tool to change a light bulb.  Maybe.  Newest tool, hot wire styrofoam cutter for making hump molds. 

[Mark C.]

I to am a heavy tool user -weather its a electrical tool wood working metal working solar or plumbing or specialty tools. The room for them is my largest issue. If I emptied my pot shop i could put them all in there after all clay work is done-wait ghat means I'm done.

I'm thinking of selling my underwater cutting torch (Broco) it burns at 20,000 degress and cuts thru stone underwater no typo on that temperature. I had two of them and sold one. My days of cutting up shipwrecks are behind me. It also weighs more than I can handle these days as it comes with 100 feet of Number 6 cable and an oxygen line.Great for cutting  bronze portholes out from steel ships.I have some in the yard -well more than some.

Tools we love them

[neilestrick]

I love tools, but have limited space for them and really I already have pretty much everything I need. I did put an impact driver on my Christmas list because it would be nice to have one in addition to my regular cordless drill, and Christmas is for getting things you wouldn't normally buy for yourself, right? I try to only buy tools when I truly need them for a specific job, and at this point I've remodeled several houses so there's not much I don't have. Luckily there's a Harbor Freight near my house so if I do need something new I can get an inexpensive one. There are few tools that I use regularly enough to justify spending the money for a really good one. The inexpensive ones last years and years when you only use it a couple times a year.

I do tend to buy quality hand tools for my kiln repair work since I use them a lot. I invested in a really nice Ideal multimeter a decade ago that's still going strong. I've only had to replace the probes once. One of my great joys is getting new screwdrivers. I wear out my standard straight and #2 Phillips every year or two, and I absolutely love the feel of new grippy handles. It's the little things...

[liambesaw]

Tools are great.  And the great thing I've found out, is if you're pricing out a job, whether it's new brakes on the car, or putting siding on your house, or building a shed, or running a new circuit for your kiln... It's usually cheaper by half to do it yourself AND buy all the tools to do it properly.  And as long as you're not intimidated by it, it's usually done better than someone else doing it anyway.  

Last year I bought a mechanics tool set and some big c clamps to do my brakes.  Was 400 for the tools and new pads, the brake shop wanted 700.  

Kiln circuit they wanted 1200, bought the tools and supplies and did it myself for 400.  

New shed, my god what are they making these sheds out of?  Solid gold?  Don't get me started on sheds people...

[Sorcery]

My guy was talking about how he sawed some bone dry clay up to make a bonsai pot.

I was talking with a woodturner about the usefulness of buying the appropriate tools.

I fought the saw and the....

saw won!

That was an automated hydraulic iron cutting bandsaw. Angry with how she had been treated, she bit me cuz she wasn't used to being adjusted to work right! Some call it a "love tap".

#torqueburgerwithfries.

Speaking of torque... finally got a couple torque wrenches. I'll guess on anything but the bike handlebars.

Got a bunch of dead boxwood bonsai that I can't wait to make some tools of.

Yesterday, I was thinking about how after 3 years, I'm still learning simple rib tricks, getting more use of sticks, and exploring brushes still.

Love a clay that you can make nice with just fingers, #Standard101. I hate tools.

I love tools because there are much less useful things to do with a thumb, though hitchhiking to Pennsylvania to see Simon has crossed my mind.

Maybe cuz the more you "keep practicing" the more of an extension of you the tool becomes. For that reason I like to keep it minimal, only a couple few tools to master as a time. 

Tool Up!

Sorce

[neilestrick]

3 hours ago, Sorcery said:

I fought the saw and the...

I fought a snowblower once. I didn't win either.

[CactusPots]

23 hours ago, Mark C. said:

I to am a heavy tool user -weather its a electrical tool wood working metal working solar or plumbing or specialty tools. The room for them is my largest issue. If I emptied my pot shop i could put them all in there after all clay work is done-wait ghat means I'm done.

I'm thinking of selling my underwater cutting torch (Broco) it burns at 20,000 degress and cuts thru stone underwater no typo on that temperature. I had two of them and sold one. My days of cutting up shipwrecks are behind me. It also weighs more than I can handle these days as it comes with 100 feet of Number 6 cable and an oxygen line.Great for cutting  bronze portholes out from steel ships.I have some in the yard -well more than some.

Tools we love them

Tools are super powers.  Makes  you able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive.