Buying vs. Hiring

[bumperm]

It has been my experience that to get a job done to suit me I had to do it. There in nothing worse than paying someone to do grading work only to find it done the way they wanted it done and not the way you want it.
If you are in no real rush do it yourself with the kids it is something they will treasure the rest of their lives. You will gain valuable experience and will have the equipment to use for many other projects that will come up over your live time and theirs. Me my father and father in law cleared planted and projected on our home place for years. They are both gone on but I wouldn't take a million dollars for the time that we spent together.

Amen!

Never pass up an excuse to buy tools. It's a guy thing. And, there's a mathematical formula to help you decide whether to purchase or not:

Want X Need = Buy

To further explain this formula, please note that just a little Need with a whole lot of Want equals Buy!

Conversely, a whole lot of Need with just a little Want still equals Buy.

This formula is useful when discussing purchase decisions with the wife, however, in a healthy marriage, all tools are "off budget" when it comes to your Toy Account.

 

[jenkinsph]

Amen!

Never pass up an excuse to buy tools. It's a guy thing. And, there's a mathematical formula to help you decide whether to purchase or not:

Want X Need = Buy

To further explain this formula, please note that just a little Need with a whole lot of Want equals Buy!

Conversely, a whole lot of Need with just a little Want still equals Buy.

This formula is useful when discussing purchase decisions with the wife, however, in a healthy marriage, all tools are "off budget" when it comes to your Toy Account.

I used that formula for the last 25 years or so. I know I over bought all kinds of tools I thought it was the right thing to do. You can become a prisoner of your tools and look back one day and recognize that money in the bank is easier to take care of.

 

[bumperm]

I used that formula for the last 25 years or so. I know I over bought all kinds of tools I thought it was the right thing to do. You can become a prisoner of your tools and look back one day and recognize that money in the bank is easier to take care of.

Blasphemy! :shocked:

My name is Bumper and I'm a toolaholic . . . I need help!

 

[1026mrg]

"When you (we, he) die, I hope that your wife sells all of your tools, attachments, tractors, guns, etc. for what you TOLD her you paid for them...."

 

[Gary Fowler]

"When you (we, he) die, I hope that your wife sells all of your tools, attachments, tractors, guns, etc. for what you TOLD her you paid for them...."

I hope I am lucky enough to be there when she does.

 

[bumperm]

Sometimes I'll make a tool for a specific purpose, then years later happen upon it, pick it up and wonder, "Now what the **** is this for?". My lingering goal is to have my kids go through my stuff piece by piece and that be the oft repeated lament.

 

[newbury]

<snip>
If you are in no real rush do it yourself with the kids it is something they will treasure the rest of their lives. You will gain valuable experience and will have the equipment to use for many other projects that will come up over your live time and theirs. Me my father and father in law cleared planted and projected on our home place for years. They are both gone on but I wouldn't take a million dollars for the time that we spent together.

My Father and Grandfather built a duplex on what they thought was 20 acres of farmland in northern Vermont (Essex Center, turned out to be 30 acres when surveyed years later). I was in 6th grade when we started cutting thorn trees in the winter and piling them up. I soon learned to live like a pincushion. It took about a year and a half before we moved in, with virtually all the work done by the three Georges. Grandfather, George Sr., Dad, George Jr., and me.
In my summer the first year I learned to carry 4 concrete block at once and mix concrete.

My Grandfather was a master carpenter and my Dad was a tool and die maker at IBM. Grandfather worked full time on the house, Dad nights and weekends. With the "finishing off" of the house, later building a garage and barn, plus maintaining the woodlot they kept me busy enough to NOT get in trouble until college.

Like NC41 wrote it was priceless. Plus it gave me a strong enough founding in all aspects of house building that I'm pretty confident doing anything and can spot when a contractor is cutting corners or doing poor work.

From my Grandfather I learned the major electrical test - ALFSAF - or Always Look For Smoke And Fire. And that there is only a limited amount of smoke packaged in electrical components and once it's gone they need replacing.

My Father taught me a job worth doing is worth doing when you can do it well. Sometimes it's better not to start a non-critical project until you've fully completed the 3 P's:
Ponder a lot and do some sketches
Piddle around - looking to see what's on hand you can use and repurpose
Putter - start putting things together so you can finish the project with a purpose.