Re: Make stuff!
"3D printers are like your garage wood shop. You make stuff that you could buy"
I'll disagree slightly with you. While I do make fun stuff in my wood shop (brio style railway tracks) that I could buy for roughly twice the price of the materials, the majority of stuff I make I couldn't just buy. I could pay someone to do it, but that is certainly not cheap.
In the last year I've "made" a new kitchen counter*, banisters, a deck and more shelves than I can shake a stick at. With tools that, if you are crazy enough to buy them new, cost about the same as a mid level 3D printer.
I'm not sure I'd want to trust any 3D printed part as being safe for heavy use. Anything that I'd expect someone to put their full weight on I make sure can handle having 125kg of sand piled on it and then given a firm kicking.
So for a bunch of tools** in the shop, I'd say they were considerably more useful and valuable than any 3D printer, since they do many many things well. However, there are several ones that, for the amount of use they get, are pretty much "nice idea" that hardly gets used. Other than making track, I think I've used my fancy router half a dozen times, and being new that (plus bits) cost as much as the useful tools (which are pretty much all second hand).
If you already have CAD skills, then a 3D printer sounds pretty good. If you've got to learn those on top of how to use a printer, it sounds a bit too much hassle.
Personally I'd go for CNC over 3D printing.
* the counter comes ready to go, just needed a chunk taken out to fit. Actual woodworking for making the supporting frame etc.
** specifically: 3 mode SDS drill, circular saw, jigsaw, electric screwdriver/baby drill, angle grinder, belt sander.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
