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Just lost a full day's pay on a cheap post hole digger | Fence Erectors - Vivisector

Just lost a full day's pay on a cheap post hole digger

Bought a no-name manual post hole digger from a discount tool place for $45 last month. The welds on the handle snapped clean off after about 15 holes in some tough, rocky soil in my area. Had to stop the whole job, drive an hour round trip to get a new one, and lost the entire afternoon. That's easily $400 in lost time and labor for me and my helper. Should have just spent the money on a decent, known brand from the start. Anyone have a manual digger they've actually put through hell that held up?

4 comments

4 Comments

carter.mila6mo ago

Ugh, why does everything feel like a cheap tool breaking at the worst time?

miller.diana6mo ago

Has anyone else noticed how cheap tools always seem to fail right when you're on a tight deadline? @carter.mila you're spot on about the timing being the worst part. It's like they know when you can't afford a trip to the hardware store. That angle grinder story from jason_stone59 is wild though - I had a similar thing happen with a cheap sawzall blade that snapped and flew past my ear. It's not just the money lost on the tool itself, it's the whole day you waste dealing with the mess and the stress.

jason_stone596mo ago

Wait what, $400? That's insane. I had a cheap drill chuck explode on me mid-screw once and it nearly took my thumb off. @ward.anna you're spot on about those discount welds being suggestions, I had a Chinese angle grinder basically come apart in my hands last month. The blade guard literally detached and started wobbling like a unbalanced tire. That "buy once cry once" rule hurts in the moment but man, the ER copay would hurt way more.

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ward.anna6mo ago

So the cheap tool basically charged you a $400 lesson fee? That's a brutal way to learn the buy-once-cry-once rule. I've been there, staring at broken metal and realizing the real cost wasn't the price tag. Those discount welds are more like suggestions than actual connections. It's crazy how a tool failing can wipe out a whole day's profit in an instant. You're right, the good brand would have hurt the wallet once, not the whole job.