On Mon, 6 Apr 2009 19:34:34 -0700 (PDT), JIMMIE
wrote:

My father in law was a professional machinist and woodworker. He
swore by refurbished tools. He felt that the refurbished tools were
better because they had the careful going over that new tools didnt
receive.He may have not been right on this count but I never saw
anything that proved him wrong in his collection of tools.

Your father-in-law is/was right: all the refurbished and
reconditioned stuff is actually checked over, unlike the brand new
stuff, which is spot checked during manufacture. Refurbished is a
great way to buy electronics at a much more reasonable price with a
fair warranty (think Apple products).