When will it stop?

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I got my first welder almost two years ago, an old Linde AC 235. I thought "this will be fine for all the welding I'll ever need". A few months later I got a Millermatic. Then I got a small O/A setup, then I got a medium O/A setup, then I got a large O/A setup, not to mention 3 hoods, tons of consumables, clamps, grinders, chop saw. Friday I am picking up a Thunderbolt AC/DC. My backyard is filling with steel. I take home anything people are throwing out plus I buy scrap at the local recycle yard, over 1,000 lbs last week. I am in my second year of classes, and every night after work I am outside welding, cutting and grinding. When I come inside I scour the welding forums to see what new posts there are. Sometimes I even skip dinner. I just can't get enough of welding, and I'm not even that good (yet I hope). I'm in it for the fun of it, no plans for ever doing it for a living. When will the madness stop????Last edited by bigb; 11-29-2010 at 11:15 PM.Miller Challenger 172Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC 225/150Miller Maxstar 150 STLVictor 100CVictor JourneymanOxweld OAHarris O/ASmith O/A little torchNo, that's not my car.
Reply:Originally Posted by bigb... When will it all stop????
Reply:It doesn't.My name's not Jim....
Reply:Sit back and enjoy the ride for all it is worth.
Reply:congratulations..i spent yesterday and probably have three more days putting in light fixtures, moving stuff, etc, so i can spent the winter learning (finally) to use sb lathe i bought 2 years ago, when i wasnt looking for one..the madness will continue, consider yoursefl lucky..
Reply:I hope I don't find a nice old lathe cheap like Mark did, I got very little if any room left in the shopQuality used tools are a good investment, Ez to buy, sell,  trade and nice to have around when y'a need 'em.  enjoy,Lincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools
Reply:Doesn't someone here have an avatar like this but with "tools and money?"
Reply:It never stops! I am always looking for MORE STUFF THAT I DONT NEED! You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else. Albert Einstein
Reply:i used to have the fever but it calms down a little when run low on funds dont feel bad i bought 2 welders off c list i dont even use. And im alaways scouring for deals and always answering quest and telling people how i would do this or that. Im always glad to help with quest. And when its warmer i spend alot of time in my mancave building something its addictive.miller maxstar 150   hobart handler 210 w mig conversion hobart 250 arc force plasma cutter    boston ind cutting torch miller performance auto darkening helmet milwalkee 14in chop saw 10,000 watt generator huge drill press and industrial band saw
Reply:When you run out of money..., wait, thats what just happened to me. Travis
Reply:I started welding almost 30 years ago. About 3 years ago I sold all my equipment so I could move to another house. After I sold everything, I felt naked and impotent. Oh wait, that is another story.I felt like I had lost something that I knew was a useful thing.   It never fails. You sell a tool and then you need the darned thing.So I got some new welding stuff and now I'm happy again. Maybe I was just looking for an excuse to get some new welding stuff.You see, it is addictive. Nothing like laying down a good bead or making something that most other people can't even think of doing. Doing something that is useful and fun.Just watch though. You will find yourself spending hours and hours on the internet when you are not welding telling others about your welding equipment and how much fun it is. I guess we weldors are not normal. Most other guys are on the porn sites or are looking for dates and here we are making posts about welding. Go figure.
Reply:I started so I wouldn't have to pay ridiculous amounts to have things made/fixed. I needed a spreadpan (flat steel under the tailgate) extended on a dump trailer. I took it in and it was like $600.00. Instead of just a flat piece with maybe a stiffener, he wasted alot of time bending and drilling and bolting......... Now I do it my self and it has turned into an addictive, hobby/necessity.Maybe it was cheaper taking it somewhere!"Where's Stick man????????" - 7A749"SHHHHHH!! I sent him over to snag that MIC-4 while tbone wasn't looking!" - duaneb55"I have bought a few of Tbone's things unlike Stick-Man who helps himself" - TozziWelding"Stick-man"
Reply:Just bought and O2 and Acet. bottle with cart on wheels sight unseen from the consignment shop , ready $99, says they are 10 yrs old and need to be inspected. My local welding supply swaps them without and questions up to certain size. I already have 2 sets. but now I can put 1 in my garage, 1 in my trailer, and 1 on the skid with the welder. It is a sickness,  It will continue till you run out of money, and/ or room. LOL. I just put up a hoop house to cover my 8 welder/Generator machines all run but are in various stages of restore. Resale is poor right now, at least that's what I tell myself. LOL again."Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum"Lincoln Idealarc 250 AC/DCMillermatic 251   Syncrowave 300   30A spoolgunLincoln MP210Hypertherm 45(2) LN 25(2) Lincoln Weldanpower 225 CV(4) SA200   1 short hood    SA250    SAM 400
Reply:I might consider buying products again if anybody sold something that you could rebuild/fix when it broke.  I can't bring myself to buy crappy import tables/chairs/wardrobes/etc so I'm forced to build it all.  I have to say I think my addiction is getting worse because every time I build something new I get better, a better product, more compliments, then more motivation to build something else.  Only down side is all my buddies are learning how many tools I actually have so anytime ANYTHING breaks they show up and expect to use all my tools (and break some) to fix it.  Could be worse though - we all could be sitting inside watching TV letting our brains melt.......It would be interesting to compare the value of all of our tools to the value of our houses or cars or trucks.  I'd bet most of us have 2-3x more money in our tools than our cars/trucks and 1/4 or more in tools than our home value!Millermatic 135Syncrowave 250
Reply:I think it stops when you die, then the people you leave behind have to deal with all the crap you've collected through the years &  wind up just about giving it away just to get rid of it... hence the reason why you can sometimes get such great deals on like craigslist & stuff, it's a vicious cycle miller 330a bp TIGmiller dynasty 200DX TIGmillermatic 185 MIGthermal dynamics cutmaster 101 plasma cuttersnap-on YA5550 plasma cutterhypertherm powermax 30 plasma cutterbaileigh CS225 cold sawetc....
Reply:Originally Posted by turbocad6I think it stops when you die, then the people you leave behind have to deal with all the crap you've collected through the years &  wind up just about giving it away just to get rid of it... hence the reason why you can sometimes get such great deals on like craigslist & stuff, it's a vicious cycle
Reply:"When will it stop?"Thats the question my wife keeps asking me!  And I tell her, "It wont, its a terminal disease for which there is no known cure, and I got it bad!"  A few of my toys !LinuxMintManjaroMiller Roughneck 2E Lincoln WeldPak 100HTP MTS 160 Chicago Electric 80amp Inverter   Victor O/A
Reply:Originally Posted by smawgmaw"When will it stop?"
Reply:Originally Posted by denrepWhen you get a "tombstone"
Reply:Originally Posted by denrepWhen you get a "tombstone"
Reply:Originally Posted by denrepWhen you get a "tombstone"
Reply:I feel your pain.  I bought a Mig pack 15 Lincoln 220v and was lucky the house we bought had an unfinished garage which allowed me to wire 220 out to the garage for the compressor & welder.  I got such a good deal on a used welder, but wish I had the money for that Millermatic 110-220 switchable just for portability reasons.  In the last 3 years since we bought the house I have spent somewhere close to $5000 in tools, likely more.  But looking at it another way, I almost never bring either my car or the wife's to the garage, have probably saved at least that much money in labour at a shop(Especially VW/Audi).I just bought a set of O/A tanks and torches, again a good deal.  I recall growing up without them and bruising many a fingernail, and thinking I wouldn't go my whole life without them, there are just soooo many things you can do with a mig and o/a setup, indispensible.  My car is the same thing, I drive a TDI jetta.  Early mods are cheap, but highly addictive.  Many people on the tdiclub forum I'm on have doubled their HP/torque from 90 to 180, and over 300 ft lbs of torque.  Once you start hard to stop.
Reply:my addiction started with a tombstone  its like the mafia. only one way out.
Reply:The joke among one group that I hang out with is that we all need to join a twelve step program for tool addiction.I seem to have broken my addiction, finally deciding that I really did have all the tools that I need, plus some I did not need.   I even quit looking at Craigslist three times a day, now I am down to maybe three times a week.  I have bought two tools in the last six months.   One was an accessory tip for my O-A set (does that count?), and the other was a long neck angle grinder.   The only reason I bought the grinder was that one of the neighbors complained about the noise from my previous mini angle die grinder, which really did sound like a dentist drill.So I may have broken my addiction.But I would like to have an XMT350 with a digital feeder.........   Luckily I don't need it and can't afford it.RichardSculptures in copper and other metalshttp://www.fergusonsculpture.comSyncrowave 200 Millermatic 211Readywelder spoolgunHypertherm 600 plasma cutterThermal Arc GMS300 Victor OA torchHomemade Blacksmith propane forge