and you thought tubas were expensive . . .

[Rick Denney]

But I prefer, for simple jobs, to use that $4.99 cheap socket set. Works for me.

Not me. Most cheap 12-point sockets will stretch and round the corners on bolts that are really tight, or split. Snap-On sockets, with broached corners, apply the stress to the center of the bolt-head flat, rather than the corner. Gear-wrench is now using the same design (I suspect Snap-On's patent has finally expired), and I've been fairly pleased with their tools.

I can't afford Snap-On any more, and I use Craftsman Industrial. ("Craftsman" is now a brand applied to at least three grades of tools, with the Industrial being their premium brand.) They are...acceptable. But I've broken them, too.

Where I once used 1/2" drive Snap-On sockets, I must use 3/4" drive Craftsman sockets, such as for the axle bolts on my GMC motorhome, that are torqued to 350 foot pounds and then get tighter in use. Those often require a 6-foot cheater pipe.

But the needs of the weekend mechanic are different from those who make their living by not having their time wasted. Those guys do not make a lot of money, but they still find it worth it to invest in breathtakingly expensive tools. That was my point.

Actually, even now I hate having my time wasted, and Sears is a two-hour round trip. If the Snap-On truck arrived at my driveway the way it once did where I worked as a mechanic, I'd probably have more of them.

Rick "whose Snap-On tools were stolen in, oh, 1982, and who still misses them" Denney

[cambrook]

I like Rick's Snap On analogy - there are lots of very sensible reasons for using tools of such quality, particularly in a professional situation. There is also the issue of the convenience of having the Snap On truck come to you weekly to ask if you want to buy more

For me there is also a pleasure in using the best tool for the job - I love using my Festool woodworking tools for the same reason, I just wish I could justify buying more of them. If I was a professional woodworker I probably would do so.

Yes the best tubas are expensive, particularly the handmade ones - but I enjoy using them and can justify doing so.

[MaryAnn]

Well, I can't justify buying the quality of stuff that I do, except that I can afford it. My only justification is that when people like me buy high quality instruments, it helps keep the makers in business who might otherwise sell far fewer and then go out of business. Since I don't "wait in line" to buy an instrument, I don't feel that I'm preventing someone from having one who really can justify it by playing level.

That said, I admit to being insane, because I took up the oboe this summer. I have been pretty much literally blowing my brains out on an old Cabart with "extreme" resistance. But I have found a very good used Rigoutat, which is a high level pro instrument. Did you know that woodwinds "blow out" over a period of years and that ww players have to buy new every ten years or so, at big $$ per pop? They don't keep the same instrument for decades like we do. So my new-to-me Rigoutat has all the bells and whistles but is somewhat "blown out" from the owners POV. Since it's nine years old and not twenty, I figure its blown-outness is well within my range of acceptability, and I'm happy to fork over the dough to the pro who owns it, which will make his life easier in buying the new one that he needs. And it sure beats the living whoopee out of the old junker I was trying to learn to play on.

MA

[pwhitaker]

The oboe's a horn made of wood.
I'd play you a tune if I could,
But the reeds are a pain,
And the fingering's insane.
It's the ill wind that no one blows good.
> --Ogden Nash

[josh_kaprun]

I have not actually checked this out, but I heard from a violinist that it is not uncommon for a pro-level violinist to pay upwards of $50,000 JUST FOR THE BOW!!!

[Rick Denney]

[quote="ed"][/quote]

That's only the second time I've had to Adblock an image on Tubenet to keep anyone walking by my office seeing it.

Rick "the first time involved a female in a certain person's (Doc's) sig" Denney

[lgb&dtuba]

One some level I don't think the Snap-On analogy holds.

When they start gold plating their tools and adding fancy engraving, maybe. They'd also have to use exotic inlays. Make them out of precious metals from the far corners of the earth alloyed in certain arcane ways that mere mechanics couldn't possibly understand but believed in whole heartedly.

And of course, older Snap-On tools would have to appreciate in value because the materials had aged in some mysterious ways that improved their utility and beauty.

Mechanics could then cryogenically treat their sockets to improve them further. Or remove the lacquers.

Feel free to add your own excesses

[iiipopes]

Mechanics could then cryogenically treat their sockets to improve them further.

Already being done and debated:
http://www.onecryo.com/manufact.htm
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/A ... _Real.html

[windshieldbug]

Maybe you should focus on your job and not be looking at tuba discussion sites at the office. What are you being paid for, anyway?

To think; and like most activity, it is most effective when breaks are taken, allowing one to re-focus.

Not everyone has a fast-food job like yourself!

[windshieldbug]

Yes, that's almost true.

I'm sorry to hear that you got fired. I guess those guys in New Delhi could say "You want fries, or can I super-size it?" more effectively than yourself.

[Uncle Buck]

Adblock

How does that work? Is it a browser feature, or is it software you've purchased?

[Rick Denney]

Maybe you should focus on your job and not be looking at tuba discussion sites at the office. What are you being paid for, anyway?

To produce work product, not to punch a clock.

Rick "maybe your avatar should not have an obscene gesture in it" Denney

[Rick Denney]

Adblock

How does that work? Is it a browser feature, or is it software you've purchased?

First, use Mozilla Firefox. Adblock is a plug-in for Firefox and it's free. Just google it. Flashblock is just as useful. It was Chuck G. who first turned me on to Adblock.

Rick "who no longer puts up with obnoxious Flash ads and obscene avatars" Denney

[Rick Denney]

And, what do you do again? Seriously, just asking. Only because I can't imagine that TubeNet even remotely helps you to produce work product.

Honestly, I do understand the need to take mental breaks during the normal work day. And TubeNet is the best place to turn to when you really, really, really don't want to use your brain.

I'm an engineer. I do design and research, and I also teach. What do you do?

I don't post on Tubenet to improve my work product. I post on Tubenet because I like reading and writing about tubas. You don't need to worry your pretty little head about how I get my work done.

Rick "whose 'normal work day' consists only of getting the job done" Denney

[TubaingAgain]

I have alway been a firm believer in the saying "Anything good is not cheap, and anything cheap is not good" No matter if it's tubas, tools, computers or condoms. Dont make the purchase until you can afford the best quality possible.

[Rick Denney]

...whose 'normal work day' consists only of getting the job done and spending hours on TubeNet...

Lucky for you guys I have that flexibility.

Rick "seriously..." Denney