I was just reading the post below about the low priced hammer drill, along with some of the replies, and it got me to thinking. A comment was made to the effect that is wasn't really all that smart to spend alot of money on a tool that wasn't going to be used but once or twice a year. In the farming world, if no other, I'd think that comment would be so far away from reality than in any other profession.
It all got me to thinking about my tools, and the frequency of use they get. Basically I have some that are cheap and some that are expensive, that all get used on a near daily basis. On the other hand I have some that might get pulled out only once a year, or even every couple of years, or some even less than that.
Funny thing about the whole deal is that some of the ones that get used the absolute least of the bunch are some of the most expensive. For instance I've several Enerpac, Simplex, etc hydraulic rams that only get used when they are really needed. One of the largest is a 100 ton ram with a 10 inch stroke. That ram alone would cost me around $3500 to replace. Add on the 100 ton with a 6 inch stroke ($2500), a 50 ton with a 6 inch stroke ($1250), a 50 ton twin ram ($1000), a 60 ton thru hole with a 10 inch stroke ($3500 plus), and another 60 ton thru hole with a 6 inch stroke ($2700), not to mention all of the smaller diameter 10 to 30 ton rams, and the flat/short stroke rams. Top that with another 103 ton CAT ram, and a smaller mate at 75 tons, both used for pulling sprockets, etc, and the list grows even larger.
All total I'm guestimating I've got somewhere around $25,000 worth of nothing but hydraulic rams designed for lifting equipment, pushing out pins, etc, etc, etc., that spend 99% of their lives doing nothing but riding around until they are needed. Granted I don't have nearly the $25000 invested in them it would cost to replace them all, but that's because I was smart enough to wait for deals on many of them, and a few I got lucky when LARGE customers would clean up and give me items they no longer used (ie-the two CAT rams).
In any case my point it this. I wouldn't even begin to cheap out on any of my tools, but I still know when it's prudent to buy the high dollar item, buy the lower cost item that will do the same job only without the brand name, and/or simply wait for a deal on a name brand item that is truely worth the cost for that name.
So, I said all that to get to my question. How may of you guys have a $30,000 impliment that only gets used once or twice a year? How many are like me and have to have expensive hand tools on hand wether needed every day or not?
Ultimately, I guess what I'm really curious about is who has the most expensive tool/item/whatever you call it, that only gets used a couple of times a year? Too, when used it has to be of the highest quality and is actually worth the expense to own (and have a high quality name brand) regardless of hugely inverse proportion of the cost -vs- the time used ????
It all got me to thinking about my tools, and the frequency of use they get. Basically I have some that are cheap and some that are expensive, that all get used on a near daily basis. On the other hand I have some that might get pulled out only once a year, or even every couple of years, or some even less than that.
Funny thing about the whole deal is that some of the ones that get used the absolute least of the bunch are some of the most expensive. For instance I've several Enerpac, Simplex, etc hydraulic rams that only get used when they are really needed. One of the largest is a 100 ton ram with a 10 inch stroke. That ram alone would cost me around $3500 to replace. Add on the 100 ton with a 6 inch stroke ($2500), a 50 ton with a 6 inch stroke ($1250), a 50 ton twin ram ($1000), a 60 ton thru hole with a 10 inch stroke ($3500 plus), and another 60 ton thru hole with a 6 inch stroke ($2700), not to mention all of the smaller diameter 10 to 30 ton rams, and the flat/short stroke rams. Top that with another 103 ton CAT ram, and a smaller mate at 75 tons, both used for pulling sprockets, etc, and the list grows even larger.
All total I'm guestimating I've got somewhere around $25,000 worth of nothing but hydraulic rams designed for lifting equipment, pushing out pins, etc, etc, etc., that spend 99% of their lives doing nothing but riding around until they are needed. Granted I don't have nearly the $25000 invested in them it would cost to replace them all, but that's because I was smart enough to wait for deals on many of them, and a few I got lucky when LARGE customers would clean up and give me items they no longer used (ie-the two CAT rams).
In any case my point it this. I wouldn't even begin to cheap out on any of my tools, but I still know when it's prudent to buy the high dollar item, buy the lower cost item that will do the same job only without the brand name, and/or simply wait for a deal on a name brand item that is truely worth the cost for that name.
So, I said all that to get to my question. How may of you guys have a $30,000 impliment that only gets used once or twice a year? How many are like me and have to have expensive hand tools on hand wether needed every day or not?
Ultimately, I guess what I'm really curious about is who has the most expensive tool/item/whatever you call it, that only gets used a couple of times a year? Too, when used it has to be of the highest quality and is actually worth the expense to own (and have a high quality name brand) regardless of hugely inverse proportion of the cost -vs- the time used ????
