Sort of a Straw Poll

Leslie, if it's your cash and your life,it's your choice what you buy. Use every hour of every day as if there's no tomorrow..........there just might not be!

Whatever happens after we expire is another person's choice and does it really matter what any surviving relation receives for the deceased's possessions? They too will die. Money is simply a measure of our labour and has no spiritual value, and while in all good relationships each partner will make good preparations for when the 'other' is alone, surely the whole point of living is to try to achieve something.

So go for it, buy your machine and use it as well as you can!

Trevor, (75+ and enough projects, plans and ideas to last for another 50😄

I'm with Mike Poole and pgk and one or two others in viewing their workshop contents. Put simply, it's all STUFF!!! I see it as very odd that outlay on this hobby is regarded by many as quite different from what they spend on (for instance) holidays. That would be spent and would have offered (possibly!) a short period of enjoyment and the outlay would be gone. Workshops and machinery provide continuous enjoyment (and frustration) and still that is not sufficient unto itself for some, there is this additional wish to recoup outlay. Indeed. for quite a few the monetary value outweighs the usefulness, or otherwise, of the machines! Do golfers tot up the cost of their clubs and shoes and funny trousers as a measure of their hobby enjoyment? Do gardeners worry over who is going to inherit their latest ride-on mower?

At 85, I'm never going to be anything other than a workshop 'bodger' (not the chair making variety) and I buy what I can afford - mostly second (or more)hand and get huge enjoyment, frustration, relaxation and hypertension from 'messing about' in the 'shed'. There are several (by ME standards) 'valuable' machines and accessories and they will be available, for the taking, to any a of few similarly interested friends who can be bothered to collect them. The rest will give a shed clearance man a good luck day. One thing is for certain sure - I'm not going to be concerned!

Such arrangements as are necessary have been taken care of - see below (2nd class single, of course)

rgds

Bill

Edited By Cornish Jack on 12/05/2020 22:18:34

Tell your son that Model Engineers have a reputation for longevity and that you will buy whatever you want.

If he wants evidence then quote Roy Darlington who (I think) was in his 90s and still making plans for new engines before he died, also I think Cherry Hill is about 88.

How many really know whether they will live to over a 100 or die young in a few seconds time anyway so make the most of now!

That’s pretty much my take on it anyway.

Edited By V8Eng on 12/05/2020 22:56:52

Edited By V8Eng on 12/05/2020 22:57:21

One of the most encouraging exhibits I ever saw at a Model Show was a collection being shown by the widow of the model engineer who had died in his eighties I believe, it included a partially completed clock. To me the clock was the best bit. It showed a spirit that even in the evening of his days was prepared to start a big project knowing there was a chance of never getting to it's completion but enjoying the journey none the less. As a friend of mine says "live for ever until it happens" Go for it.

regards Martin.

PS Personally I would keep the Myford or at least trade it in for a better one.

Why?

If they are in good nick they are likely better machines than some of today's low cost Chinese replacements that are known to have ahem widely varying levels of quality control. Some perform faultlessly for years. Others not so much so.

Just tell him you've left everything to the dog and cat home

I'm only in my 30's, so I can't fully appreciate how you might feel at that age, but your son should encourage you to enjoy yourself with your time left, and think himself lucky you leave him anything.

Buy yourself your new machines, they're an investment anyway, providing you look after them.

Maybe the OP wants some 'new toys'? I'm 64 but still haven't outgrown my boyish need to play with stuff. Both old and new. Home engineering isn't always about efficiency I think. Sometimes you just want to have a new toy and play! It's a bloke thing I suppose.

I'm with the majority in saying that the OP should go for it - I, like others bought my first house at 15%, but I worked, payed it off and shall bequeath enough to make my daughter secure. She'd get the sharp side of my tongue if she complained that I was wasting money on my workshop follies though!

Robin.

If you want it, can afford it and have space for it buy it. Many of the tools in my workshop "are" deceased relatives, at least their spirit. Others are second hand purchases and a few were new. To others they probably don't have the same value that they have to me. I would hope that someone gets value out of them after me. Some of them are older than me, some made by me or repurposed by me. Because of decreased interest by younger generations sadly many tools will simply be thrown away, but that is their loss, not ours. However, it is sad when this happens.

les, i am the same age as you, got my lathe and mill on retirement, never looked back. I still have other hobies/interests to spend my meagre pension on such as archery (25 years), amateur radio (40+ years), photography (50+ years), electronics from school days and compouters from the begining.

my boys have been promised the house between them, if there is any money left they can share that between them, just don't bank on it. As for my gear/equipment/junk they should have the nouse to know how to get rid of it, it will no longer be my responsibility.

We were spending their inheritance on holidays/cruises etrc which they know about. They are all in good jobs, earning far more than i ever did so they should have no need for it.

why do we get hung up on leaving the kids everything we have worked hard for?

get it spent mate, enjoy yourself whether you create somthing wonderful or just add to the scrap bin, who cares!

Don't put yourself down, 72 isn't old (not in my eyes anyway), you could have 10,20 or even 30 years to go yet, don't sell yourself short.

i intend to draw my pensions as long as i can

I'm coming up 70, and think of such matters as private to your relationships between you and your family and partner if any. There's far too much potential complexity in such relationships for anybody else to advise you on the basis of a couple of paragraphs of posting.

From my relationship with my missus, who's contributed as much to our current lifestyle as I have, I've made my own decision to keep as much value in money as I can without depriving myself, to make it easier for her if I go first.

I'd be astonished to receive such objections from my sons, but then I'm not sure I'd consult them before making a purchase. But I do think they want us to have a long and happy retirement.

MickB1's missus:-

Note from Carol:   I too spent money on retirement to become an amateur potter.  Most of my friends coming up 70 are very involved in their hobbies and willing to spend time and money because it brings self fulfilment and happiness; sometimes friends as well.  Just live the life you have best, as well and as kind as you can, which means being kind to yourself as well.  

Edited By Mick B1 on 13/05/2020 10:11:08

I'm nearly 77 (2 months to go provided CV-9, lung cancer or heart failure don't get me first). And yes, I've a lot of kit, and tools, and bits of metal etc. A lot of the kit is not very good, a lot of the tools are old & worn, and even I don't know what all the bits of metal are for.

I've read the comments above, and yes, a lot of them apply to me, so not worth repeating. But in respect of what happens when I fall off my perch, well I won't care will I.

One of the worrying thoughts I have l have had for about 15 years is what happens when I do finally depart. I did the probate for my parents, not difficult, but not pleasant either, and I've very unhappy memories of, on the morning I posted off the probate application, receiving a letter from the Halifax quoting an account reference which I knew nothing about. It turned out that this was for an account which had been closed many years previously. As a result, I've produced a document for my children to assist in sorting out my affairs when I go, mainly because not even my wife knows what investments we have - as far as she is concerned, as long as she gets a sum of money each month, she isn't really bothered about where it came from. All three of my children have been told about this document and where it can be found. In it, I have listed a lot of the accumulated equipment, ok junk(!), I have accumulated over the years along with thoughts on what it may be worth. The children haven't seen the document because it is my intention to update it occasionally, so there's no point in them having a copy of something which may well be out of date.

Should I be buying new tools? Well, for what it's worth, in July of last year I was actually toying with the idea of replacing the lathe, but then life in the form of lung cancer intervened and now, I don't think it's worth it. Instead, I'm going to see what I can do to improve the old lathe, because, quite frankly, I can't be bothered with all the upheaval a new lathe would cause. To say nothing of the physical effort required by me to install it.

And what about the learning aspect? Well, for a long time now it has always been a source of wonder to me that as I go through life, I learn all sorts of things, and then, what? It's all lost. Is that a loss to society? I don't know, and I'll leave that one to wiser heads than mine to ponder over.

Financially, we are ok. My daughter appears to be ok, but is she? She doesn't say anything, and I don't ask. My elder son appears ok, but then he has always been single minded in whatever he does. My younger son is looking for something, I don't know what, and he does worry me, but at his age, 32, it's his life. Does that sound hard? Well, yes it does, but what can I do? He has to sort himself out - I can't do it for him. But the point is, stock market permitting, all three of them should get a reasonable sum each on our eventual deaths. So I've no real worries about my tools ending up in a skip. Actually, it might be interesting listening in to the eventual conversations!

Cheers,

Peter G. Shaw

Leslie,

Tell your son you are going to buy a brand new top of the range luxury car. He may think this is wonderful only to find out that it has probably lost about half its value by next year and so on. Machine tools may not be a financial investment but they will still be returning the interest and entertainment value to you.

Alan

As far as the difficulty of disposing of a workshop is concerned, you could always consider leaving it to somebody else, perhaps a local MES or a preservation group that could either keep the tools or sell them to raise funds, then your son wouldn't have to worry.

Brian

This is an interesting thread of views, the majority says your money up to you. I can totally agree with that, and although i'm only half way through my 30's I had a car crash 3 years ago that given the amount of cars involved and the conditions at the time could have ended totally differently, my kids and partner where in the car also. We came out with nothing more than a little concussed, and aches and pains. I agree live for today, as if there is no tomorrow. This experience has certainly spurred me onto getting some projects started, as if I don't start now I wont have time to complete a few hundred that are currently in my mind lol.

If you want to buy the tools go ahead your money and for your enjoyment. I would say that although new, I personally would see those your suggesting as a downgrade from your current machines, but that's just my personal view.

My workshop tools are at youngest around 40year old for the mill and 80 year old for the lathe. The only new items in there are drill bits and dead centres ect. Nearly all my tooling is second hand as bringing up five kids between me and my partner there is little left at the end of the day for my hobby, so I haven't the luxury of new machines. In later life if I am in a position to buy new tools when the kids are independent I will jump at it.

Keep safe and keep active.

Jon

I am 81 [and counting ] and have no intention of packing up any time soon, so I would say, yes, go for it !

I too hate to think what will happen to all my gear when I snuff it. I have no-one to pass it on to and very few kids want to know anything about such work anymore. Some dealer will come and clear the lot, without a second glance, I suspect. Sad, but you can,t take it with you.

Dear Mr. Rix,

When my dad (bless him) died, what I was left with was having to work overtime to pay for his funeral. Despite it taking a year to get over the extra hours I worked, I did not resent this as I found great amusement at him causing a back track on a promise I made to myself and maintained for more than twenty years of a refusal to ever work overtime again as HMIT gave me a right kicking when I was an apprentice after working through a works holiday shutdown.

Our kids won't have to go through this, both of us pre - paid, BUT, if they had to pay my rent (no, house ours and paid for) or mortgage, then they may be allowed an opinion.

SO, your money and efforts, tell your son to S*D off.

Regards Ian.

I know of a much worse case than that! The old man had invested small sums of money all over the place, including abroad. Multiple bank accounts, Premium Bonds, Shares, Building Societies, ISA's, Annuities, Cash hidden around the house, Wine, rare books, antiques, anything that took his fancy. Although a successful earner, he was a rotten money manager who didn't bother with paperwork. His tax affairs were a mess. The executor was finding new problems 3 years after the funeral, and his widow had no idea what she worth.

I think it best to keep my financial affairs simple and well-documented. To keep it straightforward, I've written off the value of my workshop and other toys. Whilst they have value to me, and perhaps you lot, I don't want my entertainment assets to become a PITA when I'm gone. I don't want to burden my grieving kids with quests involving workshop MacGuffins. I think it unkind of enthusiasts to earnestly lecture their descendants about the value of old tools when the kids have their lives to worry about. If they decide to scrap the lot when I'm gone, so be it!

Statistically the average male lifespan in the UK is a little over 80 years. Eighty years of age isn't a cliff edge though. If you survive to 80 (50% do), then you only have a 1:100 chance of not seeing your next birthday. Even in your 90's, the odds of dying before your next birthday are only 1 in 10. As those are quite good odds, there's a reasonable chance hobbies can be enjoyed into extreme old age.

I intend to enjoy my tools while I can, including spending some of my children's inheritance on new ones! My plan is just to die confident my toys aren't going to accidentally cause trouble from beyond the grave...

Dave

I'm 34 so hopefully I have a while to go yet but my parents are both in their 70's. They have a good phrase which is relevant:

"Money?, you can't take it with you."

Meaning what good is money when you're dead. I tend to agree with that and from my perspective I really don't care if they leave me everything or nothing. So I say go for it! Don't delay buy what you want.

That all being said, If any of you coffin dodgers want to write me into your will please do so! 😁

Hi Leslie,

I'm 57 and if someone told me at 60 that I only had 8 years left in the workshop I would be getting someone else to taste my food before I ate it!

Plenty of people are active well into their 80s and beyond, with the main issue being thinking ahead about things like hoists for heavy chucks etc. as your ability to lift weights declines.

But you could easily have 30 years or more of active hobby ahead and my experience is that having such a hobby certainly doesn't limit your active life expectancy, it extends it.

Neil