The best bit of mechanical kit you ever bought is?

[Peppermint]

For me its my lawn mower. Bought 14 years ago for £170 it is value personified. It's a Mountfield with a Briggs & Straton Engine of about 4hp. It cuts my third of an acre lawn twice a week all summer and gets left in the shed all winter. I've changed its plug once and it's oil twice. I got it from it's hibernation this morning, topped up it's fuel and it went third pull.

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[Rowana]

My K reg Volvo takes some beating for me. 110,000 miles, and apart from tyres and exhausts, all it's had up to this year has been one water pump and one track rod end. I had to get a new clutch this year, but no shame to it, as it has towed caravans, trailers and other loads of stuff all over Scotland.

Just hope it hangs together for another couple of years till I get my bus pass (well, 3 actually!)

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[robp]

And.....

Briggs & Stratton were bringing out an O/B. Haven't seen one yet?

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[brianhumber]

I feel inadquate with your vast green meadow. However my 1952 Ransomes with 2 stroke Villers still splutters into life occasionally but grass box rather motheaten (rather like its master) Aquired free in 1975.

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[bigmart]

Its alright for you rich types with your lawns to Mow. The most useful bit of kit I have ever owned is a Swiss Army knife. Many take the mick, particularly at work. but its strange how often they borrow it or ask me to sort out problems. My Leatherman is pretty good too but the Swiss Army knife has it by a whisker. Not that I'm obsessed with Knives & baldes you understand.

Martin

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[Chris_Robb]

Go get yourself a Honda - at 200K its only repair has been 3 new cambelts, tyres pads and front disks - exhaust still original.

Oh and I never service it - just change oil and filters and do a running check - saves loads of dosh that way!
<hr width=100% size=1><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Chris_Robb on 31/03/2004 16:16 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[cameronke]

Have to admit that I marvel at my Autohelm. Steers the boat better than me!

regards

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[DeeGee]

Some 22 yrs ago I treated myself to a DeWalt Radial Arm Saw. Apart from a new TCT sawblade, and a new 19mm ply worksurface, it has done magic for all the years until about 5 yrs ago, when it began to gather dust. It is wating now for me to get a round tuett, which I have been searching for at many boat jumbles and.....

If you don't know what a radial arm saw is, you haven't lived....

<hr width=100% size=1>Black Sugar - the sweetest of all

 

[Capt_Marlinspike]

Yep, it's got to be the mower.
I have the same mountfield with the B&S engine. Yours is a bit of a spring chicken yet. I bought mine second hand in 1988 for £30.
Like yours it gets totally abused. Has been services one, I sharpen it every 3 or 4 years when it starts to fail to chop fallen branches. The throttle cable broke a couple of years ago so now I use the carb lever and a wooden wedge.
Paramount(field) engineering.

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[Sybarite]

I hope yours lasts longer than mine did: 2 years and 2 months.

John

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[Nickel]

I've got a 20 year old four slice toaster that SWMBO + SWMBO's mother, plus my mother [!!!!] have all tried to break bigtime. Both plastic ends are broken - the crumb tray is bent so won't refasten, the handle has been broken in two, and it's warped so that it wobbles while it toasts - but every slice comes out perfect!

Mind you I don't really like toast - I only keep it for the wimmin, and they spend their time moaning about broken it is!!

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[Seafort]

Well I've had this broom 15 years. Its only had 6 new heads and 3 new handles.
(Nice one Trig' /forums/images/icons/wink.gif).


Dave.

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[Aardee]

Cordless drill/ screwdriver...couldn't live without it (OK, maybe an exaggeration).

<hr width=100% size=1>"I am a bear of very little brain and long words bother me..."

 

[plombier]

One of those syphon thingys that are on sale at the boat shows (OK not truely mechanical but the marble moves up and down so....).
Have three of them, one for the RIB (re-fueling, emptying of bilges when on trailer, etc); one for the day job and one for "the management" (daren't ask what she uses it for???)

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[Sybarite]

There are things which adapt to their owners. I bought a golf driver which really didn't work nearly as well for me as it did for its previous owner.

John

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[polarity]

I'm with you on this one. My Makita still going after a good few years and much abuse.

<hr width=100% size=1>Paul
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.polarity2.com>http://www.polarity2.com</A>
OSTAR 2005

 

[Becky]

When my Ex and I had an acre of lawn, the longest procedure when grass-cutting was emptying the grass box. But old Ex, bless him, is the thinking lazy type; he converted a disused wheelbarrow into a grassbox of 1/2 cubic meter capacity by welding siutable bits of metal to the remaining sound bits of frame and this would hold the whole grass-cuttings for each session and saved hours walking up and down to the compost heap.
For me however, the best thing, apart from my steam iron (with water tank and remote steam generation- bet none of you guys have used such a thing) is my Garmin chart plotter, which seems to always know exactly where I am, where I am going, how long it will take, and what course to steer. Great from my point of view.

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[LadyInBed]

Combined cork screw and bottle opener /forums/images/icons/cool.gif

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[ralf1]

i have to say mine is the simple shovel,ive had the same one 22 years and only replaced the handle twice and the head three times................lol

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[rickwat]

Cannon Gas Cooker with eye-level grill. Bought 2nd hand 25yrs ago.

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