The one tool that paid for itself in comfort was a 4.5” paddle-switch grinder — my old Metabo W9-115 ran five days a week for 12 years — and I always tell apprentices to buy quality, supple 1/0 leads before they chase a fancy hood. If you were setting up a new hand today, what two pieces would you insist on so their shoulders and hands still work at 65?
New hand gets a paddle-switch 5” with an electronic brake and kickback control, plus a rotating-head stinger with DINSE 35–50 so you’re not white-knuckling all day. Your “five days a week for 12 years” Metabo tracks; the brake/clutch is the upgrade that saves wrists when it bites. @katadam VibraTech side handle on Metabo is my pick, and I only bump to 2/0 if the run’s long.
One thing that saved my hands was running a 10–12’ super‑flex whip (2 AWG) off the stinger before the 1/0 trunk — it takes a bunch of weight off the wrist without any real voltage drop. Your “five days a week for 12 years” Metabo story tracks, but I’d caveat the grinder pick to anything under 5 lb or it’ll still chew up your forearm. Do you run a short whip like that or straight 1/0 to the stinger?
I’d add one tiny thing: clip the lead to your belt so the pull goes to your hips, not your wrist — ‘hang the weight off your hips, not your hand’ has saved me a lot of tendons. I use a cheap webbing loop and carabiner about 18–24 inches back from the stinger so it still swings, and it works with 1/0 or smaller. It’s a cheap tweak that pays off over long shifts.
You’re right about ‘buy quality, supple 1/0 leads’ — the other thing that killed the buzz for me was swapping the stock handle for an anti-vibration one (Metabo VibraTech/Bosch VC) and setting it around 45° to keep the wrist neutral. On my old W9-115 that alone cut tingles way down, and I’d pick that over a brake if the budget’s tight. It’s a cheap change that your hands will notice by Friday.