Unused new tools?

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  • leehljp
    Just me
    • Dec 2002
    • 8429
    • Tunica, MS
    • BT3000/3100

    Unused new tools?

    UnUsed New Tools

    What Tools have you purchased that you have not used?

    OK, go ahead and admit that you have purchased but not used some tool. A little over a year ago, I purchased a hand held spindle sander from Grizzly:
    https://www.grizzly.com/products/Gri...-Sander/T27961
    I used it for the first time yesterday. (It was VERY handy, and will use it more!
    My HF spool fed welder was another tool that I had 2 years before taking it out of a box and using it - and it did not work like I imagined, and I ended up buying a good stick welder.

    Loring mentioned in another thread a Dewalt router that he had not used since buying it.

    That got me to thinking of tools that we buy that we never or rarely use. I remember reading stories here of people who purchased the BT3x00 and kept it two or three years or more before, or never taking it out of the box. I have a few more barely used tools, but most were used soon after purchasing.

    Your tool(s) purchased without using - or mostly unused and still setting in the box?
    Hank Lee

    Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!
  • twistsol
    Veteran Member
    • Dec 2002
    • 2893
    • Cottage Grove, MN, USA.
    • Ridgid R4512, 2x ShopSmith Mark V 520, 1951 Shopsmith 10ER

    #2
    I jumped on the bandwagon and was one of the first to order the Shaper Origin. Before we moved, I had enough time to take it out of the box, say ooh and ah and it's been in storage ever since. I have a friend out in Colorado that has a BT3100 and a bunch of other tools in boxes that were never opened. He thought he was going to start woodworking and then built and armored jeep for storm chasing instead.
    Chr's
    __________
    An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
    A moral man does it.

    Comment

    • LCHIEN
      Internet Fact Checker
      • Dec 2002
      • 20914
      • Katy, TX, USA.
      • BT3000 vintage 1999

      #3
      A lot of times I buy a tool after I needed it. I think, if I ever need to do this again, it'll be great to have such and such a tool.... So you get it and of course, time goes by and you forget you have it or just never do that again.

      In some respects you tend to think of your shop in terms of potential instead of accomplishments. If I just had xxxx, then I could do yyyy. And that's how we get tools that we don't use.

      I have a bunch of router bits, never used. That seemed like a good idea at the time.
      I have more clamps than I need, which is better than too few.
      I have some planes and sharpening equipment I got with the intention of learning how to use them better, And a few other things... I shall not name.
      Last edited by LCHIEN; 09-22-2020, 10:06 PM.
      Loring in Katy, TX USA
      If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
      BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

      Comment

      • cwsmith
        Veteran Member
        • Dec 2005
        • 2737
        • NY Southern Tier, USA.
        • BT3100-1

        #4
        I've got a Grizzly 10" wet grinder that I thought would be super, when I got my shop set up in the shed. Well other than taking it out of the box to check that the motor worked, it's still sitting there waiting for me... probably about three or four years now. Then I've got a Ridgid joiner/planer and a Ridgid thickness planer that I've used only a couple of times. I bought them on clearance, again with the hope of having a "perfect" little wood shop. I've got the shop, and all the tools in position (except for the Joiner, which still sits in the garage where I assembled it). While the shop gets used on occasion for some minor stuff, I consider it all a waste. I had so hoped that in my retirement I'd be a man of leisure and have all kinds of time to create things. Seems that any long stretches of time are totally off the menu. My days are spent running errands, helping others and the free time just comes in little grasps like an few minutes here or there. Such is life!

        CWS
        Last edited by cwsmith; 09-23-2020, 06:52 PM. Reason: The grinder sits so long in the box, I forgot what size it was (:
        Think it Through Before You Do!

        Comment

        • Black walnut
          Administrator
          • Aug 2015
          • 5438
          • BT3K

          #5
          Drill bits and taps that are replacements of commonly used items.
          just another brick in the wall...

          Boycott McAfee. They placed an unresponsive popup on my pc.

          Comment

          • atgcpaul
            Veteran Member
            • Aug 2003
            • 4055
            • Maryland
            • Grizzly 1023SLX

            #6
            I've got a few.

            --I bought a Rikon mini lathe right before my 2nd daughter was born. I opened the box to look at the manual but never took it out of the box. Some day.
            --I bought a HF angle grinder that I thought I would outfit with a wood grinding wheel but I never did. At least that one wasn't too expensive.
            --When I bought my Grizzly TS, I bought the Grizzly tenoning jig at the same time. Still in the box. I found other ways to join wood and now I have a Domino that gets a lot more use.
            --I have a Drill Doctor which is practically new but has seen little use. I wish I hadn't put it in storage, though, because I could really use it now.

            Comment

            • leehljp
              Just me
              • Dec 2002
              • 8429
              • Tunica, MS
              • BT3000/3100

              #7
              I think Loring hit the "nail on the head" with this:
              In some respects you tend to think of your shop in terms of potential instead of accomplishments. If I just had xxxx, then I could do yyyy. And that's how we get tools that we don't use.
              I'm GUILTY!

              And as CWS said, getting busy running errands and helping others takes up FAR more time than was expected in retirement.

              Some mentions of RARELY used tools that are the same for me:
              Water wheel slow grinder
              Thickness planer
              Hank Lee

              Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

              Comment

              • jussi
                Veteran Member
                • Jan 2007
                • 2162

                #8
                I hope to change these in the near future (and confident I will) but as yet I haven't used my hvlp sprayer and JDS multi router. Another tool I'm less confident on ever using is my Festool LS30 linear sander. I bought it thinking I could finally machine sand all those contours, round overs, etc. But as of yet I still haven't taken it out of the box and still rely on hand sanding everything.
                I reject your reality and substitute my own.

                Comment

                • mteetank
                  Handtools only
                  • Sep 2020
                  • 1
                  • Minnesota
                  • 1970's Craftsman 10" with many add ons and upgrades

                  #9
                  Bought this sprayer on sale over a year ago, never opened the box. Had big plans .......... yaaaa.


                  Comment

                  • LCHIEN
                    Internet Fact Checker
                    • Dec 2002
                    • 20914
                    • Katy, TX, USA.
                    • BT3000 vintage 1999

                    #10
                    Come to think of it I have a Critter Sprayer I never used.
                    And a Zyliss Z-vise I never really used. With lathe accessories,
                    And embarressingly I found while poking around tonight a rip fence extrusion I had gotten God knows when to make a long miter fence but I never did and just bought another and documented in another post.
                    And finally I have a set of rails for my BT3000 I got for when I went all out with the saw but I never did, lacking the room to do it. Actually I think I have two sets.
                    Last edited by LCHIEN; 09-25-2020, 03:09 AM.
                    Loring in Katy, TX USA
                    If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
                    BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

                    Comment

                    • Carlos
                      Veteran Member
                      • Jan 2004
                      • 1893
                      • Phoenix, AZ, USA.

                      #11
                      I don't have any GOOD unused tools. I've had a few crap tools that never got used. The Harbor Freight HVLP sprayer lived here rent-free for a while, and got sold unused. BUT...I replaced it with a good one and it got used. I knew I wanted to try more spray finishes, but as soon as I unpacked that HF sprayer I could see it was junk and that I was going to hate it every time I used it. So I didn't. I never "decided" to, it just never happened.

                      My edge sander is almost unused. I can't figure out a good workflow around it. I think partially the space it's in, partially just knowing when to use it and how to use it well. It's powerful and I've already shot one piece across the shop.

                      Comment

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