How many of your tools have reached the 10 year service mark? The other day I realised a number of the items on my workbench have hit this vintage. Some I can remember buying when I was still in highschool. That makes them at least 15 years old. Apart from a few cosmetic wrinkles, these tools are still going strong. Costing these purchases out over this sort of timeline makes the prices seem ridiculously cheap.
1) Dremel Multi-tool (1996)
These have gone through several evolutions since, at least as far as the body design goes. The ability to cut tiny amounts of material at incredibly high speeds has proven useful in countless situations. The wafer thin abrasive cut-off wheels are just magic when you want a fine clean cut into hardened metals. Whatever it lacks in sheer grunt it makes up for in triplicate with precision. The tungsten-carbide cutters have also proven themselves in many tight spots.
2) Maglite - 3xD Cell Krypton Flashlight (1993)
Its been dropped, lost, forgotten, mistreated and attacked by toddlers, but still works perfectly. Its darkest day was in 2005 when the batteries leaked inside and had to be removed by force. This involved spraying inside the tube with WD-40 and then striking the torch end on onto a phone book to drive the batteries out. The o-rings remain in good condition, perhaps thanks to the recommended smear of vaseline on the threads. The rubber switch cover is looking a little brittle and worse for wear, and was at one stage thought lost forever to a curious baby (since re-united).
3) Leatherman multi-tool (1994)
The hinge screws are probably a little loose for my liking these days. Not bad after 15 years though. The implements have all stood up to hard use and apart from minor scratches it looks as good as new.
4) Digital Multimeter (1992)
No moving parts, nothing to break internally, unless you manage to shatter the LCD display. I remember paying $49.95 for this at Dick Smith Electronics. Thats about $3 a year its cost me, still fantastic for seeing if a car battery is actually charging or not. For the same price today these would probably offer capacitance and temperature measuring as well, I`m almost ready to upgrade. Maybe next year.
5) Bench Grinder - Generic (1993)
Bought on special at kmart for $30. Still runs smoothly and does all my basic grinding jobs, although the flip-up plastic safety screens have long since fallen off. I wouldn`t trust an angle grinder at this price range, but the bench grinder has proven its reliability for light duties.
Admittedly, most of these probably won`t make it through to the next generation. But for the prices I paid, they`ve performed admirably.
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