Are tools investments ?

[mmcmdl]

I believe good quality tools are great investments . Most have bottomed out on price nowadays with all the plant closures and moves south of the border . Now , as the same as years back , I would spend that extra money on QUALITY top name tools . My money would possibly get that .05 percent interest in the bank . Uh , big deal . I bought the tools I needed to do the work . I maintained them and I'm able to sell them for what I paid for them . My Starretts , Brown and Sharpes , Top Quality Imports from years ago have made me $$$$$ and are easily worth what I paid for them new . I am not trying to stress a point to the newbies on the site but you have to think about longevity of the tools . A lot of the stuff these days are throw away tools . Cheap , use them once , re-sale value = 0 . A $500 top quality tool purchased 10 years ago will sell for $500 today if they are properly maintained . At .05 % interest a year , that $500 bucks might have netted you 10 bucks ( of course minus taxes ) . Your cost for the tool for 10 years use was 5 bucks . Just sayin , look long term and try to figure out what suits you best . I just can-not understand why people waste their money on cheap junk tools just to move up and upgrade a year later . Maybe it's just my thoughts but lets here your opinions . I am an active machinist , looking to help apprentices or people willing to learn this trade . It's an expensive trade no doubt . You will pay the price of a new car just to get in the door of most places , and most won't accept HF crap or big box store stuff . Let's here from the " old timers " on this thought .

 

[chips&more]

I echo your thoughts. Only thing is, my children don’t understand. All they know is computers. It will be one heck of an estate sale. And I’ll be banging my head in the box!

 

[Nogoingback]

I think the best reason to buy a quality tool is simply because it will do the job properly. Even if a cheap tool gets the job done, it's usually
not as well and is annoying every time you pick it up. So, there are functional reasons for owning good tools, as well as the satifsfaction
of using (and owning) them. Junk tools are not conducive to craftsmanship.

I'm not sure about tools as investments. Maybe it works out that way, but for lots of tools I'm not convinced. I've been looking at a
lot of tools on eBay recently, and if you look at selling (not asking) prices, I don't think a lot of money is being made. For most tools,
there are just too many out there to support high prices. But hey, that makes for buying opportunities!

 

[mmcmdl]

The east coast is kind of crazy right now . A huge up swing in manufacturing and no machinists to be found . CNC operators everywhere but no machinists . Sad .

 

[mmcmdl]

I echo your thoughts. Only thing is, my children don’t understand. All they know is computers. It will be one heck of an estate sale. And I’ll be banging my head in the box!

And I will echo that !

 

[34_40]

I don't think of myself as an "old-timer".. just made 60 y.o., but I have always tried to buy the best that I could afford. I used to turn wrenches for a living and when times were good I'd buy Snap-On, when things were lean, I'd buy off the "other" trucks. Craftsman was good for the home shop. Now that I'm learning more machine works, I prefer older B&S / Starrett. Guys buyin' HF only to do it again later.. just won't make sense now, or later. And there is definitely somethin' to working with a quality tool it will just bring a smile to your face.

 

[benmychree]

Yes, tools can be sold for what was paid for them many years ago, but that does not consider inflation; something that I bought for $100 in the 60s or 70s is still worth the bucks, but the bucks are only worth about 1/4th or 1/5th of what they were worth then. Supply and demand is another factor; I look on e bay and see a multitude of 0-1 and 1-2 micrometers, and what I see is "dead men's tools", a multitude of passed machinists had tools that are in oversupply because there are so few machinist jobs left in today's economy. In today's market, vernier tools, especially those with 25 division verneir scales are practically given away, 50 division tools sell a little better, but everyone (seemingly) wants electronic, those tools that cannot make up their minds on which thousandth (or half) to settle on.
Personally, I have Starrett tools, but I like B&S a bit more, but they were not well set up with western distributors, as Starrett was, so until e bay came along there was little opportunity to buy B&S.

 

[C-Bag]

Yes, tools can be sold for what was paid for them many years ago, but that does not consider inflation; something that I bought for $100 in the 60s or 70s is still worth the bucks, but the bucks are only worth about 1/4th or 1/5th of what they were worth then. Supply and demand is another factor; I look on e bay and see a multitude of 0-1 and 1-2 micrometers, and what I see is "dead men's tools", a multitude of passed machinists had tools that are in oversupply because there are so few machinist jobs left in today's economy. In today's market, vernier tools, especially those with 25 division verneir scales are practically given away, 50 division tools sell a little better, but everyone (seemingly) wants electronic, those tools that cannot make up their minds on which thousandth (or half) to settle on.
Personally, I have Starrett tools, but I like B&S a bit more, but they were not well set up with western distributors, as Starrett was, so until e bay came along there was little opportunity to buy B&S.

+1 ! I totally agree. I'm also a B&S guy from early on. I was lucky to become friends with an old guy who made his living going to swap meets through the 70's and 80's until he died. Whenever he'd find some nice set of B&S or Starrett he'd get hold of me and likewise if I ran into something I thought he could resale. While I really appreciate fine tools I also know the limits of the job at hand.

When I was making my living twisting wrenches I bought Proto, Snap-On and Mac. But I know my poor wife isn't going to get a fraction of what I originally bought them for. The guys who go to yard and estate sales only want it if they can steal for penny's on the dollar. Because they aren't in the trade. Those guys buy new off the trucks. I see guys retiring selling their tools on CL and most of the boxes are 1/4 of what they paid and they have to part them out and still only get a fraction of the crazy prices you'll pay on a truck. I too have been struck several times while I wade through a guy's lifetime accumulation of tools at a sale by the realization of "dead men's tools". Made me feel bad for my wife, just until I found the next deal

I have a tamale cart full of pro tools, but all my machine tools are PacRim because I'm not doing it for customers, I'm making projects for myself and working out of a two car garage. I'm able to turn out the stuff I need for way less than if I tried to have a machine shop do it(if I could find one), And because they are hobby sized machines I'll be able to sell them for what I paid, probably more. And I bought a 9x20 lathe fully tooled and a decently tooled RF-30, both for less than a new Chinese clone of the RF30 goes for at HF. Granted they both needed work, but I was a machining noob and they have taught me a lot.

Meanwhile big Old Iron production lathes and mills in LA and SF are sitting for basically scrap prices. I get what the OP is saying, but in my part of the world reality is somewhat different.

 

[Bob Korves]

I echo your thoughts. Only thing is, my children don’t understand. All they know is computers. It will be one heck of an estate sale. And I’ll be banging my head in the box!

Dave, put me in your will, and I will put you in mine. I think either of us would have to spread the inheritance around to people who could use it, due to lack of places to put more stuff.

 

[projectnut]

I think you're being overly optimistic if you think you can sell a 30 year tool for the same price you bought it for, especially if you take inflation into account. I have the sales brochures and reciepts for almost every machine and tool I've ever purchased. The Sheldon MW-56-P lathe originally sold for $1650.00 in 1960. That would equate to $13,816.00 in todays dollars. The Bridgeport Series I machine originally sold for $1,570.00 in 1972. That would equate to $9,309.00 in todays dollars.
Nobody is going to pay those prices for a 50 or 60 year old machine regardless of the shape it's in. The same is true of all the measuring tools. Look at eBay. It's full of high quality machines, and tools that are selling for a small fraction of their original cost.

You buy them for their quality, and the fact that if they're treated properly they will probably last a lifetime. I still have Starrett, B&S, and Interapid micrometers, dial indicators, and calipers I purchased in the 1980's. They're in great shape and will probably be the only ones I'll ever need to buy. There are several of the same tools currently for sale on eBay. Some vendors are asking nearly new prices, but if you use the advanced search and include those that sold, I think you'll find on average they went for less than half of their original price.

ON EDIT: The same is true, but even worst for mechanics tools. Most Snap On tools on the used market go for about 10% of their original cost regardless of their condition. Keep in mind the actual selling price may in no way be related to the asking price.