[AT] HF sawmill

Henry Miller hank at millerfarm.com
Thu Aug 12 17:30:09 PDT 2010


On Wednesday 11 August 2010 11:32:13 Indiana Robinson wrote:
> If a man tells me that he is really proud of having a complete set of
> the very finest (insert your favorite brand here) tools my response is
> "good for you, I'm glad for you"... If on the other hand he tells me
> that he absolutely cannot work with less than the best and that I am a
> damn fool for buying less than the best then my response is "how
> pathetic"... He probably is not much of a mechanic and I probably
> don't want to waste my time trying to become friends with him. In this
> world you are wisest to just learn to do the best you can with what
> you can afford to work with. If you just "can't" work with a cheap
> tool at all then you probably can't work with a good one either...

I have long learned that a quality tool is worth the price.   Sure I can work 
with junk tools - I do all the time.   I spend more time sharpening my cheap 
chisels than I do working with them.  By contrast I have some expensive planes 
that hold an edge well (so long as I don't abuse them), and so I don't spend 
nearly as much time sharpening them.

Of course there is a place for junk tools.  If you expect to drop them in a 
manure pile (if you have to work in a manure pile you have to expect 
something), a cheap tool is important, so long as it will get the job done.  
If you never expect to use the tool again, so long as the tool has one use in 
it, all is well: no need to store or sell it, just put it in the trash.

I believe it is true that it is a poor craftsman who blames his tools.   
However this is often a reflection on the tools the craftsman has around in 
the first place.  



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