Re: Harbor Freight
I didn't say that (get what paid for). I just said, to repeat; We Americans love our stuff and want our stuff-CHEAP!
We're our own worst enemy.
Well, if you consider people are working longer hours for less money, investments are making 1/5 what they were making 5 years ago (I signed up for a "high yield money market" account at my bank. It was making 5%. Then it went to 4, then 3, then 2, then 1, now its .75%. My high yield account is making less than savings accounts were making 5 years ago) people have no choice, they HAVE to get stuff cheap. Everything costs so much these days and incomes are not going up. Look at gas, damn near 4 bucks a gallon!!!
I'm so damn cheap, I have 2 self propelled lawnmowers, a 16hp riding lawnmower, a 16hp Speedex tractor with hydraulic rear and belly implements, a weedeater and an oiled air compressor, none of which I paid a dime for. They were all old stuff people threw away that I fixed up for little to no expense on my end. I spent more on paint and degreaser than parts to make these items work. Some were working just fine when I received them. There is no way I would have the money to buy all of the items I was given. The rider was probably about 1300 new 14 years ago, the tractor was probably 2500 new 40 years ago, one of the self propelled walk behind mowers was about 300 new 10 years ago and the lawn boy self propelled was probably 280 new about 10-15 years go. The air compressor was a couple of hundred new 25 years ago, but I fixed it up (painted it, changed the compressor oil and installed a high performance air filter for the compressor which was nothing more than a piece of air filter foam left over from an air filter I made for my scooter a few years ago) and it looks brand new now, and works perfectly. The tractor worked perfectly, the guy bought my dads tractor and no longer wanted his so he gave it to me. It worked perfectly and ran absolutely flawlessly the day I got it. It just LOOKED like hell. 200 labor hours and 150 dollars in sandpaper, degreaser, primer, paint, a new hour meter and new decals, and she's looking spiffy!
You wouldn't believe how I come across some of this stuff. For instance, for the weedeater and the Craftsman self propelled mower, my father and I were riding 4 wheelers in the woods and came across them discarded together. They looked like they'd been run over by a car, someone had apparently backed over them. The top of the engine, the plastic, was all cracked and the once straight shaft weedeater could weedeat the side of a building if it wanted to. Well, my uncle had an old engine where the engine was junk but the plastic part on top looked new. It fit mine perfectly. I straightened out the shaft on the weedeater and both are now fully functional, although I don't give the weedeater long as it's a "weedeater" brand and those don't have a great reputation. It's funny how you find old junk. The engine on the mower, once I put a dipstick in it and drained all the water out as it had been raining in the engine, started on the first crank. It continued to blow out water from the breather for almost a half hour. I flushed that oil out and put new in and now it's perfect.
I actually MUCH more enjoy getting something for free and fixing it up, than buying new. That way I feel a personal attachment to the item as I did more than write a check to end up with it. I have personal pride in it. But very little money.
