Making a silk purse ...
from a sow's ear is very compelling to me, and it gives me great satisfaction to restore a "hopeless" car, motorcycle ... or firearm, to like-new or very serviceable condition. For example, I took apart a rusty old Sterling .22---which has a sterling reputation (that you for recognizing the clever pun) as being unreliable junk---and remade many parts to more exacting standards, as well as made several design changes, such as opening up the ejection port. I took liberties that I certainly would never have taken with a "quality" firearm, and as a result, learned a heck of a lot in the process. The gun, by the way, runs like a train, and digests any ammo without a belch or hiccup. Very satisfying! And, yes, if I paid myself the sterling sum of ten dollars per hour, I could have bought a Wilson 1911 with the money I "earned." No regrets or apologies.
I'm doing the same right now to an old Honda Z-50, but that's another story ... .
Yes, quality over quantity for me, too. But sometimes to fully appreciate quality, it's good to get your hands on an old junker, roll up your sleeves, and get down and dirty a bit!
