New Tools Unlocked!

I've been having to replace quite a few tools lately. Which is fine by me! For all the nerds out there, every new tool I get reminds me of finding a new weapon in a video game, "New Weapon Unlocked"! 10 years ago, I got out of the Marine Corps and bought our first house. We decided to have new flooring installed. The installers we'd contracted through Home Depot ended up giving us the runaround! They ripped out our old flooring and bounced off to a bigger job after day one. My guess is that our 1100sqft house wasn't lucrative enough for them. I was left with a pile of brand-new floorboards and a house full of staple covered subfloors for my wife and kids to walk on. I decided to fire the contractors, buy my own tools, and figure out how to do it myself with no prior experience! This experience is also why when it comes to fencing, no job is too small for Renegade! I will not leave you hanging like those guys did! The first tools I bought were a variety pack of cheap Ryobi One+ power tools. I went cheap thinking that as they broke over the years, I would replace them with higher quality tools. I should add that I've been laughed at on many a construction site over the years regarding my chinsey Ryobi tools too! I must've won the Ryobi lottery though, because my cheap bag of Ryobi's has lasted me over 10 years! I should add that I beat them to hell too! I put in those hard floors, used them on my first fence jobs with Nevada Fence, and even used them to build an off-grid homestead.

So, I was a little bummed out when my trusty Ryobi Sawzall started smoking and crapped the bed... Not having the money for newer, better tools, I proceeded to run a hack saw for a while. My circular saw soon followed... The circular saw is a primary work horse, so it was time... Using the "buy once, cry once" philosophy; I proceeded to invest in top quality Milwaukee tools! I must say, what a pleasure it is to use high quality tools! My Ryobi's got the job done, but the difference is night and day! These new tools are so smooth and efficient! As I was leaving Home Depot (Ironically the same place this story began, only this time I was the contractor!), a man commented "Wow! Somebody got some new toys! Those will last you 20+ years!". To tie that all back into fencing (since this is supposedly a fencing blog after all...), I'm glad that I paid the extra money for better tools. My philosophy for tools is in alignment with my philosophy for building fencing. I only use high quality tools to build high quality fencing. I won't sacrifice quality to save a buck. My fences might cost a little extra but know that you are paying for higher quality materials, craftsmanship, and service. CHAT'S Version: I've been having to replace quite a few tools lately—which is fine by me! For all the nerds out there, every new tool reminds me of finding a new weapon in a video game: “New weapon unlocked!”

Ten years ago, I got out of the Marine Corps and bought our first house. We decided to have new flooring installed, but the installers we’d contracted through Home Depot ended up giving us the runaround. They ripped out our old flooring and then bounced to a bigger job after day one. My guess is our 1,100 sq. ft. house wasn’t lucrative enough for them.

I was left with a pile of brand-new floorboards and a house full of staple-covered subfloors for my wife and kids to walk on. So I fired the contractors, bought my own tools, and figured out how to do it myself—with zero prior experience.

That experience is exactly why, when it comes to fencing, no job is too small for Renegade. I won’t leave you hanging like those guys did.

The first tools I bought for that job were a variety pack of cheap Ryobi ONE+ power tools. I went the budget route, thinking that as they broke over the years, I’d replace them with higher-quality tools. I should add—I’ve been laughed at on more than a few construction sites over the years for my “chintzy” Ryobi tools.

But I must’ve won the Ryobi lottery, because that cheap set lasted me over 10 years. And I didn’t go easy on them either—I beat them to hell! I used them to install those hard vinyl floors, on my first fence jobs, and even to build an off-grid homestead in rural Nevada.

So yeah, I was a little bummed when my trusty Ryobi Sawzall finally started smoking and gave out. Not having the money for newer, better tools at the time, I resorted to using a hacksaw for a while. Then my circular saw followed.

That one hurt.

The circular saw is a primary workhorse, so it was time. Using the “buy once, cry once” philosophy, I invested in top-quality Milwaukee tools—and I’ve got to say, what a difference. My Ryobis got the job done, but this is night and day. These new tools are smooth, efficient, and just plain enjoyable to use. As I was leaving Home Depot—ironically, the same place this story began, only this time I was the contractor—a guy commented, “Wow! Somebody got some new toys. Those will last you 20+ years!”

To tie this back to fencing (since this is supposedly a fencing blog, after all), I’m glad I invested in better tools. My philosophy on tools is part of my overall trade philosophy on building fences: I use high-quality tools to build high-quality fences. I won’t sacrifice quality to save a buck. My fences might cost a little more—but you’re paying for better materials, better craftsmanship, and better service. I aim to build 20+ year fences—not the 5 to 10-year fences I fix up all over town.