Handyman's Motto

[ShadetreeRet]

Which is, "You Can Never Have Too Many Tools!" But, have you ever bought tools, put them away and forgot about them? I have three carry style boxes pretty well stocked, plus a stacked tool cabinet on wheels, but I am not above buying more if the price is right. We have an old house that is used for storage and I put shelves in one room and made it my "tool room". The other day I was looking for something and opened a cardboard box full of what seemed to be just "stuff", lynchpins and such for my tractor, a bag of large bolts and nuts for a yet to be started project, and, way down towards the bottom, three sets of wrenches! What, Where? Looked at them and remembered, over ten years ago I was at a Car Quest store in a town about thirty miles away and they had a selection of Blackhawk combination ratcheting box end on one end and open on the other, selling for half price. I bought a 7pc. set of standard sizes 3/8 thru 3/4,and a set of metric 10mm thru 18m. Didn't need them at the time so I put them in storage. The other set is an 11pc set of standard on one side of a carry rack, sizes 1/4 thru 7/8 and the other side of the rack is metric9mm thru 19mm. It says "Mechanics Products" on them, and for the life of me, I cannot remember where I got them! Guess maybe I need to lay them on a shelf where I can see them. Anyone else ever do anything like this?

 

[JD Seller]

Yes I "find" new stuff all of the time. I buy it at sales and then put it away and forget about it.

The trouble I am having now is I do not spend much time at the shop on the farm. My son is using it and doing repair work. My tools are still there and some will stay there from now on. I will not be needing an inch drive impact too much. LOL

I find I am forgetting where some of my tools are kept at. I looked for half an hour Saturday looking for a step reamer set I have had for years. I really thought one of the boys had it using it. Then I remembered I had bought a few different types of reamers at a sale last fall. I made room in a different tool box for just a draw of reamers.

What is worse than tools is parts. I KNOW I have a part on hand. I even have shelves for each tractor's spare parts. So I go and buy the needed part to only find the "spare" part weeks/months later. LOL

I know I have several NEW brass garden hose nozzles. I bought them when a local hardware store was going out of business. You know selling everything 10% lower each week kind of sale. I bought all of the heavy duty ones they still had in inventory. I have not been able to find them in 2-3 years.

 

[jeffcat]

WHAT ..You think you are the only one?? Please I have tools all over the place and EVERY time I go to the flea market I look around. Must have eight or ten 3/8 7/16 open end wrenches. I still can't find one when I need it! I also loose the 1/4 drive ratchets. Can always find the sockets on the spring clip thingey but not the ratchet.

 

[CenTex Farmall]

I found a tubing notcher the other day that I bought about 10 years ago. Never used it.

 

[johnlobb]

I am trying to get my pole barn under control, so I put some old tools my son had bought a long time ago at some garage sales on the auction site lildustyonline.com and sold the first 3 old boxes filled with stuff neither of us needed. Also sold a enameled 8" pot with lid that I bought a month ago at the Gregory auction that the wife hated and wanted thrown out. I got $10.50 for that, have been rubbing it in! She was amazed, just laughed at me! Took a while to get set up, my old camera died, then my card reader died then took the computer in for its annual tune up and cleaning. Finally got ready to upload photos, but it takes a while to take the pics and then upload them, but I'm getting better at it. I put a lot more tools on yesterday and some sewing patterns the wife did not use any more, we'll see how it goes this week. I already have bids on most of the tools.

 

[oleclint]

I know what you guys are talking about, not finding things. Recently, I have been marking the box as to what is in it or tagging a part. Then putting it on a shelf , in plane site.That has helped me a lot. clint

 

[JerryS]

I've always liked woodworking, so as I approached retirement I began to load up on tools to round out what I already had. Well, life doesn't always follow your plan. Now, six or seven years later, I've now got tools sitting around that are still in the boxes, never opened: Grizzly 14-inch bandsaw with riser; Tormek sharpener; a 3 hp Triton router, biscuit joiner; dado set; mortiser.
Many, many others I have and don't use, like expensive Japanese chisel set, lathe. Still hoping, though.

 

[rbhuntn]

Am/Are/Been there too

 

[JRSutton]

you and me both.

I keep buying repeats of the common stuff, hoping that some day I'll eventually reach a saturation point where it'll be physically impossible to NOT find exactly what I need.

I have not reached that point yet. It is amazing how stuff can disappear when you need it - or you can be needing it somewhere where your tools aren't.

 

[Dave H (MI)]

That's a common joke around here with the wife and daughters. We will be looking for something and someone will hold up a tool. Often times my first reaction is "how long have I owned that"? I have tools I owned for many years and never used. Some still in the box.

 

[Nate V. IA]

I was somewhere with my truck and needed a set of wrenches, I have plenty of tools at home and didn't want to spend a bunch of money on tools I already had. So I go to Wally World and bought the cheapest set I could find $20. It was a yuppie special, little of everything. So I got whatever it was I needed done and thought "I'm going to leave these under the seat in the truck." As I was putting the new case under the seat I see another similar case of cheap tools. I got that set for Christmas one year put them in the truck just in case I needed a cheap set of tools, plumb forgot all about 'em. GRRRR!

 

[Dr. Walt]

JR:

"It is amazing how stuff can disappear when you need it . . . "


I can explain it in one word . . . GREMLINS !

LOL

:>)

 

[87nassaublue]

Yes, I have so many tools, I don't even remember what all I have. Some tools I remember, but can't find them, think a daughter's old boyfriend carted off some of them. Some I don't remember where I got them but remember them and every once in a while, I find some I don't ever remember owning in the first place. I hate it when I buy a new set and then find another new set I didn't know about. LOL

 

[Anonymous-0]

Never. If I buy a tool, I needed it and when I'm done with it, it goes into the roll cab toolbox or hangs on the wall above the bench.

 

[504]

That is what keeps Harbor Tools in business, and my estate auction will be full of tools.

 

[bison]

(quoted from post at 19:15:02 03/11/15) Which is, "You Can Never Have Too Many Tools!" But, have you ever bought tools, put them away and forgot about them? I have three carry style boxes pretty well stocked, plus a stacked tool cabinet on wheels, but I am not above buying more if the price is right. We have an old house that is used for storage and I put shelves in one room and made it my "tool room". The other day I was looking for something and opened a cardboard box full of what seemed to be just "stuff", lynchpins and such for my tractor, a bag of large bolts and nuts for a yet to be started project, and, way down towards the bottom, three sets of wrenches! What, Where? Looked at them and remembered, over ten years ago I was at a Car Quest store in a town about thirty miles away and they had a selection of Blackhawk combination ratcheting box end on one end and open on the other, selling for half price. I bought a 7pc. set of standard sizes 3/8 thru 3/4,and a set of metric 10mm thru 18m. Didn't need them at the time so I put them in storage. The other set is an 11pc set of standard on one side of a carry rack, sizes 1/4 thru 7/8 and the other side of the rack is metric9mm thru 19mm. It says "Mechanics Products" on them, and for the life of me, I cannot remember where I got them! Guess maybe I need to lay them on a shelf where I can see them. [b:b03f14478d]Anyone else ever do anything like this?[/b:b03f14478d]

ope, i only buy what i need when i need.
There are no savings when you buy something you don't need just because it is half price.(i thought only wimmen did these foolish things)

All my tools are within sight hanging on the wall or in the tool boxes in the shop