Swingman wrote:

That said, I'm working up a bid on another chair job as we speak, so
that just might change.

There ya go, age old technique. Get a job that the client ends up buying
you the tool.

I remember years ago, for a number of years where almost all new tools were
bought by clients. I had a line that went something like this. "Well, I
would love to make that for you. I would charge this much for labor plus
cost of materials. And I need a special tool to complete this particular
project."

It worked most of the time.