Your Biggest Tool Purchase Mistakes?

[Troubleshooter]

Tools I wish I hadn't of bought:

PC biscuit jointer- bought it because of Norm- used it once and sold it
Jet mortiser- didn't make smooth wall mortises and hard to pull the lever down. Changed to a router and jig and floating tenons.
Dewalt scroll saw - used twice
Jet 1442 lathe- made a few file handles and a mallet
Exactor sliding table. Never liked it changed over to the Jessem

[John Mihich]

I have to add.  I bought an old Craftsman RAS - it did not have a blade guard.  The first machine to really get me.  I gave it away and bought a sliding miter saw.  Does almost everything I used the RAS for and it has all the safety features. 

My wife gave me the go ahead for a Sawstop - only issue - I have to pay for it out of my shop money.  I only do this for a hobby but I really want to spend the money.  I believe this would not be a regretful purchase.

[paul2004]

Oh I forgot to say this.
I bought a Grizzly G8749 flap/drum sander.
It looks like a bench grinder but it has sanding drums on the side.
Have not tried the flap sander yet.
The sander itself works fine, but I bought the stand to go with it.
Stand walks across the floor when I use it. I have to put one foot to stand to hold it in place during use.
So the stand sucks.
This is something that I have against the wall and pull out when needed, so I Really don't 
want to build the heavy dedicated stand that it needs.
Maybe I will fasten it to piece of plywood and try using holdfasts to hold it down when it use.
That might work better.

I am sure the stand is adequate for a bench grinder, but Grizz should not have recommended it
for the sander.

[bhh]

1.   Craftsman Radial Arm saw.  Blade climbed up on the wood while in use, scared the crap out of me.  
     Partly my fault due to using the blade that came on it when I bought it.
     Woodnet taught me the error of my ways in using a positive rake blade for crosscutting.
     I was REALLY happy to have someone take it off my hands.

When I was first starting, the RAS seemed to be able to do everything.  I even got a book extolling its virtues. It did, but very, very, poorly.  You just had to look at the track the saw made in the table top to see how inaccurate it was on repeatable 90 degree cuts.

Second was the Porter-Cable detail sander ~ 2002.   What a total POS.   Fortunately, Home Depot took it back, no questions asked.  Apparently, I was not the only one, I don't think they make it any more.

[kurt18947]

A Porter Cable detail sander.  I'm not sure if I purchased it or it was a present.  I doubt anyone who has had one will debate it's worthlessness.

Almost all of my stationary machines were purchased used, and I didn't loose when I upgraded.  I've purchased some that looking back, I shouldn't have, but I sold them and got my money back out.

But Norm had one sooooo.....

[Howard Pollack]

I have to add.  I bought an old Craftsman RAS - it did not have a blade guard.  The first machine to really get me.  I gave it away and bought a sliding miter saw.  Does almost everything I used the RAS for and it has all the safety features. 

My wife gave me the go ahead for a Sawstop - only issue - I have to pay for it out of my shop money.  I only do this for a hobby but I really want to spend the money.  I believe this would not be a regretful purchase.

When I was a kid I worked in a cabinet shop.  There were too many guys with 9 and 8 fingers.  Safety on table saws can never be taken too seriously. -Howard

[museumguy]

My biggest regret was a Ridgid jobsite saw. I loved everything about the saw except for the throat plate. It was a piece of sheet metal. I never could figure out how to make a zci. I ended up selling it for a nice profit.