Having the right tool for the right job is not always possible, but it’s an ideal that’s nice to try to live up to. The problem is that a lot of the time, the right tool is often very expensive. We have found lots of ways around this, though, from building our own CNC machines to finding new ways to electroplate metal. Sometimes, though, the right tool for the job doesn’t have to be improvised or built from scratch, it just falls in your lap.

Admittedly, [Sam]’s power planer didn’t literally fall into her lap, but she did pull this neglected tool from the garbage. With no idea what was wrong with it, [Sam] let it sit on the shelf for years until she finally needed it. Assuming there was a major problem with the tool, she set about replacing the blades and bearings only to find that the likely culprit behind why the planer was thrown away in the first place was a faulty switch. This was likely a deal and circuit-breaker for someone who would use it all day, but not so for someone who only needs it for occasional use.

While some might not consider this a “hack”, it is at least a reminder that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, especially if that trash only needs new bearings and a switch. There are two lessons here: first, that tools aren’t usually beyond repair, and that it’s possible to find all kinds of tools in the dumpster from people who don’t heed this advice.