Have you "paid" for your tools?

[Mshep]

Great question. If I were to ask my wife, she would say no, quickly. I have only modest tools and a small amount compared to most. But if you think hard about what you have accomplished with them, in my case. I have layed 1500 sq ft of wood floors and all the trim as well. Did I use the bulk of my tools for this, no. But if you think about what it would have cost me to pay someone else to do it. Then yes without a doubt, as that's what got me started in woodworking, even though it's not woodworking.... In her mind she is only thinking of the key rack, tv stand and video game shelves and bookcase. In that sense she would be correct. Then again if I asked her about her hobby paying for it self, no way. As we have not gotten a meal from any of her fish tanks! Whose hobby pays for it self? Every day I wake up and walk around the house I get the satisfaction of seeing my handy work and that sense of accomplishment is worth every penny I have and will ever have spent on tools. That's what I call priceless.

[sawdust703]

I agree Mark. If we take into account all the fix ups, & I need this done, then yes, my tools have paid for themselves. As I posted before, not many of my tools are new, but I've brought them up to date, & they work for me. I'm not able to do much big work anymore because of my back. But if you look at all the work I've done with them, & the folks I've made happy, they've paid for themselves.

[KyleD]

I definitely had the tools in my shop paid off until around 2010 when I discovered Festool. Since then I have bought into enough of the green cool aid that I have to occasionally go to the old stand by statement- " It's a little expensive but it's better than drinking the money at the bar"

[toolmiser]

Let's also not forget that they will have some resale value in the future.  That is if anyone does woodworking then.  Some tools get a little dated, but as a whole good quality tools will be pretty useful in the future.

[Snipe Hunter]

I've paid for my tools many times over. Woodworking is just something I do when I'm not working on the house. The tools were generally bought for renovating the home(s). The cool thing is that I use a lot of my old (antique) tools doing the reno work. Planes, saws etc.

[EightFingers]

They've been paid for many times over. The business also pays for trips to Maui, O'Ahu, Kauai since I do business there. I'm suprised it's taken off as fast as has since I've only been in Hawaii for three years.

[tag]

Almost all of my tools were bought used. Many of the large tools (table saw, jointer) were inoperative and I refurbished them. I never looked at woodworking as a cost savings endeavor but purely as enjoyment. Something I do at my whim and no one else's. I no longer try to please anyone with what I make but me. That there is priceless.

[BigD]

I have been doing woodworking for 65 years (started @ age 6), bought my first power tool @ age 14 (scroll saw which I still have and use) and never looked back. Today I have a large fully equipped shop. A while back, my wife was in my shop looking around and said "you sure have a lot of money tied up in tools".

I replied "It is either having this shop and these tools or spending even more money keeping me in a nut house because that is where I would be".

[RonB1957]

Some days a guy just needs his therapy. And other days he needs therapy for the therapy.
Most of my tools have paid for them selves time and again. Others, maybe not so much. Sanity......Priceless.

[doobes]

It depends on how you account for the value.

Have I saved more money in direct costs than the cost of the tools? Probably not.

Have I saved more money by using the tools to do the work necessary around the house more efficiently? Absolutely. My time is valuable and having the right tools available has allowed me to effectively allocate my time.

cheers,