Talking to an old timer at the flea market changed how I look at tools

Met a guy named Frank at the flea market in Knoxville last Saturday who was selling a beat up drill press for $40. He said you don't need the newest stuff to do good work, you just need to know how to use what you got. I was about to drop $200 on a fancy new one from the store, but he let me test his out and it ran smooth as butter. Now I'm second guessing all the money I've blown on shiny new gear when old stuff works just fine... Has anyone else had a random stranger talk them out of a bad buy?

3 comments

3 Comments

mason.brian13d ago

Get yourself a copy of the original manual for that drill press online if you can, they're usually free and tell you exactly how to maintain it. I've kept my granddad's old Craftsman table saw running for fifteen years just by following the lubrication schedule in the booklet. Once you learn how to dial in older machines they'll outlast anything with a circuit board in it.

averymartin13d ago

I tried following a manual once and somehow made my drill press smoke worse than my cooking.

cameronn6212d ago

... and that's how it goes with most things anymore, people forget that good stuff don't have to be new.