Tools

[Bruno of NH]

I spent 40 year buying tools for my contracting business. 
35 years working for myself with others using my tools.
Start a sawmill operation and work at home and my helpers over the last few years have lost or broken more of my stuff then when contracting.
Lots of what I call legacy tools . Nice quality stuff I saved for and bought when starting out. Other stuff my Pepere' bought me when I was 13 years old helping him out in the family business. 
He was hard on me but always bought me quality tools. His brother's ran the first building and hardware store in town. There father started it when he came from Canada. He also logged and built homes. 
I was looking for a tool today and realized another one had come up lost. Kind of made me tear up a little. 
Sorry for the rant   >:(

[MattM]

I hear ya. I was a heavy equipment mechanic all my life up until a couple years ago. I've always had quality tools even when I first started out. The first few years I had alot of tools "get lost" when another coworker borrowed them or the would get broken in a way that wasn't covered by warranty. I now have a policy where nobody touches my tools but me, my wife and when they're old enough my kids. 

People just don't value tools unless they paid for them themselves. I once had a guy chop up a $200 proto wrench and then try to tell me it was no big deal because you could buy that size wrench at princess auto (Canada harbour freight) for $25.....  :'(

[Brad_bb]

Usually when I get mad like this from a missing tool, rant and rave and blame someone else, if not out loud, then to myself....  a few weeks later I find it where I was using it and got distracted and it's still sitting where I left it.  Then I'm even more mad- at myself.

[SawyerTed]

Shortly after I married the Doctor, her brother started asking to borrow tools. I didn't have much and what I had usually was relied upon.  But he is family.  

I learned the hard way that he wasn't using the tools, his hired workers were.  They simply didn't care who the tools belonged to, his, mine or whoever's.  They got abused, lost or what appeared to be intentionally ruined.  

It was then I started replacing tools with good quality and cheap quality.  Cheap got loaned.  It didn't take long before my BIL started buying tools and guess what?  Good quality tools.

The only other person besides me who uses my good tools now is my son.  He's learned to take care of what he uses.  

[Old Greenhorn]

My on the job tool box always had a sign in it which read:

"In this world there are two things dear to life,
A mans' tools and a man's wife,
You don't ask to borrow my tools,
 and I won't ask to borrow your wife."

 I meant it too. My tool box stood at about 6 foot high. I was at a newish job in the 80's and came up from the backside of my box to see the Lead man (working supervisor) rooting around in my tool box top area. I pushed the lid over with a little extra weight and it nailed him on one wrist and the fingers of the other hand. He was a bit 'miffed' and went to the foreman. The foreman asked if he had my permission to go through my box. The guy said "no, he wasn't around" and the foreman replied "well then, I guess we are done here. Don't ever do that again." ;D

 Yeah I lost a bunch of tools over the years in different shops, some I still miss, but NOTHING bothered me more than somebody who borrowed a tool, broke it, and did not replace it at all. That was their last time using anything of mine and in fact even having a conversation with me. The were DONE.

[thecfarm]

I had a brother that would borrow my stuff. Bring it back broke and would say, I don't know what happened.   :  Never would offer to fix it or even pay half. I got tried of that after a few times.

[sawguy21]

When I started wrenching I bought Craftsman, couldn't fathom spending hard earned money at the Snap-On truck. I got the same warranty. Eventually after buying a few specialty items from him I learned the value of high end tools, they fit and allowed me to do a better job more quickly. Nothing frustrated me more than a tool that didn't do the job or outright failed. Well, except for the clown that 'borrowed' my 1-1/2 open end for use as a pinch bar, now that made me mad! >:(

[Southside]

Some employees aren't worth having. Been there myself.

[moodnacreek]

Tools are an extension of a mans hand. When you get old like me and set a tool down it better be there when you reach for it again. I stayed very small because I could never work with others most of the time.

[Andries]

This spring I dropped a big willow tree near the in-laws camp. The grapple on my loader was perfect to stack all the branches on a fire pit. 
I recalled tightening up an interior panel because it was rattling after another fix. A small socket on a Canadian Tire rachet handle - perfect. But, DanG tools just won't stay on the loader fender when the job is done. . . . can't find that tool.
The summer passes, and I've bought a replacement tool, (can't live without a 3/8" drive, right?) you know how that goes.
So, now that the leaves are turning and the geese are flocking, it was time to burn off all that slash.
Yep, there was a shiny gleam coming back on the flashlight  . . hey lookit that! My rachet handle and socket. 
 
So, after this long winded and "happens to everybody" story, here's the question:
That tool is the cheapest bargain basement priced item that Canadian Tire offers. If it had been a top end tool like Snap-on, or Proto, it would've been gone forever. At least, it's never happened to me.
So, riddle me this, how does that even work? 

[rusticretreater]

Anytime I am working outside with my tools, I usually have a painters drop cloth to spread out under the work.  Screws, bolts, tools, seals don't bounce then and you can find them easily.  I also use magnetized trays and tool bars to hold stuff and a cardboard box for parts.  I also make an extra effort to keeping a bit of order to the work area.

My dad put up with me messin' up some of his stuff.  But when I got somewhat older and found that I was mechanically adept, tools became treasured possessions.  I began buying tools at 16 for my first job and haven't stopped, though I need to.  I had the don't mess with my tools sticker on my boxes too.

Nobody asked to borrow my tools, they always asked to borrow me.  The old I want $1000 of work for a six pack of beer stuff.  Its quite satisfying knowing that I can deal with almost any problem that comes my way with the tools and experience I have accumulated.  The real fun is when I can't find one of my tools because one is in the saw mill shed, the other in the house garage, my wife has one and I misplaced the last one myself in my workshop/garage.

[taylorsmissbeehaven]

"We make our living with these tools. Therefore, we have a strict no loan policy. Please do not ask."  A banner hanging over my Dads desk!   

[Bruno of NH]

This stuff isn't just misplaced 
It's lost or just broken 
Just tuff when I have taken care of it for so long

[jpassardi]

When I worked as a mechanic through HS and college a Scottish old timer with a Cornwell Tools truck would come to our shop to sell tools. He gave me a sticker that says: Next to Sex my Cornwell Tools are Best, Please don't ask to Borrow. It's still on my toolbox.
For me it's kinda depressing to see the market now flooded with China Freight tools these days...

[Old Greenhorn]

 Yeah Bruno's issue here is that folks are either stealing or squandering his tools. For me that's a firing offense.

 But forgive me Andrie's post reminded me of one I did to myself. My tool money was all wrapped up in Machinist tools as that is how I made my living. My carpentry tools were some Stanley's and older stuff I got cheap  and refurbished. They were mine, and they worked, and that was good enough.

 SO back on a May day in the early 90's they had Beaver Day up at the scout Camp. Troops would go up and work on cleanup and projects to get the camp ready for the summer camp season. Small groups with skills would get assigned to project using their skills with Scouts included to learn as they worked. Plumbers, electricians, chainsaw guys, painters, even phone company people all had meaningful work to do. Then there was all the manual winter storm cleanup work, raking, etc.
 Anyway. I got assigned to build a shed for the archery range to store all the targets and other stuff during inclement weather and off season. I had an all boy crew.
 Well it snowed all day, just enough that you could never see the ground, but it was melting almost as fast as it came down and it snowed all day long. I would draw a cut line on a board and before I could bring the saw up to cut it, the snow covered the line. It made for a long day. Keeping track of tools was an issue too. But we got the deck built and the framing up and some of the siding. At the end of the day I could not find my bullet level. A Stanley that I'd had since we got married. We gave up looking when it got dark. The next weekend I came up and finished the shed with just my son helping (and a replacement level in my box).
 Fast forward, summer came and went and the following June I was up at camp during the off-Sunday when nobody is in camp to do a days worth of mowing to help the Ranger out. I am down doing the archery range and on one of my loops I see something in the sub-grass. Sure enough, it's my bullet level.  In perfect shape except that after over a year, the sun had bleached out the dye in the spirits so it was hard to see the bubble. That level is in my shop now and I use it indoors, because outside it's very hard to see. :D

[Larry]

I came up with a system years ago to prevent lost tools.  Every tool has a place and at the end of the day every tool will be back in its bed.  4' X 30' pegboard on one wall.  Drawer for sockets and each one fits on a short dowel. Mechanic's tool chest with beds for each tool. 

I do some teaching/mentoring in my shop with normally one student but sometimes up to five.  Easy for a tool to go awol.  At the end of the day it takes all of a minute to scan the pegboard and drawers for a missing tool.  If one is missing we search until its found.

[Gere Flewelling]

I also spent almost 50 years gathering up the tools I needed to be a mechanic throughout my career. Money was tight for most of those years and had to make due with Taiwan and India tools in the early years. Gradually upgraded to Matco and the occasional Snap On tools as the replacements were needed.  When I retired last year I brought everything home for the first time.  Lots of mixed brand sets as I've lost many over the years. I took a week last summer and went through everything and threw out some broken stuff and specialty stuff I will never use again. Lots of memories with the most special one from tools an old guy who mentored me when I was just starting out gave me.  He was in his mid 60's back then and had made many specialty tools that did the job.  He's been gone for many years now, but I think of him often.  It was always my desire to mentor someone in the way Old Joe taught me to be a mechanic.  I was Blessed to be able to do that with a young guy who ended up taking my manager position at the ski area.  It was very rewarding for me to be able to pay it forward before I was done.  As for loosing tools over the years, I found the warranty was the same for US made or foreign made cheap tools if you leave them setting on a frame rail or on a fender and the come up missing.  Learned that too many times.  :-\

[Sixacresand]

I see tools at local auctions selling so cheap:  Craftsman, Snap On.  Buy a 5 gallon bucket of sockets and wrenches for $10-15. Some are worn out, especially rachets, but most are like new.  I don't buy them because I don't need them.  But I paid a fortune for good tools in my life. 

[slider]

I still have my snap-on top box that i bought used where i worked at a filling station 5 bay and 3 wreckers now it has 2 stacker boxes and a 6 drawer bottom cabinet. It still works fine.

When i was on the farm my son bought me a Montezuma box that i love. Except for the bottom tray that lifts up the rest of the tools are on hangers or dropped into holes , this box has saved me more lost tools. When you finish a job you clean your tools and put them up ,if you have a missing tool you know then. 

Once years ago i lost a 3/4 drive ratchet ,i looked every where ,i thought maybe i left it was left on the frame and it is by the road some where. 10 years later i was restoring my 85 peterbilt and when i pulled the bunk off there was my ratchet still laying on top of the back transmission , how many miles did it ride there.

The top box is over 50 years old ,it just needs paint.

[Crossroads]

20 years of being a millwright in a paper mill and I always left my toolbox open as I had specialty tools that others didn't have and they had tools I didn't. So, we would share when needed. I can't think of a single time that a tool didn't find its way back to my toolbox. 

[slider]

Good for you crossroads ,i have used a shop for 30 years and when i need a tool i go to the boss and use his box , every time he pitches a fit,these 8!@#%^&* are not putting my tools back, now i just help myself to his box and put them back . 

[Andries]

Crossroads: you either worked with a crew of angels or you have 'specialized skills' that scared the poop out of that crew.
Either way, like Slider said, good for you.

[Tom King]

I've been buying tools for 50 years now, took care of them, and still have them.  

I have exactly one person that I will loan a tool to.  He had all his stolen out of a storage unit years ago.  When he borrows something, he brings it back better than when he picked it up.  He borrowed my tractor auger, and when it came back he had made a stand for it to keep it on, and make it easier to hook up to a tractor.

The most commonly called for loaner tool is a chainsaw.  I keep an old little Poulan for a loaner.  When someone picks it up, I tell them it's full of gas and oil, and the chain is sharp, but it's hard to start.  It is.

[kelLOGg]

When I bought my sawmill 21 years ago I spent 5 years modifying it with power up-down, forward-backward, etc., and in the process lost my welding pliers and slotted screwdriver.  I usually find lost or misplaced stuff but those 2 items have been on the missing tool list for a decade or more with no clues as to whereabouts. I think my parents gave me that screwdriver when I was a kid so I had it for about 70 years and I might need it to get out if my coffin. 🙄

[cutterboy]

 

I have exactly one person that I will loan a tool to.  When he borrows something, he brings it back better than when he picked it up.  

Tom, I have a guy like that too. He is the only one I lend stuff to. Earlier this summer he borrowed my walk behind DR brush mower. Before he brought it back he power washed it, changed the oil and sharpened the blade.

[dougtrr2]

I worked on Minuteman missiles and each team chief had his own tool box.  Normally, we worked in two man teams but there were some jobs that required a crew of 8-10, but still only one tool box was used.  I was team chief on one of those jobs and then the next day I had to go into the shop to do a tool box inventory.  I was missing a lot of tools, but what really made me mad was many of them were tools we would not use on that job.  It was the Air Force and I did not have to pay for the lost tools but I was ticked off.  

So, I made up an inventory sheet for my tool box.  The Air Force inventory sheet was in pretty much random order.  Then I organized and fitted my tool box so I could more easily inventory it.   From that point on I would inventory my box toward the end of those big jobs and no one left the site until all my tools were accounted for.  (The nature of that job was toward the end you could turn people loose early as their tasks were completed.)  Never lost another tool and I had other guys on the crew looking for my tools so they could go home.

Interesting thing was, if you looked around any given site you could usually find a misplaced tool someone else had left.

Doug in SW IA  

[SawyerTed]

When I was a new teacher, teaching industrial arts, I was told by an assistant principal that I HAD to loan tools to the coaches because they HAD to keep the fields ready for games. 

I learned quickly coaches were the worst at returning tools.   We had purchasing agreements with Sears/Craftsman, Porter Cable, etc.  So I kept a set of good tools for students to use and tools for doing repairs and maintenance. 

When coaches didn't return the tools, they learned I'd come looking for them.  The tools were all marked and inventoried.  I wasn't a happy camper and they just laughed about it.  A couple of times I got that assistant principal to go with me when the number of tools "borrowed" started interfering with students work in my classes. That got the coaches to do better for a little while but they fell into their old habits. 

After about six months at the school, I figured out that athletics had more money than I did in my program AND I could buy tools locally on the school's account.

Over the next couple of months I stocked the coaches with tools suitable for their work.  When they came to borrow something, I gave them their tools never expecting them back.   I wasn't disappointed.  Somewhere in there the lock on the shop tool room got changed too!

When they came to borrow a tool I knew I bought for them, that they lost, I showed them the receipt marked ATHLETIC DEPT.  They seemed to "find" their tools.  

Funny how they got a toolbox and started locking it up!

[barbender]

Ted, I have a certain amount of disdain for the deference given to athletics in schools as your story illustrates. Schools always seem to come up with money for athletic programs when other, and in my opinion far more important, things go under or unfunded.

[SawyerTed]

Athletics have their place.   Some students "find their place" in athletics, stay in school and it makes a difference for them.

Equally true, students found their "place" in my program, Ag Ed, Business Ed, Carpentry, Auto Tech, Heath Science, Home Economics, Marketing and all the others. 

The same is true for band, theater, visual arts and chorus.

It just wasn't right that my ability to teach children was being impaired by a revenue generating extracurricular activity.  

[Percy]

When I read the title of this thread, I thought it was going to be a list of names and was checking to see if I was on it :D