If you had $1500-$2000 to spend on a tool or tools/equipment, what would you buy?
Depends, what do you currently have, are you looking for tools that you need ie drills, bits, etc or things that are nice to have such as 3d printers, cnc routers, drill press, band saw.
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It’s depend on what you have now and what you need….
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For my team: A new laptop
For a different team: That seriously depends on a large multitude of factors
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Save it for the inevitably popped/broken game pieces
I’m looking for more nice to have things. I have a couple Makerbot Replicator + printers and a Method X (which has been a disappointment). I’m open to a better printer. I also have a laser cutter and manual mill, but that is all the “big” stuff.
cool/useful tools n stuff
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Spectrum’s first 1000 is a perfect starting spot.
Sometimes identifying what you have can help you discover what things other teams have that you don’t. I would go down Spectrum’s first 1000 and make sure you have everything before moving on to their 10,000 list.
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A good camera for photos and videos.
For myself, I’d get myself the parts to upgrade a certain 3d printer.
For a FRC team? A lifetime subscription to 3/32 Alan keys or something else that constantly goes missing, assuming the team is well established.
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For us?
7 electric rivet guns & a bunch of 5/32 allens
For anyone else?
33300 3/16 rivets (best investment trust me)
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Lemme guess - you already have those 33300 rivets 
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Because I’m on my teams media subteam, new lenses for our teams fleet of nikon Z50s and a gimbal. In addition more portable SSDs for storing our footage. For others though? It depends.
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Do you use any of the rivnuts threaded inserts?
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We used them on a couple bots and I’ve used them on projects for my job. I generally don’t like them for FRC. If installed properly and they can really useful, but cheap installation tools don’t do a very good job, and they aren’t a good idea for anything that you’re going to remove and reinstall regularly. We thought they would be great for bumper mounts because we could just screw into them without holding a nut, but because they need to be malleable to be installed the metal is soft and will wear out quickly unless you lube the threads regularly.
If you’re installing them with a tool drives a threaded stud into them to install them, oil the tread before every single nut, and you won’t have many problems. If the nuts aren’t going in straight and even reliably, figure out why before you install one on the bot, because if they come loose on the bot you will wish you had never used them.
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Save up for a CNC router.
Bambu lab x1 carbon, but depends what you already have.
What router would you recommend?
We currently have 2 Makerbot Replicator + and a Makerbot Method X. I haven’t been thrilled with the Method printer. I have looked at the Bambu but have never used one. Do you have one? Do you like it? Can you only use Bambu branded materials?