What's a tool you wish you had?

Hello All,

I'm an engineer who grew up on a cattle farm, and I've been growing very interested in permaculture and regenerative agriculture. I plan to start my own homestead within the next few years, but in the meantime, I'd love to put my fabrication skills to better use by making tools/equipment for sustainable agriculture.

A few thoughts I have are to build small/affordable no-till seed drills or compost applicators. However, I'd like to start with something simple, which is why I'm creating this post. Are there any tools that you wish were more attainable or better built? Are there any tasks you dislike?

Welcome to Permies.

An Excavator tops my list but that's not in your realm. lol

In all seriousness a reasonably priced compact tractor drawn multi row planter / seed drill for us homesteaders and hobbyists. An affordable modern pull type combine would be nice too. Tools a homesteader could afford while also being simple and long lasting. Maybe even better plans and or kit form parts to build your own.

What tools do you already have, and what's your budget?

I've operated a few excavators, and they're nice for moving lots of dirt. I personally prefer backhoes, because they don't need to be trailered everywhere which makes them more versatile, and cheaper to operate. Doing backhoe things with my backhoe: https://permies.com/wiki/50/99575/pep-earthworks/Scoops-Excavator-PEP-BB-earthworks#2003033

My lathe is probably my favorite tool. I think I paid $1200 for my old South Bend lathe.

I've had a drill press for a long time, but my magnetic drill press is amazing, because it's so much easier to drill things that don't fit in the press. Plus it runs really slow so you can feel when the drill bit starts trying to pull through, which prevents a lot of drill bits from getting broken.

I already have a couple of welders, but I'd really like a plasma cutter.