I bought the hamilton beach blender for myself today, yay me. I figure if I have any trouble with it I will just drill the holes in it. $20 is really all I had for a blender. the cheaper ones online, I couldn't tell what the bell was made of. I figure this is a start, hmm?
Congrats on your new soaping tool! I think $20 is plenty to spend. I feel like I went over board with $26 since it seems they all go out eventually when you least expect it. I bought the cuisinart base model because I saw one of the pro soapers on YouTube using it so figured it was guaranteed at least the shaft was not to going to react with the mixture. It been a great blender but I'm on the lookout to get a less expensive backup, $20 will be my max.