The Most Expensive “Cheap” Tool I’ve Ever Bought

And the ONE category of tools that’s actually worth investing in

One of the biggest mistakes I made as a young jeweler wasn’t wasting money on expensive tools…

It was wasting money on the wrong cheap ones!

Now let me get something clear straight off the bat:

I don’t think all cheap tools are bad (by ANY means). And I certainly don’t think all expensive tools are good either!

I don’t subscribe to the age-old saying of “buy the best you can afford” (aka. the most expensive)... because in my experience, it’s just flat out wrong!

In fact, 20+ years on, I still buy inexpensive saw frames because they work perfectly well…

And I loooove me some cheap pliers because I can grind them, sand them, and modify them without feeling guilty. If I ruin a pair, who cares?! They’re like $5 and I’ll just buy another one.

Cutting tools though…

They’re a completely different story (and I learnt that the hard way!)

I was slowly building my workshop (and it wasn’t cheap)

I’d just graduated from New Approach School for Jewelers, and I was slowly building out my workshop. I was always looking for a bargain, so I could have more money to spend on other things (like, even more tools).

Normal women hide shoes from their husbands in the back of their closets… I was hiding new tools in the back of my drawers.

One of the tools I really wanted was a disk cutter (if you’ve never used one before, they’re bloody brilliant!)

Instead of spending ages sawing out circles by hand, you simply place a sheet of metal into the cutter, drop the matching punch into the hole, and hit it with a mallet. A few seconds later, you’ve got a perfect circle.

Back then, a good one cost about $150 (about $250 these days)…

But the one I found at Metaliferous in New York City cost about $40. I think you know where this goes 😆

Metaliferous was one of my favorite shops. It was a proper Aladdin’s cave for jewelers! The sheet metal, wire, and tube was beautifully organized…

But everything else seemed to have found its own home over the previous 30 years. There were tools hanging everywhere, books stacked up in odd places, drawers full of mysterious bits of steel, and the whole shop smelt gloriously of tool oil.

I could spend hours wandering around there.

I thought I’d found a bargain…

So when I spotted this disk cutter, I thought I’d hit the jackpot! I remember thinking, "Why would I spend $150 when this one does exactly the same job?"

It turned out that was an expensive assumption.

The first time I used it I was cutting 20 gauge silver, only about 0.8 mm thick. With a good quality disk cutter, two decent blows with a mallet is usually enough to punch cleanly through the metal.

This one seemed to need five (but that wasn't even the worst part.)

The punch eventually cut the disk perfectly well, but because the cutter couldn't shear the metal cleanly, the silver distorted slightly as it was being cut. The result was that the punch jammed solid inside the cutter…

Every. Single. Time.

So instead of carrying on making jewelry, I’d have to walk over to the vice, clamp the whole disk cutter in place, and spend another five minutes hammering the punch out again.

Five minutes… to make one circle.

By the time I’d finished, it honestly would have been quicker to pick up a saw frame and cut the thing out by hand.

Working with metal can be frustrating at the best of times, but this was another level. Seriously, if I hadn’t been taking the hammer to the disk cutter to get the die unstuck, I would have been taking the hammer to it with the sole intention of destroying that bloody asshole.

A few months later, I gave up and bought a proper Pepe Tools disk cutter

The difference was unbelievable. The cutter came in two perfectly machined halves that located precisely together, holding the metal firmly while the punch passed through. Two hits with the mallet and the punch simply dropped out the other side exactly as it was supposed to.

That was the moment I realized I hadn't saved myself $110 by buying the cheaper cutter…I'd simply spent $40 buying frustration.

It's a lesson I've carried with me ever since:

Cheap tools aren't automatically bad. Some of my favorite tools cost very little. But when you're asking a tool to cut metal accurately, you're relying on the quality of the steel, the machining and the tolerances.

Those things cost money, and there really isn't a shortcut!

Ironically, I only threw that old disk cutter away about a year ago. (Not the punches, of course. Any jeweler knows that odd bits of hardened steel always come in useful for something, so I kept those!)

The frame, however, finally went in the bin, which was probably about nineteen years later than it deserved - haha!

This isn’t an ad by any means, but it does make me smile these days when Pepe Tools occasionally send me their latest disk cutters to try out, because 20 years ago I was standing in Metaliferous trying to convince myself I didn’t need the good one. Thank god I know better now.

If there’s one lesson I’d pass on to anyone building their first workshop, it’s this:

Take it from a self-proclaimed tool whore, you can save money on pliers and saw frames if you want to…

But DON’T try to save money on precision cutting tools! They'll usually end up costing you far more than the price difference in frustration alone.

And if you’re after more help in the tools department, I’ve actually got a whole FREE guide about the essential metalsmithing tools everyone should start out with (in my opinion).

There’s stacks of pages all about when to splurge and where to save, links to the actual products I’d recommend, and it also includes my tips on when to buy each tool (so you’re not stashing expensive tools at the back of your drawer before you know how to use them).

DOWNLOAD THE TOOLS GUIDE HERE FOR FREE

Hope it makes your life easier (and helps you avoid making the same mistakes as I did along the way!)

About The Author

Lucy Walker
Lucy Walker is the Founder of Lucy Walker Jewelry & the Metalsmith Academy, she’s a self-proclaimed crossfit box champ, dog mum, and wearer of a bunch of other hats. With over 17 years in the jewelry industry and 7 years empowering jewelry makers globally, Lucy has created world-class online training designed to take you from absolute beginner to jewelry-making pro! Whether you’re looking to build a business, or create beautiful pieces to wear and share with loved ones, Lucy has created the best community to help you do it.

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