Hot Rods What is the best $100 you ever spent on a good tool

One of the best $100 tools I ever bought was a Greenfield tap and die set from an old fellow retiring from running his own machine shop. It was in excellent shape and I have used it many times.

 

I bought a Skatblast blasting cabinet and an outdoor blasting pot, both for $100. My old boss was selling his sign company and the new owner didn’t want the blasting equipment.

I use the blasting cabinet at least a third of the time I’m in the shop. It makes cleaning up parts almost fun. And it would still be a great investment even if I had to pay $1,000 for it.

 

My old Craftsman floor jack.

 

For me it was a used hydraulic cherry picker. I used it sooo much over the years.

 

My first arc welder, the old Lincoln 225 ac buzz box welder. Just under $100 on sale at Central Tractor in 1974. And just over $100 from the same place, a Hein-Werner labelled as Central Tractor, floor jack, about a month after the welder. Kept the welder for 25 years. Still have the floor jack. It's never leaked, and still gets used frequently. Only problem is, I don't remember it being as heavy as it is now.

 

well, it was $150.00, but without a doubt the best money spent on a "tool".

a friend /neighbor owed me $150.00 for some work I did, and he was moving and decided rather than pay someone to dismantle his Benwil 2 post lift, move it and set it up again he's just sell it to me for what I owed him and buy a new one. that was like 20 years ago.

 

Hands down, my homebuilt pressure blaster and enclosure. Built from a repurposed propane tank and stuff out of my garage, it has been working flawlessly for more than 40 years. The enclosure is just an old gazebo. Including the fresh air supplied mask, I doubt I have more than $100 in it.

 

Traeger pellet BBQ at yard sale. Hey, if I don’t eat I can’t work on cars.

John

 

Best $100+ I ever spent on a tool about 5 years ago.

 

I have the same one. Took it from my fathers machine shop after he passed away in 1963…

 

I bought this band saw years ago for about a hundred and jack-shafted it slow enough to cut steel. There's hardly a project I do that I don't use it.

Gary

 

Two for me in recent months. The first was a lightly used Martin 647K body hammer and dolly set in its original packaging on evil bay auction for $88 plus the ride; Summit sells it for $270.

The second was a very nice Record No.6 "Made in England" six inch bench vise for $100 on Kijiji locally. It is bolted to a welded 3ft by 6ft all-steel bench with under shelf that was also found locally for...you guessed it... another $100. That bench and vise is now the hub of my shop.

 

one of my first $100 tools bought in the early 1970s is a cracker box welder. It still works just fine after all these years. The fan rattles and I take the cover off and oil it every 10 years or so. I used to think it might quit working, now I think it will last forever.

 

I just picked up this hoist today for $60 off Craigslist ad from some guy moving to another state. Didn't even talk him down. That was the listed price. Already had one but couldn't pass it up.

 

How's about a Snap-On 1/2 drive click type torque wrench????...

 

Those are some good buys and home made tools.

 

To be honest any tool I’ve bought is my favorite/best when I use it.
For the life of me I can’t single one thing out!

 

Detached garage no running water. Maybe one doesn't think tool but I have washed parts in it. Nice to keep hands clean. Holds 5 gallons, has a pump soap dispenser and towel hanger.

 

That might be the USB oscilloscope. Really closer to $40 second hand, but I've had to add probes etc so in total there's more money involved.
Last used it to get an idea about what was going on with the ignition on an old rototiller with Briggs & Stratton, hooked the scope to the kill switch wire.
First image shows the output when I pulled the starter, a nice waveform but no action from the points so no high voltage pulse. Now I know there's a point related issue, so time to take things apart, what I find is a load of dirt on the points.
Next waveform shows the result, note that the scale is reduced 25x so the new high voltage peaks fits on the screen, the two peaks are now mere "bumps".
Then more zoom to two individual sparks, and last one single spark, also inverted to the way they're normally shown when you look at ignition waveforms. So now I can also see the system is putting out a good, strong spark and I can let the guy I'm helping out handle the fuel related issues.

Yes, sometimes modern tools can be great even for the obsolete machinery.

 

My Accu-Strike Chin Operated Welding Helmet.

 

Swag portaband stand. Use the saw a lot more instead of cutting discs.

 

Probably the Eastwood flaring tool that is pictured above in another post, or the Vintage Precision Ford Banjo Hub Puller. I don't currently have a car with a Banjo, but when I do, I'm all set.
It's $175 now but I believe it was a hundred when I bought it years ago.
http://www.vintageprecision.com/products/hub_pullers/index.html

 

Best thing I have ever bought for around $100 by a mile (I think it might have been $119 CDN at the time so that's like $87 US) was my Strong Hand portable welding table. I have used it a ton and it has held up beautifully. They have skyrocketed in price since then about $280 CDN now, but at the time it was an absolute steal. The knock offs I have seen are not nearly as well built as the Strong Hand version.

 

This Columbian machinist's vise. Use it every day. Strong as hell.

 

For me it's my Milwaukie porta band saw. I bought it new in 2010, and it's got who knows how many hundreds of hours of use on it? It's one of the best tools and most used tools in my shop.

 

Simple, I bought dinner for my pal, and he has every tool known to mankind, and knows how to use them all.... I'm your basic wannabe, and he is the ultimate gearhead. Actually, I'd be dead in the water without his constant help, and I will be forever grateful.....

 

Hello,

The most used tool in my tool drawers is a cordless drill with backup batteries. Over the years, I have used that tool at our house, my son’s house, our granddaughter’s projects, and on countless work application in all sorts of situations. It is the handiest tool to use anywhere, anytime. Yes, I still have a very old (I bought back in the late 60s,)corded hand drill for those moments like drilling into concrete to set concrete screws. The thickness of the concrete makes the cordless battery powered drill run slowly and it takes forever. Sometimes stopping completely… But, the corded one still powers through thick or thin…

In addition to that cordless drill in its own case with all accessories stuffed into the portable case, the handy skill saw has seen plenty of action making various projects over time and a longer home life that goes back to our 2nd house many years ago. But, they are still in action at our current house, too.

Jnaki

We gave away our complete shop equipment to friends and neighbors, counter drill press, table saw, band saw, air compressor, various vises from bolt on to clamp on versions. Our garage is used to house our cars and to do work on different projects that pop up now and then. One day, all of the tools will not be ours to use. Our son or granddaughter will have access to our house, garage and various tools. Although, a lot of the tools and stuff in the drawers we deem valuable, will be “chucked” in a total garage clean out one day.

Jnaki

But as long as I am able to do “stuff,” then the minimal gobs of tools and a portable Sawzall will suffice to keep our house safe from incoming storms. And, those once in 84 years of a hurricane/tropical storms that decides to give So Cal a shake or two with some wind and water. Yikes!

Note:
“16 (66) Springs and 16 (66) Summers gone now
Cartwheels turn to car wheels through the town
And they tell him, "Take your time, it won't be long now
'Til you drag your feet to slow the circles down"

“And the seasons, they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return, we can only look
Behind, from where we came
And go round and round and round, in the circle game…” Joni Mitchell/Tom Rush

 

That sun machine is really beautiful, I would love that sitting around just to look at.

 

My Kobalt Lithium Ion Battery powered Drill. They ran them on sale (do it most holidays) with a battery and a charger included for $89. I use it all the time and it made me a fan of Kobalt tools. They are less expensive than Dewalt/Craftsman/or Milwaukee and they have a 5 year warranty. Best of all the batteries have a 3 year warranty and they last way longer than that. The Crapsman and the Dewalt batteries always died the day after the TWO year warranty expired. Had a bunch of em do that, and they cost way more than Kobalt batteries. I have some from 2017 that are still working fine. So then I bought some of the 3 tool Kobalt kits. They have an excellent sale if you can catch it where they sell TWO of the larger 4ah batteries and a charger for a great price. They have an excellent flashlight that works well and is my wifes "go to" during power outages. With a supply of batteries for my other tools we are never without plenty of light. Then along came the really nice little cut off saw (blade not wheel) thats handy as he**.
Yep, that $89 purchase changed my way of life..... I just love these tools.