Bought a $350 borescope for turbine inspections, best tool or biggest waste?

I grabbed that pricier articulating borescope last spring to check combustion liner cracks without pulling cans, but my old mirror-on-a-stick trick caught the same issue in half the time, so is the extra coin actually worth it for the average guy or just a nice-to-have?

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smith.ray2d ago

Those repair contracts and warranty claims are where the real value shows up. If you can hand a customer a video file of the exact crack location and orientation, that piece of paper holds way more weight than your word or a sketch. A mirror trick might show you the issue, but it does nothing to document it for the insurance guy or the audit trail. Most people only think about the inspection itself, not the proof after it. So for just finding a problem, yeah it's overkill. But for covering your ass and getting paid for the fix, that video is worth the price tag.