Everybody loves a deal, and I’m pretty sure everyone here loves to get a good tool. Last week, I detailed a workshop full of tools I found in a local second-hand store. Well, I couldn’t resist going back for a second look at one of those tools, the radial arm saw.

Usually, when I want to be left alone by sales staff in a store, I am asked several times if I need any help. Conversely, when I want assistance in a store, I usually have to wander around for twenty minutes until I find someone. Once, I was in a hurry to get an angle grinder because mine had literally blown apart, and I needed it to work that day. I went to the most convenient place to get one, since it was close and I knew they had what I wanted. Of course, for some reason, they had them locked up in a glass display case. I wandered around the tool section a bit and found no one, so I went and asked a cashier if I could get someone to set it free for me. She told me to wait by the case and someone would show up. When I got back there, some guy was also waiting for someone to let him buy a planer.

We had enough time to get to know one another fairly well. We could have shared the names and details of all our family members, the types of vehicles we drive, the colour of the sunset, the number of petals on a chamomile flower, the right and proper description of the behaviour of subatomic particles in a zero gravity vacuum… But we were really far too irritated.

Around fifteen minutes later, someone chewing bubble gum sauntered over and wordlessly opened the cases and said, “Whatchu want?”

Anyway, when I went to look once again at the radial arm saw, there was no such incident. In fact, as soon as I walked up to the machine, this fellow was right beside me saying that he thought it was a great deal. He said they’d started it up and the word was “Awesome”.

I had no problem whatsoever with the price, which was less than one fifth of the normal cost for such things. My concern was getting it into my tiny car, since my bigger one had been stolen by the insurance company. I was primarily wondering if they had some tools there I could use to dismantle it.

Oh, sure, sure, was his response. And he called across the building to another guy who hemmed and hawed a bit but then also said, sure, sure.

Still uncertain that I should buy a personal-spontaneous-amputation device, I decided to wander around the store a bit. Also, the entire time I was talking to the guy who worked there, some other guy kept passing by, looking interested. I don’t like to be rushed to make such a purchase, especially since I wasn’t even sure it could find a home in my basement workshop, but I had the feeling it would not be there if I decided to think about it for another day.

So, I took a slow walk around the store and looked at the various things they have there. I even picked up a couple of little things to buy. Eventually, I ended up back at the radial arm saw, staring at the shiny new ten-inch blade on it. I thought, “There’s $50 for nothing right there,” in furtherance of continuing to convince myself to commit to buying and dismantling and transporting and assembling.

I put my hand on the arm of the saw and the guy who had been watching earlier came strolling by. He leaned in to me conspiratorially and said quietly, “I’ve got one of those in my garage I’ll sell you for half.”

“Really?”

He nodded and grinned, “Yeah. It’s never been used.”

I followed him home.