Blew $240 on a book press off Craigslist and it's the smartest money I've ever spent
I know we all love a good deal but honestly buying cheap tools is the real trap. I grabbed this old cast iron press from a guy in Sacramento for $240, it weighs about 80 pounds and the threads were rusty as hell. Two hours of cleaning it up and now my text blocks come out dead flat every single time with way less rounding than my old setup. My first year I bought a $60 press and it wobbled so bad I wanted to throw it out the window. What's the one tool you'd tell a beginner to just pay more for right away?