Which piece of equipment did you spend the most on?

[Erik Christensen]

shaper by a mile - powermatic PM2700 5HP with 4 wheel feeder.... then add tooling that is more than the shaper & feeder

my favorite tool - does things I still can't believe, safely, smoothly, reliably with a quality that I find amazing. unlike jointers or table saws this takes zero skill to use - all the work is in the initial setup and test cuts, after that you just throw wood through it and marvel at the output

[George Heatherly]

I voted for the lathe, even without accessories it cost 3 times as much as my next most expensive tool.

[Mike Cruz]

Mark, first of all, while I used to do wwing for money, it is now a hobby. So, my shop is a guilty pleasure.

The reason for inventorying my shop was sparked by two threads here on the Creek. The first being related to making sure you have everything in your shop listed and valued in case of fire/disaster (aka insurance). The second was a thread about spouses of wwers that have no idea what their wwing spouses' tools/equipment are worth in case the wwer is suddenly, let's just say, not around anymore. That is why I did the inventory.

The reason for the breakdown of what was paid, what is my short sale price, and what would I WANT for them is because I, unlike some here, don't have $20,000 to throw at tools that IF I needed to sell them (because of hard times, bad health, lack of time, or disinterest...the last one is quite unlikey...) that I could take a large loss on.

I could have spent $15K buying the stuff that I have in my shop new. If I had to sell them, I might get $5-8K. Instead, I got them all used for great prices and spent about $4K. While I love my hobby, I know that what I've purchased is not money lost in the time of need....which I hope never happens.

I am envious of you and others that can not only drop $2-3-10K on a single machine, but are also not concerned about its value if you needed to liquidate.

I hope that sheds some light on the origins of this thread.

[James Baker SD]

I was an early voter, but a late poster. I voted DC, it is a top of line Oneida with quick fit ducting. Easily the most expensive thing in the shop. My lung doctor ordered me to get the best DC I could find or get a new hobby. Maybe I should have gone Neander instead?

[Mike Heidrick]

Easy...Industrial Sawstop

Same here. It may not be worth the most but I just got deals on everything else.

John Deere 3320 wins though really but it just moves wood from the trailer to the shop and is not a woodworking tool I guess.

[Mark Bolton]

I am envious of you and others that can not only drop $2-3-10K on a single machine, but are also not concerned about its value if you needed to liquidate.

I hope that sheds some light on the origins of this thread.

As I mentioned I understood the insurance/financial aspect of it which would blanket the spouse issue in the event of tragedy. I don't in any way mean to say I dont care about the value if there is a need to liquidate but unfortunately those events, at least in my experience, are never a time when we can expect to capitalize. This doesnt of course mean to just forget about it and be willing to settle for ten cents on the dollar. My personal situation is a little convenient in that my wife is in the business and knows what all costs are/were and if there is any question can pull open a file cabinet and pull an invoice. This doesnt work well for modifications/upgrades in some instances but...

We are going through this with a family member as we speak. A death in the family, heirs need cash, but this is a time when its a given liquidating virtually any assets will leave you let down. Holidays, economy is in the ditch, winter, etc.. Just had the conversation with my wife that what the items may be worth, or what was paid for them is void. If they need the money they take what they can get and they are only worth what you can get for them at the moment.

What I, maybe mistakenly, read into some of it was an anticipation of what one could get "when" they change hobbies like its only temporary. While it doesnt make sense to me, is actually logical if you think you may. If I had that in the back of my head I would likely have a pile of wood on the porch, a pocket knife, a box of bandaids, gauze, and tape, and keep my investment minimal. But thats just me.

I completely understand the concept of knowing what you have for estate/planning purposes I guess I just cant get my head around the concept of anticipating selling things and your anticipated profit margin in the context of a hobby. If I were buying and selling equipment (which many here do I am sure) for profit or as a way to leapfrog to better and better equipment thats different but I didnt get that.

Maybe I'm just tired,
Mark

[Will Overton]

Since last fall it's my tablesaw. Prior to the new tablesaw it was my bandsaw.

[Larry Fox]

I voted "other" and my other is my finishing setup. I take a holistic view of my finishing setup and include;

- gun
- pressure pot
- hoses
- maintenance items
- compressor
- hard piping
- water traps / filters
- safety gear

I think all-told that I have about $1,800 wrapped up in it and have not regretted the expenditure for a single nanosecond.

[Paul Cahill]

It was a toss up between the dust collector, including all the ducting etc. and the table saw. However, considering the time I spent putting the ducting together, and then redoing it because I hadn't done sufficient homework first, I gave the nod to the dust collector.

[Greg Portland]

Other: Woodmaster 4-in-1 machine.

If I count duct-work + DC then the dust collector would be the most expensive.

[John Fabre]

Oneway lathe by a long shot, the Tormek, chucks, jaw sets and turning tools alone are worth more than my Powermatic table saw w/slider.

[Mike Cruz]

Mike, you hit the nail on the head. I wasn't asking which had the highest value, but rather which did you actually spend the most on. My Uni was probably the most expensive, but I got it (plus a boat load of other stuff at the same time, from the same guy) for a measly $300. Bottom line, I didn't have $1200-1500 to spend on a Uni in that condition. Therefore, didn't pay for it. But I DID buy a PM90 for cheap ($300) and fix 'er all up to a total of $1000...which means the lathe is what I spent the most amount of money on.

[Russell Smallwood]

... I cant recall a time in my observatory wondering what I could sell my stuff for when or if I choose to get out of the hobby.

I think that there are a lot of hobbiests (sp?) to whom the machines are just as interesting as the woodworking and, as a result, spend a lot of time flip-flopping machinery in their shop in an effort to be able to learn more about them. Not pointing to anyone in particular just a general observation.

Personally, while this is not necessarily my cup of tea, I thinks its great. For most, it is a hobby, it's supposed to give you enjoyment. If you get just as much pleasure working with the machines as you do working with the wood then that's great.

As a result, there are a lot of machinery discussions here that end up having more to do with machines than woodworking. It's a discussion board, that's what is supposed to happen, people discuss things.

I certainly understand that, for you, equipment is a necessary evil or simply a means to an end. Cool, more power to you, and while I'm absolutely certain your comments were not intended to offend anyone, they did come across as though you were being a bit judgmental which I don't think was your intent.

edit: almost forgot, I chose planer, but taken as a whole, my hand tools are where a lot of my shop money has gone

[Mike Cruz]

You know, James, if I had thought about this juuuuuuust a little more, I would have said that whichever you vote for, include the "attachments". So, that would have included ductwork for DC's. But it also would have included blades and dados and tennoning jigs and crosscut sleds, etc for tablesaws, it also would have included cutting tools for lathes, which, unfortunately might have swung this whole thing in another direction. Your $1000 lathe might be dwarfed by all the tools and chucks you bought for it. So, I kinda was limiting it to the tool itself because the extras could easily be used on another machine. For example: Your ducting could be used with another brand of DC, whether cyclone or not. But, I do understand that the ducting is almost as much a part of the dust collection as collector itself, and if you went with metal over PVC, that is a huge upgrade in price right there...so I understand if you factored that in. This really isn't some sort of scientific experiment...more just a curiousity. Thanks for piping in.

[Bill Miltner]

My Other purchase was an INCA 570 Jointer/Planer. I purchased it new for a little over $1,700 in 1994. I still have it and love it. It is quiet and gives me 10+ inches of jointing capacity.