The realities of tool ownership...

[JobandKnock]

Longer, surely?

 

[Fergie 307]

Another problem with hiring out tools is that unless you know the person well you do not know in what condition the tool will be returned. If you need breakers, mixers and paddies mopeds etc there are plenty of places to hire, but for us in woodworking I doubt if there is a market for mitre saws and drills.

So true. Having had a couple of bad experiences I now never lend tools in any circumstances whatsoever. You never know if the otherwise perfectly sensible and intelligent individual you know may turn out to be a cack handed tool butcher. One of my dad's favourite expressions is "you could give him a battleship to dust and he'd break it". I'm sure we can all think of someone we know who fits the bill.

 

[stuart little]

Longer, surely?

It was getting on a bit when it got to my workshop, as I worked on older cars - MG, MM. 2CV etc.

 

[stuart little]

AH, you may well be correct there mate, me & numbers & it was about 30yrs ago!

Delayed action memory kicking in - twas a 944 but I was ,obviously, misinformed by a fellow mechanic who probably was thinking of a 912. Talking of which a 912 came in for work brakes & non start. Fuel pump relay was the cause of non-start, this relay had a VW part no. on it, so got a price from both VW & Porsche, surprisingly Porsche was £5 less than VW! What's this got to do with woodworking? . Oh well, back to 'Project Binky'!!!!! I'd like to thank you guys for the link to 'Binky' - I'm now addicted.

Stuart

 

[Fergie 307]

Had a fuel cut off valve go on the Merc. Genuine Mercedes part £200 odd plus vat. But made by Bosch, and from their local agent £150 all in. So who wants to pay 90 quid for a pretty cardboard box with Mercedes Benz printed on it?

 

[JobandKnock]

Some Mercedes owners? I bet it'll be the same (but more so?) when people need parts gorvthe badge-engineered Kangoo that M-B sell.

 

[stuart little]

Here's another, GM movano pas pump pulley £90 ,Renault master £20 & this was 14 yrs ago!

 

[Fergie 307]

I recall having to do an engine on a Volvo. This was the model they did very briefly that was a badge engineered Daf, I think Volvo called it a 100. The engine was a Renault four pot with wet liners, a la Renault 12 etc. The owner was adamant it was a Volvo engine, " it has Volvo stamped into the cover on top". A set of liners and pistons from Volvo was a horrendous price, Renault slightly less so, or you could buy them from Hepolite who actually made them for Renault for about half the price. Never ceases to amaze me how ignorant people can be of what is actually in their cars. Similarly in those days many manufacturers used Ferodo brake linings, so would sir like the parts in a Ferodo box for £20, or exactly the same parts in a Renault, Fiat etc box for £35?

 

[stuart little]

I recall having to do an engine on a Volvo. This was the model they did very briefly that was a badge engineered Daf, I think Volvo called it a 100. The engine was a Renault four pot with wet liners, a la Renault 12 etc. The owner was adamant it was a Volvo engine, " it has Volvo stamped into the cover on top". A set of liners and pistons from Volvo was a horrendous price, Renault slightly less so, or you could buy them from Hepolite who actually made them for Renault for about half the price. Never ceases to amaze me how ignorant people can be of what is actually in their cars. Similarly in those days many manufacturers used Ferodo brake linings, so would sir like the parts in a Ferodo box for £20, or exactly the same parts in a Renault, Fiat etc box for £35?

Some Renault parts didn't fit the Volvo version. Here's another, working on a Mitsubishi [don'tt remember model], I spotted a 'Volvo' tag on an a/c pipe. Parts for the Cit./ 'Pug'/ Fiat Sevel van cheaper from Fiat!

 

[Bigegg]

There are parts for the lexus, which can be ordered from the Toyota dealers, under a Lexus part number, in a Lexus box, which is half the price of the same thing from lexus

 

[jcassidy]

My newer lexus (IS300 Sportcross) will tow 1.5T - but towbars for it are so rare I doubt I'll _ever_ be able to find one.
(It took me 5 years to get one for the GS)

A man who likes cars as rare as good steak. You've more chance of finding a tow bar for a Lamborghini.

 

[jcassidy]

A young lad at work is a BMW fan boy. The turbo on his nearly-new 5-series blew, long story but his own fault really.

BMW garage quotes €14k to replace everything on the exhaust, from the manifold to the pipe, as it was all damaged! Knowing I worked in a garage as a kid, he mentioned it to me. I wondered, surely if debris damaged the manifold, the cylinders would be trashed?? Doesn't sound right. Referred him to an independent BMW specialist near where I train.

Of course it turns out everything just needs a deep clean. Couple hundred euro for an exhaust specialist down the country plus a couple grand labour. Less than $3k all in, including a reconditioned turbo and an important life lesson.

Made me feel sorry for all the schmucks who trust their dealer and don't get second opinions.

 

[Jonm]

Spin speeds on washing machines. Higher spin speeds are a big selling point. Of course any out of balance load (and there is plenty of that with washing) and the forces on the bearings go up as the square of the speed. Double the rpm and loads are four times higher. So obviously the higher spin speed machines have stronger bearings plus more powerful and stronger motors and that is what you are paying for.

So I looked at a manufacturer which sold similar machines but different spin speeds. Part numbers for replacement drums and motors were the same! I cannot remember which manufacturer it was. Then I tried to find out how much drier the higher spin speed got the clothes, how much longer they would take to dry outside and if tumbling, was the reduced time measurable and would it be reduced in practice and actually reduce costs. I gave up at that point.

I came to the conclusion that basically you were paying extra for a different connection to the motor, extra programmes that would never be used, dubious improvements to the ”dryness” of the clothes and a machine which would wear out quicker.

 

[Bigegg]

A man who likes cars as rare as good steak. You've more chance of finding a tow bar for a Lamborghini.

I'm laughing. But I'm also crying inside.

 

[Jonm]

but although it's a 'car tax' rip-off @ £360/yr. I've no intension of buying anything else

That is to encourage you to be green. Scrap the car and buy a newer, more efficient cleaner car. The fact that making the new car will dump far more CO2 in to the atmosphere than will ever be saved by the more fuel efficient car is immaterial.

It “sounds“ environmentally friendly to tax older, less fuel efficient and polluting cars but the government has not produced any research to demonstrate that it is actually environmentally friendly to scrap a perfectly good old vehicle and replace with new. Perhaps someone on here knows better.

Here is a report but I have not the time to read it.
https://ec.europa.eu/clima/sites/default/files/transport/vehicles/docs/2020_study_main_report_en.pdf

 

[Rorschach]

Spin speeds on washing machines. Higher spin speeds are a big selling point. Of course any out of balance load (and there is plenty of that with washing) and the forces on the bearings go up as the square of the speed. Double the rpm and loads are four times higher. So obviously the higher spin speed machines have stronger bearings plus more powerful and stronger motors and that is what you are paying for.

So I looked at a manufacturer which sold similar machines but different spin speeds. Part numbers for replacement drums and motors were the same! I cannot remember which manufacturer it was. Then I tried to find out how much drier the higher spin speed got the clothes, how much longer they would take to dry outside and if tumbling, was the reduced time measurable and would it be reduced in practice and actually reduce costs. I gave up at that point.

I came to the conclusion that basically you were paying extra for a different connection to the motor, extra programmes that would never be used, dubious improvements to the ”dryness” of the clothes and a machine which would wear out quicker.

Interesting, I assume higher spin speed would be better built to cope, maybe not. That being said, my policy of buy cheap, buy multiple times had worked well for white goods, most last almost as long as their much more expensive counterparts and the cost per year is far far lower overall.

 

[stuart little]

That is to encourage you to be green. Scrap the car and buy a newer, more efficient cleaner car. The fact that making the new car will dump far more CO2 in to the atmosphere than will ever be saved by the more fuel efficient car is immaterial.

It “sounds“ environmentally friendly to tax older, less fuel efficient and polluting cars but the government has not produced any research to demonstrate that it is actually environmentally friendly to scrap a perfectly good old vehicle and replace with new. Perhaps someone on here knows better.

Here is a report but I have not the time to read it.
https://ec.europa.eu/clima/sites/default/files/transport/vehicles/docs/2020_study_main_report_en.pdf

An old 7t diesel truck is cheaper to tax!

 

[Terry - Somerset]

Premium products generally sell in much lower quantities than their lower priced mass market equivalents. Applies to white good, cars, electronis etc.

In some cases premium products are genuinely better than the lower priced. Often they are superficially different and just marketed to differentiate between brands and badges.

We know this happens with woodworking machines where lathes, planers, thicknessers, bandsaws etc etc are frequently badge engineered as Axminster, Scheppach, Charnwood, DeWalt, Titan etc etc etc. All that changes are peripheral elements which avoid a complete redesign - colour, fences, labelling, chrome not painted pulleys etc.

All to give create an illusion of particular brand strengths and differentiate one product from another. They often comes from the same factory.

That common parts are used where possible (typically where it is not obvious and don't show) is no surprise. It is much cheaper to manufacture in volume - so why create unique product parts if they are not required.

So motors, bearings, brakes, filters, motors, are likely to be interchangeable. Large expensive components likewise - castings, fabrications, complex machining etc - where separate designs simply add cost often with limited benefit.

Those who take the trouble to understand this can save money - but it is then they who take the risk of a non-compliant part!

 

[stuart little]

Premium products generally sell in much lower quantities than their lower priced mass market equivalents. Applies to white good, cars, electronis etc.

In some cases premium products are genuinely better than the lower priced. Often they are superficially different and just marketed to differentiate between brands and badges.

We know this happens with woodworking machines where lathes, planers, thicknessers, bandsaws etc etc are frequently badge engineered as Axminster, Scheppach, Charnwood, DeWalt, Titan etc etc etc. All that changes are peripheral elements which avoid a complete redesign - colour, fences, labelling, chrome not painted pulleys etc.

All to give create an illusion of particular brand strengths and differentiate one product from another. They often comes from the same factory.

That common parts are used where possible (typically where it is not obvious and don't show) is no surprise. It is much cheaper to manufacture in volume - so why create unique product parts if they are not required.

So motors, bearings, brakes, filters, motors, are likely to be interchangeable. Large expensive components likewise - castings, fabrications, complex machining etc - where separate designs simply add cost often with limited benefit.

Those who take the trouble to understand this can save money - but it is then they who take the risk of a non-compliant part!

Television parts all made in one factory in China. Vehicle cam belts, despite so many brand names, are made by only two manufacturers. Correct me if I'm right!

 

[Spectric]

Interesting, I assume higher spin speed would be better built to cope, maybe not.

Take this concept to diesel engines, they used to be built using much heavier components and were lower reving, 0 to 60 in half an hour but would just keep going, I had several cars with the 2.1 Euro diesel that went twice round the clock without missing a beat. Now high reving, built from similar components as a petrol and with performance to match but do not last as always stressed.