Originally Posted by Elbeinlaw

jPrichardJr: I don't work on bicycle frames, but I make this kind of decision on "bargain" stringed instruments. Here's my decision tree.

• If it's a really valuable thing, or if it has sentimental value or "cool" value and I can spend the money, then I'll pay the money to have someone else repair it.
• If I'm teaching myself how to do particular skills (like metalworking), then I'll write the thing off in my head and give the repair a try--figuring, if I screw it up, well, it was already dead.
• If either of the first two conditions fail, no matter how good a deal it is, no matter what the balance of value-as-repaired and cost to repair is, I walk away fast and never look back.

When I've ignored that rubrick, it causes me untold heartache. When I'm on the second tranche--learning new skills--it's always worthwhile even if the repair fails. Invariably I find myself using those skills I learned, later on another project.