Experience is the best tool of all

Having the tools you need helps - but doing matters more

Any maker, tinkerer, or DIYer has been there - a job needs done, but the tools required are nowhere to be had. It's a frustrating affair. Sometimes we can make do - improvise - and the result can be rewarding. But other times, there is no substitute for the right tool. In these moments, we have only a few options: borrow from someone else (isn't that a universal no-no?), go out and buy what we need (a burden - and often expensive), or farm out the job to someone else (and admit defeat). I've done all of these at one time or another. But I always opt for the new tool if I have my druthers. Even if it's something I'll use only once a decade, having it in my maker arsenal is a comforting thought.

Yes, it's good to be equipped - and ready. But it's not the only thing needed. Experience, often had through doing without, can be just as important.

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Replacing the battery on my son’s watch - an easy fix with the right tools and a little experience.

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I have...a lot of tools. But it wasn't always this way. For years I struggled to get by with far less. Often it meant improvising and making do. But after floundering without for so long, I began accumulating tools that made life so much easier - a set of small screwdrivers, metric wrenches & sockets, and a table saw. Over time, these random additions, often acquired as needed, increased my capacity to make and do.

But even today, with a rather diverse set of instruments at my disposal, I pause when taking on a specialized job. My gut instinct says, "whoa - this will be hard." It's an artifact of all those years of lacking the right tool for the job. But then I relax and thank my lucky stars. I often have what I need; the right tool is in my shop. But I also have something equally important - all that experience gained from doing without for so many years.

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It is easy to think, "oh, how nice it would have been to have everything I could ever want from the start." And in some ways, I had far more than most; my dad's garage and woodshop were well-stocked. But I moved away in college, and from then on, when my desire to make only increased, I was left without. And it hurt. But it also helped me to be creative and resourceful - mental tools that are as important as any specialized device one can acquire.

I will always choose to have the right tool to do a job. There's nothing better than quickly and handily completing a task because one has all that is needed. A wheel puller, a T20 Torx, a watch back remover - whatever it is, having it when needed can be the difference between not doing and doing. But there's much to be said for resourcefulness and finding workarounds when needed. These experiences help us understand the inner workings of the made world and ourselves.

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If there is a pearl of wisdom in any of this, it’s to get the tools you need - but don’t wait if you can’t. Keep trying - doing & making, fixing & repairing - even when you don’t have it all - the experience is worth as much or more than the right tool.

Doing without prepares us for that one aspirational day when we have everything we need.

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Until next time.

JRC