Comments on: Frugal DIY: Finding Cheap Tools

By: Honey Monster

Honey Monster — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:47:29 +0000

I think that you have to be careful that you are getting the correct tools for the job when you buy cheap tools. It can be a great way to start a toolset off or for household DIY work, but if you are going to use them for more robust or accurate work cheap is not always best. There are some good websites that sell quality tools online at good prices, it pays to shop around.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:50:21 +0000

I found a good deal on a reconditioned air compressor on the Porter-Cable site http://www.cpoworkshop.com/compressors/c2002r.html?ref=nl20080722FP1

However the other tools seemed a bit pricey

By: Fred

Fred — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:58:05 +0000

Everyone — Harbor Freight, Freecycle, Renting - all fantastic tips for getting tools on the cheap. I’ve used harbor freight for a number of tools and supplies - including GFCI receptacles - they are the best for that.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:31:52 +0000

To add to #1 above (borrowing)… I’ve borrowed expensive tools over Freecycle. IN fact, we just borrowed a $1200 pressure washer to wash our patio down. I posted a “wanted” for borrowing it, and someone who had one emailed me. I made sure I took it back in as good of condition as I had received it in.

Of course, something like this probbly works better when there is a short time frame… I borrowed it for 2 hours and brought it back that night.

By: Todd

Todd — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:36:06 +0000

Harbor Freight is a great place to buy tools for DIY folks. I’ve bought quite a few finish guns and they are great and VERY cheap!!

By: Amalie

Amalie — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:40:53 +0000

For the one-time projects, or at least the projects that are the “every ten years or so” kind, we’ve been renting the tools. When we got a $4k quote to refinish our floors, we decided to do it ourselves. Those are the kinds of things that are specialized enough that we wouldn’t want to buy.

But we did find that our local place basically only charges for the days they are open– in other words, if you pick up the sander or tile saw or power washer or whatever it is early on Saturday morning, or very late Friday evening, you can return it on Monday for the cost of one day’s rental (usually between $40 and $70 in our experience). Plan it over a three day weekend like Memorial Day or over holidays like Christmas, you can get a few more days at no charge! Our DIY floor job that we worked on over Christmas only ended up costing around $800 after it was all said and done.

However, if we’d known that we were going to need to use the tile saw we rented for the counters again, we might have bought one…The upside, though, is you get the opportunity to use much more professional or powerful tools than you might otherwise be able to afford and perhaps end up with a slightly better result.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:33:45 +0000

You pretty well covered it! I’ve been writing on this very topic myself. The only other place I can add, mostly for odds and ends and accessories is Harbor Freight.