1Goodhand

I have solved much of the problems mentioned above by simply posturing myself with the best tools I can afford thus eliminating a lot of the issues that one might encounter listed in some of postings. I was brought up in a Sears/Craftsman household but left them in my dust when they closed the local parts department and their pipe-clamps started depicting "Made in Taiwan" on the side of the forging. I now shop in pawn shops and have acquired enough PC, Milwaukee, & Makita to last me a lifetime.

I also find the mentality of taking in for repair or simply discarding is much like the relationship many wish to have with our government where they are looking to someone else to solve all of their problems (give them all of your money and they will solve your problems). Good common sense and a little patience will solve most of the problems that one would ever encounter with a well made tool (or life experience). I have found over the years that the majority of the problems that I have encountered with electrical motors have been either bearings or in most cases, the centrifugal force mechanisms on the rear of the motor shaft that engages/disengages the starting capacitor that has simply fouled with shop dust or electrical arcing. I can't begin to count the number of motors that I have picked up off the curb that I brought back to life simply by cleaning the contactors. Bearings are not as much as one might think to replace and if you have a Grainger down the road, your likely to not only find a source but they are likely to have one on the shelf. With parts availability through the internet today, there are very few tools that can't be fixed if they are of the quality that makes them worth fixing. I had a Makita H/S Sander that had roughly 100,000 miles on (if you could measure sander use by the mile) and both paper clips had busted off at the stem. Low-and-behold, a simple search online netted several sites that were able to furnish me with replacement sandpaper clips for under $20.00 for a sander I paid close to $180 15 years ago. What a good sense of satisfaction I derive from repairing an "old friend" thus saving him from the heap! Still hunting for my next PC 693, 1goodhand...